sonic planar analysis 02 : the audible still-life : catalog : curator's statement

The visual portions of the pieces in this exhibition are revealing in their display of the current attitude toward still-life art. With digital image capture devices now ubiquitous, it comes as no surprise that the majority of artists have opted to document their still-lifes with digital photography or video. This lack of hand-labored visual craft only reinforces the notion that the quaint yet noble artist toiling away drawing or painting in a private studio using a group of specially arranged objects as subject matter has only become a thing of the past. However, Boyle's intricate pencil drawing of his "White Noise Generator" provocatively forces us to reconsider the death of the still-life rendering, while my own digitally-manipulated drawing toes the line between the embrace and abandonment of the two-dimensional interpretation of three-dimensional objects in space. At least from the present evidence, it appears we can not yet utterly eulogize the still-life drawing entirely.



		The visual portions of the pieces in this exhibition are revealing in their display of the current attitude toward still-life art. With digital image capture devices now ubiquitous, it comes as no surprise that the majority of artists have opted to document their still-lifes with digital photography or video. This lack of hand-labored visual craft only reinforces the notion that the quaint yet noble artist toiling away drawing or painting in a private studio using a group of specially arranged objects as subject matter has only become a thing of the past. However, Boyle's intricate pencil drawing of his "White Noise Generator" provocatively forces us to reconsider the death of the still-life rendering, while my own digitally-manipulated drawing toes the line between the embrace and abandonment of the two-dimensional interpretation of three-dimensional objects in space. At least from the present evidence, it appears we can not yet utterly eulogize the still-life drawing entirely.		While this exhibition does not seek to act as a "final word" on the current status of the still-life in contemporary art, it does however serve as a foundation for the re-examination of still-life's import. What is a still-life? It appears to be a great deal more than fruit, a bowl, a candlestick and some glass vessels on a table. Can a still-life move? If captured as a frozen moment of time, definitely. Can it talk? Indeed. Is a still-life only composed of tangible objects? Almost certainly not. Why should 21st century artists create art derived from still-life? Perhaps that question needs only be answered by experiencing the vibrant, provocative pieces included in this exhibition and on its accompanying compilation CD. John Kannenberg Stasis_Space curator + designer Chicago, August 2003
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		[ all music + visuals ©2003 their respective artist. all rights reserved. ]