ART review: Artists merge expression with technology

Courtesy of Lee Baldwin

Courtesy of Brody Condon

By Troy Dove
Daily Forty-Niner

Art has always been a means of self-expression. As new materials became available new expressions of art became possible. Paintbrushes and canvases seem to have now given way to computers and computer programs. Contemporary art has seen a melding of technology and artistry.

This is the premise for “Method”, the current exhibit at Bank, a contemporary art gallery in downtown Los Angeles.

The exhibit showcases the work of three contemporary artists, Jason Salavon, Lew Baldwin and Brody Condon.

“[Salavon is] an inter-media artist,” said Lorraine Molina, co-curator and gallery director. “He writes his own programs to create the pieces.”

Salavon’s work, “MTV’s Greatest Music Videos of All Time” consists of 10 pieces. Each piece is a video from MTV which has been manipulated through a program Salavon wrote creating a colorful set of patterns associated with each still frame of the video. He just completed another computer program that randomly generates abstract paintings.

“[He is one of] very few artists working with this media,” Molina said.

Similar to Salavon, Lew Baldwin is another artist that works in the field of computer-aided art. His work, “GoodWorld” was originally commissioned by the Whitney Museum of American Art.
“[Baldwin] takes established media on the Web and makes abstract works,” Molina said.

“GoodWorld” uses an existing commercial Web site, reprocesses the site’s information through the artist’s program, reassigns characters and colors to the existing text, and generates a random abstraction of the original site. Baldwin was said to have also created video pieces for clients such as Nike, Fox and the 1996 Olympic Games.

Having visited the first room where Salavon’s and Baldwin’s pieces were exhibited, one may think that contemporary art has all gone the way of computer programming and manipulating existing media. A few steps into the second room of the gallery will dispel that notion. “Staring Contest,” one of Condon’s works consisting of taxidermy animals staring into a six-foot light box, is quite different from work of the other two artists on display at the gallery.

“[This is] quite a departure for Brody,” Molina said.

Condon is known for his modification and manipulation of existing video games. He and his team of Anne Marie and Joan Leandre have just been selected for the 2004 Whitney Biennial for their piece “Velvet Strike,” a work based off the video game “Counter Strike.” “Staring Contest” is a more personal piece for Condon; it was created out of the feelings surrounding the death of his father.

In the work he stares helplessly at his father, unable to console, similar to the way animals stare helplessly at the light, Molina explained. Bank has been open since January and plans to host about six exhibits a year showcasing various popular artists.

 

EVENTS LISTING

What: “Method”
When: Now until Dec. 5
Where: 400 South Main St., Los Angeles, CA
Information: (213)621-4055