We are pleased to announce the release of ASPECT Volume 15: Influence & Reference. For the purposes of publishing in ASPECT, the definition of New Media is anything better documented with a video camera than a still camera. However, the broader definition of New Media is still vigorously debated. At ASPECT we believe that there are two definitive qualities of this genre of art: that the materials are in a constant state of flux and evolution, and that artists practicing within this field tend to find their inspiration outside the art world.
In V. 15: Influence and Reference, we highlight artists who build upon the history of art and expand the definition of New Media, as well as those artists who pay particular attention to media and material that is not part of the artistic canon.
Tad Beck’s works, Roll and Stroke, find inspiration in Thomas Eakins and Jackass—opening an historically conscious examination of the aestheticization of the male nude and the artist/model relation via the intermediating camera. Christin Bolewski’s meditative work, Mountain-water-painting functions as a ‘video scroll’ presenting a poem of the Chinese poet Han Shan as a reflection on the Western mountaineers fight against nature, ascending and descending the highest peaks and counterpointing the Chinese attempt of spiritual harmony.
No Horse in Particular is a web-based work by Robert Fraher which explores the relationship between representation and meaning within the context of digital manipulation. Cyprien Gaillard's videos, Pruitt-Igoe Falls and Real Remnants of Fictive Wars VI, stem from a romantic fascination with building projects, moving into an urgent examination of forsaken places, their destruction and reconstruction. Logan Hill re-contextualizes official documents such as the social security card, driver’s license and birth certificate in his video work New Identity System, addressing the anxiety of identity theft by openly providing the personal information we are told to keep secret. Instant Spaces, an installation by Katharina Kohl, uses new media tools to offer multiple layers of continuously changing perspective Diego Velázquez’ painting, Las Meninas.
In 1979 in Sherrie Levine rephotographed Walker Evans' iconic Depression era photographs from the exhibition catalog "First and Last." In 2001 Michael Mandiberg scanned these same photographs, and created AfterSherrieLevine.com to facilitate their dissemination as a comment on how we come to know information in this burgeoning digital age. Andrew Neumann fuses the original Hitchcock film, Psycho, and the Gus Van Sant remake in his video DoublePsycho. Using a similar technique, Neumann’s Split:Riddle focuses on the 1946 film, The Killers, highlighting both the internal time of filmic plot, and the external time that cuts, splits, and divides dramatic action from individual perception. Vanishing Point, a site-specific sound installation by Ed Osborn, makes visual and conceptual reference to a Robert Irwin piece held in the Berkeley Museum's permanent collection. The works are accompanied by optional audio commentary by: Michael Behn, Founder of Galerie / Edition Stella A; Adrienne Gagnon, Curator, Critic, and current Director of Education for CityArts in Providence, RI; Stephen McCarthy, Professor of Graphic and Interactive Design, University of Minnesota; Francisco Ricardo, Ph.D., New Media Art Historian, Theorist, and Professor at Rhode Island School of Design; George C. Roland, Cultural Theorist; Marita Sturken, Professor in Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University; Alise Upitis, Visiting Scholar, Center for Advanced Visual Studies, MIT; Grant Wahlquist, Independent Curator, Critic and Theorist; Paul Wells, Director of the Animation Academy, Loughbourough University;
Review copies of ASPECT are available upon request. Please contact Liz Nofziger at lnofziger@aspectmag.com.
Company Information —The mission of ASPECT is to foster a deeper and more intimate understanding of contemporary new media art by expanding access, education, and distribution of the genre. ASPECT pioneered DVD distribution of artworks and continues to set the standard for new media art publishing and distribution. ASPECT Magazine is a biannual DVD magazine of new media art. Each issue highlights 5-10 artists working in new media whose works are best documented in video or sound, including in-depth information on the artists and commentary by distinguished curators and critics. Individual issues and subscriptions are available directly from the ASPECT website.
