LuYang Delusional Mandala (2015)
“How Can We Think of Art at a Time Like This?” is an ongoing online exhibition which was conceived during the Coronavirus pandemic. Its intention is to challenge its titular question: how can we think of art at a time like this? 2020 has housed a number of historical events aside from the pandemic, such as the BLM movement, a presidential race, and more. The more than 70 artists involved in this project are contemporary thinkers and futuristic challengers whose work resonates with the feeling of “what now?” - a feeling 2020 has instilled in many.
Lu Yang is one artist whose piece responds to the pandemic. They discuss their struggle with mortality, and how the virus has amplified their fear of death and dying through a series of digital renderings, all which depict their take on the future of Artificial Intelligence. With robots, cyborgs, and so on, this series is intended to reject mortality; Artificial Intelligence can never die, it is immortal and immune to all disease and despair i.e the repercussions of the coronavirus.
By allowing serious conversation about the reality of today's world for both its artists and its viewers, “How Can We Think of Art at a Time Like This?” is a place of refuge for those overwhelmed by current events - its vast body of work takes a nosedive into the most important questions of our time and leaves one with a different perspective from which they came.
Under the epidemic, our living space has to be continuously compressed, and the time we spend with artificial intelligence objects far exceeds that between people. In this case, how should people, nature, and objects coexist? Humans need to regard nature as a living body, and at the same time humans are constantly making intelligent objects. When the living space becomes smaller and smaller, if we no longer think about how to coexist, will it accelerate the pace of human destruction?
ReplyDeleteLovinia, I think I'd like to see a shift in focus in this review. I think you do a good job describing the purpose of the exhibition as a whole and the main themes of Yu Lang's work. However, I would like to see more focus on Yu Lang's work rather than the exhibition as a whole. Rather than just describing the main themes, what do those themes make you feel? Do you agree with her stances? Also, on a technical note, I think your post would be stronger without vague endings to lists: delete "and so on," and "and more," from your critique. If there are more things you want to mention about the exhibition, include them specifically in your list. If not, just end the sentence without tacking on a vague modifier. I enjoyed looking at Yu Lang's work as well, but its artificial nature gave me an odd feeling of skepticism. As in, seeing how manufactured her work was, I started thinking about what was important in artwork, and how campy fine art can get before it leans into another category of art.
ReplyDeleteArt exhibition during pandemic faces more difficulty than ever. Your commentary addresses the historical background clearly and informatively. It raises questions in the context of 2020 and prompts discourse of the exhibition medium. I would appreciate if you spend more words addressing the website medium for an exhibition like this. Is this a sustainable alternative to the traditional format? A medium that should continue to exist after recovery?
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