Caressing the Circle" by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, currently on view at bitforms gallery, delves into the intimate relationship between human presence and technological systems, highlighting how our movements, identities, and perceptions are mirrored, distorted, or manipulated through digital interfaces. By using technologies like computer sensors, AI, infrared detection, and pixel-addressable glass, Lozano-Hemmer creates immersive experiences that invite viewers to actively engage with the works.
Upon entering the gallery, Shadow Tuner (2023)—a captivating digital sphere displaying a globe—instantly drew my attention due to its interactivity. Cameras along its base record viewers' movements in real time, projecting them onto its surface. This process makes participants a part of the work, allowing it to change in response to different viewers movements.
Further works engage viewer bodies and perceptions. For example, Polar (2018) distorts viewers into a central point on a circular screen. Initially, seeing yourself like that prompts laughter. However, as the interaction unfolds, it evokes a sense of coldness and disconnection, creating an unnatural blur between digital and physical landscapes The exhibition also features works that require viewers to move around them in unconventional ways, such as Cardinal Directions (2010), where you must actively follow a rotating screen to read a poem as it unfolds.
Ultimately, Caressing the Circle fosters a profound dialogue between viewers and the works, emphasizing the role of physical presence in changing digital landscapes.
Adam Salem (Group B) (Revised & edited)
You certainly effectively described the space and the manner in which one moves around it. Perhaps spending a little more time on the effect and affect (beyond just the immediate) could benefit and deepen a larger understanding of the exhibition. Writing on longer-term impact, placement in history, and the artist's specific intentions (regardless of the results / experience for us) would expand our knowledge of the works. However, that would assume that art criticism's goal is to educate (which I do not believe is necessarily true). Your writing is concise, descriptive, and successfully filters out unnecessary details.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate how you talked about perception and interaction, as I also felt they are critical components of the work. This review highlights the interactive nature of the works, and the focus on viewer engagement and technological elements is strong. However, it could benefit from a deeper explanation of the emotional or thematic impact behind these interactions, for example, the coldness and disconnection felt in Polar. You could also discuss the viewer’s experience through the space, as I thought this gallery was interesting in terms of how they set up the human circulation in the gallery. But overall, I think you effectively convey the exhibition’s aspects and essential elements.
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