Vol. 15, No. 3 March 2011 - Carolina Arts

Redux Contemporary Art Center inCharleston Offers Works by David BowenRedux Contemporary Art Center inCharleston, SC, is proud to present theexhibit, drift, featuring new works byvisiting artist David Bowen, on view fromMar. 10 through Apr. 16, 2011. A lecturegiven by the artist will be held on Mar. 10at 5:30pm followed by an opening receptionfrom 6-9pm.Bowen is internationally acclaimed forhis kinetic sculptures and has exhibited hiswork extensively. He completed his MFAat the University of Minnesota in 2004and currently lives and works in Duluth,MN. The artist is influenced by the workof Jean Tinguely and Cy Twombly, as wellas more contemporary figures, EdwardoKac and Stelarc.Bowen’s work is concerned withaesthetics that result from interactive,reactive and generative processes as theyrelate to intersections between natural andmechanical systems. He produces devicesand situations that are set in motion tocreate drawings, movements, compositions,sounds and objects based on theirperception of and interaction with thespace and time they occupy. The devicesBowen constructs often play both the rolesof observer and creator, providing limitedand mechanical perspectives of dynamicsituations and living objects. The work isa result of a combination of a particularevent and the residue left after the event.In some ways the devices are attempting,often futilely, to simulate or mimic a naturalform, system or function. When themechanisms fail to replicate the naturalsystem the result is a completely uniqueoutcome. It is these unpredictable occurrencesthat Bowen finds most fascinating.These outcomes are a collaborationbetween the natural form or function, themechanism and the artist. This combinationcan be seen as an elaborate and evenabsurd method of capturing qualified data.Bowen sees the data collected in this manneras aesthetic data.Page 24 - Carolin a Arts, March 2011The installation, Tele-present Wind,consists of a series of 42 x/y tiltingdevices connected to thin dried plantstalks installed in the gallery and a driedplant stalk connected to an accelerometerinstalled outdoors. When the wind blowsit causes the stalk outside to sway. Theaccelerometer detects this movementtransmitting it in real-time to the groupingof devices in the gallery. Therefore thestalks in the gallery space move in realtime,in unison, based on the movement ofthe wind outside.A tilting device from a previous installationby David BowenThe installation, Fly Lights, consistsof a series of 6 devices each with lightsarranged in a ring around plastic sphericalchambers containing various sized swarmsof houseflies. Inside the chambers, alongwith the flies are sensors that correspondto the direction of each of the spotlights.When the sensors detect the subtle movementsof the fly a micro-controller in realtimewill turn on a light in the respectivedirection. Thus the flies’ movements areamplified throwing light throughout thespace based on their movements. The collectiveresult is a chaotic series of lightsbeing projected into the space at variousintervals and directions based on thesubtle movements of the swarms.Bowen is a studio artist and educator.His work has been featured in numerousgroup and solo exhibitions including:Brainwave at Exit Art, New York, NY,The Japan Media Arts Festival at TheNational Art Center, Tokyo, if/then atVox Populi, Philadelphia, PA, Artbots atEyebeam, New York, NY and Data + Artat The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory,Pasadena, CA. His work has been featuredin publications such as: Art in America,Leonardo and Sculpture Magazine. Bowenwas recently awarded Grand Prize in theArt Division in The Japan Media Art Festivaland 3rd, Prize in the Vida 12.0 Artand Artificial Life International Awards.He received his BFA from Herron Schoolof Art in 1999 and his MFA from theUniversity of Minnesota, Minneapolis in2004. He is currently an Associate Professorof Sculpture and Physical Computingat the University of Minnesota, Duluth.Bowen’s exhibition is a part of theReceiver Time Based Media Festival. Theopening on Thursday Mar. 10, 2011, willkick off the festival. Receiver Time BasedMedia Festival will be the first of its kindin downtown Charleston. The festival featuresartists working in time based media.The Festival will soon be announcing theschedule for their programming March10-13, 2011 in downtown Charleston.There will be 20+ artists involvedcoming from all over the country and afew from Canada. Some artists will beattending the festival. Performances, videoscreenings, installations and kinetic sculptureswill be scattered all over the city invenues such as the Children’s Museum ofThe City of North Charleston’s CulturalArts Department in North Charleston,SC, will present several new exhibitsincluding: Landscapes of the Lowcountry,featuring works by Barrie Hinson, onview at the North Charleston City Galleryat the Charleston Area Convention Centerfrom Mar. 1-31, 2011, and Inspirationand Interpretation, featuring fused glassthe Lowcountry, Saul Alexander Galleryin the public library, Robert Lange Studios,Communications Museum and others.The hope is to provide an event thatwill push the boundaries of the art sceneand the community in Charleston.To learn more about Receiver TimeBased Media Festival, please visit (http://receiverfest.com/).Redux Contemporary Art Center is anonprofit organization committed to thefostering of creativity and the cultivationof contemporary art through diverseexhibitions, subsidized studio space forartists, expansive educational programming,and a multidisciplinary approach tothe dialogue between artists and audience.Housed within a 6,000 square footwarehouse are two galleries, fifteen privateartist studios, print shop, darkroom,woodshop, classroom, and film-screeningarea. Redux is committed to showing artworkby national and international artists,supporting local artists, and enriching theCharleston community by offering adultand youth education programs. As theonly arts organization in Charleston providingthese much needed opportunities,Redux maintains an ambitious schedule ofexhibition, outreach, and studio programsto accomplish our goals.For further information check ourSC Institutional Gallery listings, call theCenter at 843/722-0697 or visit (www.reduxstudios.org).City of North Charleston FeaturesWorks by Barrie Hinson & Keller Leeworks by Keller Lee, on view at TheMeeting Place located in the Olde NorthCharleston Business District from Mar.1-31, 2011.Charleston Artist Guild member, BarrieHinson, will exhibit plein air landscapesin oil in her exhibit of recent works, titledLandscapes of the Lowcountry. Hinsoncontinued on Page 23