LoVid: Roots No Shoots / Smack Mellon, New York

LoVid’s audiovisual installation Roots No Shoots at Smack Mellon in New York is a new work that is based on video recordings from the artists’ 2011 residency at the Experimental TV Center. The installation consists of an array of TV sets, displays and other electronic devices that create an intense audiovisual experience.

LoVid is a New York-based artist duo composed of Tali Hinkis and Kyle Lapidus. Their work includes live video installations, sculptures, digital prints, patchworks, media projects, performances, and video recordings. Their work often brings together opposing elements, such as hard electronics with soft patchworks.

The audiovisual compositions in Roots No Shoots have been created with LoVid’s audio/video synthesizer instruments. The patterns and colors are created with archaic analog technology without the use of cameras or digital tools. The images are displayed on devices of different technological eras: from cathode ray tubes, to plasma screens and projections.

LoVid: Roots No Shoots. Solo exhibition at Smack Mellon, New York. Artists’ Reception, November 23, 2013.

PS: Watch also Andrea Loefke’s solo exhibition Homecoming at Smack Mellon that runs concurrently with LoVid’s show.

> Right-click (Mac: ctrl-click) this link to download Quicktime video file.

From the press release:

“Roots No Shoots” is a media-bricolage installation with visceral compositions of video, audio, and discarded electronic devices. In this new work we continue our ongoing exploration of raw electrical signals as a material for artistic production as well as a symbol for biological, social, and environmental signals. The installation premiers a swarm of video recordings from our 2011 residency at the Experimental TV Center. We were the last residents of ETC’s program, marking the end of a 40-year era that began with a generation of artists/engineers exploring image processing and video production.

Our own video practice begins with the production of our audio/video synthesizer instruments. With these, we record abstract, colorful, and noisy audiovisuals. The patterns and colors are created with archaic analog technology without the use of cameras or digital tools. This process-based practice is a reflection on craft in the mediated era as well as notions of progress and ownership.

The audiovisual compositions in “Roots No Shoots” are displayed on multiple video monitors of different sizes, and from different technological eras; from cathode ray tubes to plasma screens and projections. The shimmering installation of rescued endangered media surfaces takes an experimental approach to our cultural fascination with moving images. The installation celebrates occurrences when technological chaos takes place with glitches, hacks, and crashes. When we lose control of our devices, we are reminded of our own fragility.”

LoVid’s collaboration began with audiovisual performances and has expanded to include a wide range of media, from prints to App-Art. They have performed at the Museum of the Moving Image (NY), Graham Foundation (Chicago), Eyebeam (NY), MoMA (NY), FACT (UK), PS1 (NY) and The Kitchen (NY), among many others. LoVid’s videos have been screened in galleries, festivals, and events worldwide including Modern Art Oxford (UK), Art in General (NY), Siskel Theater (Chicago), International Film Festival Rotterdam (Netherlands), and NY Underground Film Festival (NY). Their installations and objects have been included in solo and group exhibitions worldwide including The Neuberger Museum (NY), Netherlands Media Art Institute (Netherlands), Science Museum Jerusalem (Israel), CAM Raleigh (NC), Real Art Ways (CT), Science Gallery (Ireland), The Jewish Museum (NY), and New Museum (NY). In addition, LoVid creates large-scale interdisciplinary projects that combine new technology with social interventions and public spaces. These have been supported by and produced in collaboration with Rhizome, Franklin Furnace, Elastic City, free103point9, The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, Experimental TV Center, and LMCC. They have received additional awards from NYSCA, NYFA, Foundation for Contemporary Art, and Greenwall Foundation. LoVid has participated in residencies with STEIM (Netherlands), Harvestworks, Eyebeam, Smack Mellon, and Cue Art Foundation.

Photo set on Flickr:
LoVid: Roots No Shoots at Smack Mellon

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