:-) show

:-) :-) :-) is an exhibition proposal seeking submissions for the Gelman Gallery Fall 2010 season

How has the emergence of a virtual community affected the way we perceive information? Can a work that exists virtually exist similarly in real space? In what ways do our experience with the screen translate and inform our understanding of traditional fine art mediums? The age of technology has presented us with a series of questions regarding our experience perceiving and digesting information. The rise of new media art, specifically art created to be viewed through the internet, has created alternatives to the tradition of the viewing space. How can the artist exploit or detract from an image's responsibility to the viewer? Is a website or computer screen an equal vantage point to the gallery setting? Does a transformation of media contribute to a work's meaning? How do aspects of physicality, "objectness", virtuality and relationship affect the viewer and the way an artwork is perceived. This show charts the advantages and disadvantages of new media (net art, video art, digital media, installation art, performance art, etc.) and the potential of it's presentation. This is a call for new media artists to make work specifically to be viewed in a gallery setting, challenging the conventions set up by the dichotomy of the virtual world (the world wide web) and the traditional white cube gallery space. All forms of work will be considered for inclusion in the exhibition with an emphasis on work that discusses the issue of presentation both formally and/or conceptually.

*Submissions must include name, department, year of graduation, BFA or MFA, and images. All submissions due by May 4th, 2010. Please submit your images and information by email to either rcohen@g.risd.edu or rwalling@g.risd.edu