Junk Drawer. Kelly Lycan (courtesy of Akimbo)
Upon seeing Perpetuities and Accumulations at Gallery 44 this past weekend, I couldn’t help but question the reasoning behind the processes of collecting personal and digital data. With Miscellaneous Images Galore, Daniel Olson uses a computer screen saver program to randomly select photographs, paintings, drawings and text documents. The result is a mish-mash of imagery that could act as a personal portrait of the artist yet, at the same time, the images are so varied and numerous that reasons behind including each image are unclear.
Along with this eccentric collection of imagery, Olson includes a soundtrack “drawn from a previous work [of his]… and consists of recordings of [himself] playing a collection of 246 toy instruments that he accumulated over a fifteen year period” (Matotek 10). Here, one can see that Olson blurs the line between a personal history and ambiguous information. Perhaps it is fair to say that given our culture of widespread mass imagery, it is the enduring information that is given precedence while the personal story gradually recedes into the background.
In a different approach, Kelly Lycan’s installation titled Junk Drawer is made of printed digital photographs mounted on plywood. Images represent items such as a Walmart receipt, a roll of painters tape, a pencil, a cork, and miscellaneous containers. These images are all printed to be roughly the same size and are placed flat on the floor of the gallery. With each item being of similar size to the next, one can observe that there is no item of greatest importance. With this, I feel that the significance of each item is overwhelmed by the whole collection of images. Also, there is more than one level of collecting that occurs. Lycan’s work extends the junk drawer into a space of digital archiving and data, then uses this data to represent the contents of a junk drawer. Although the items themselves offer a shared sense of personal identity, I feel that the personal story behind the collection becomes somewhat irrelevant, while notions of archiving and accumulation are brought to the fore.
Miscellaneous Images Galore. Daniel Olson (courtesy of Akimbo)
To sum up this post, I wish to consider several questions: What does it mean to have these digital archives represent and communicate our cultural memories? Each image in this exhibition has a double life – the first being of the tangible object or space that is recorded and the second being the existence of the data that represents it. Also, why do we collect, preserve or even hoard these snippets of personal data? Am I trying to preserve an imprint of myself in this tangled web of information, or do I use this technology to communicate a different sense of authenticity regarding my experiences and possessions?
These are a few of my thoughts after visiting Perpetuities and Accumulations. Feel free to add your thoughts here, on Xblog.
Bibliography
Matotek, Jennifer. “Perpetuities and Accumulations: Kelly Lycan and Daniel Olson.” <http://www.gallery44.org/navbar/index.html>.
Selena’s Bio
Selena L. Lee is an experimental photographer and digital artist. Currently, she is exploring phenomena that are unique to the virtual realm. Selena is fascinated with making art out of information, exploring the processes and implications of using digital resources, and drawing attention to the numerous functions of the virtual realm that are easily taken for granted. The artist experiments with presenting her work in both plastic and electronic media and often intends for her work to be exhibited in its digital form.
Selena L. Lee is currently in her final year of a BFA at York University in Toronto. In Toronto, she has shown in galleries such as Gallery 1313, De Leon White Gallery, and Lens Factory. Her next steps involve developing her skills and knowledge regarding the virtual realm, and designing data to express stories in her work. And this is Selena’s first blog at XBLOB!