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13/6/2002

Night Vision

White Columns, New York

curated by Joy Garnett

Night Vision presents artists who are influenced by technologies developed by the military, government intelligence agencies, and NASA for use in research, surveillance and combat. The title of the exhibition is taken from the high-tech optical apparatus used in nocturnal military operations, whose green glow has become familiar to television viewers. Some of the artists in this exhibition co-opt these technological advancements while others examine public perception of them as revealed by film, television and news media in order to explore the various murky implications surrounding their uses.

Participating artists: Jordan Crandall | Christoph Draeger | Joy Garnett | Adam Hurwitz | Bill Jones + Ben Neill | John Klima | Joseph Nechvatal | Jonathan Podwil | Radical Software Group

Jordan Crandall's erotic and noir DVD Drive (Track 3) uses 16mm film, DV, night vision cameras, and other technologies to conflate images taken from various possible perspectives: theater audience members, a pilot on a bombing run, a lover, a victim, an attacker, an agent for Big Brother, and a lascivious Peeping Tom.

Christoph Draeger's DVD Crash shows aviation disaster statistics juxtaposed with crash test footage, newsreel documentation and Hollywood hyperbole. The accompanying soundtrack is a montage of sound effects, movie tracks, disaster footage, and music.

Joy Garnett's night vision paintings are derived from both well-circulated and obscure sources, including CNN's coverage of the Gulf War, pilot camera images, and bomb targets as seen from remote viewing devices.

Adam Hurwitz's highly refined paintings of stealth bombers and night vision dreamscapes use television documentaries, advertisements and the Web as their sources.

Bill Jones and Ben Neill's interactive music video, Life During Wartime, combines original musical composition (Neill's remix of the well-known Talking Heads song) with video and real-time video capture, to produce a constantly morphing multimedia piece. Disguised as an arcade game, John Klima’s The Great Game actually presents a relief map of Afghanistan beginning on October 7, 2001 and each minute advances one day, charting the advance of U.S. military forces on Taliban strongholds. The progression is based on declassified statistics on the US Department of Defense website.

Joseph Nechvatal's Virus Project 2.0 is a projection of an "artificial-life" virus unleashed on his own computer files. An unpredictable, progressive virus, it operates by degrading and transforming an image.

Jonathan Podwil's documentary-like film loops resemble artifacts, but are doctored footage shot in and around the artist's Brooklyn studio using props like hand-painted aerial city plans and plastic toy models. Originally shot in Super8, the film is re-manipulated digitally and transferred to Quick Time, VHS or DVD, with each change of medium altering the look. In addition to the films are diminutive paintings of planes and airports.

Radical Software Group (RSG) is a collective of computer artists from around the world, directed by Alex Galloway. Their first public release, Carnivore, takes data from a specified local area network and sends it via the internet to members of the artist collective who then reinterpret it in visually manipulative ways. Carnivore is inspired by DCS 1000, a piece of software used by the FBI to perform electronic wiretaps (known by the nickname "Carnivore.")

Night Vision first opened at the University Galleries at Illinois State University, and will travel to g-module in Paris in 2003. It is accompanied by a 16 page color exhibition catalogue with essay by Tim Griffin, art editor of Time Out New York. The catalogue is available at White Columns, Dia Bookstore, Printed Matter, The New Museum Bookstore, St. Mark's Books and Amazon.com.

Opening Reception: Friday June 14, 7 - 9 p.m.

Thursday June 27th, 2002, 7-10pm
BEN NEILL + BILL JONE LIVE PERFORMANCE
Ben Neill and his mutantrumpet will play music from his forthcoming album "Automotive" along with realtime video performance by collaborator Bill Jones.

Wednesday July 17th, 2002 7-9pm
ARTIST PANEL + OPEN DISCUSSION
Night Vision artists and writer Tim Griffin will present their work and ideas touched upon in the exhibition.

About the curator: Joy Garnett is an artist and co-founder of First Pulse Projects, Inc., an art/science publishing collaborative: http://firstpulseprojects.net

Image: Jordan Crandall installation views

White Columns Summer Hours: Wednesday - Saturday, 12 - 6 p.m.

White Columns 320 West 13th Street NYC NY 10014

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