Recently, the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field imaging system unveiled the deepest portrait of the visible universe ever achieved by humankind, that reveals the first light from 13.5 billion years ago. The exposure lasted for eleven and a half days and is the as far back as the human eye has seen to the origins of the universe.
Collapse, Antonucci’s first solo show, addresses these awe-inspiring galactic portraits in a purist vocabulary imbued by the hand of the artist. With the topic of the photographic universe at the forefront of scientific observation and contemporary art making, this body of work seeks to re-contextualize Hubble’s image through an opaque lens, so as to re-negotiate the romantic notions of the viewer and subject matter itself. As an image presenting truth, the Hubble Ultra-Deep still evokes an undeniable mysticism, sense of wonder, and romance. In this investigation, Antonucci pays homage to the beauty held within the visual landscape of the cosmos while extracting a veritas all his own.
Antonucci received his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in May of 2010. During 2009 he completed a residency exploring video and printmaking in Berlin. His self-made book inspired by the Hubble Ulta-Deep Field images, First Light, was published this year by Conveyor Arts. Currently Antonucci is occupying a printmaking residency at the Kala Art Institute in Berkeley and he resides in San Francisco.
~ Press release from Wire and Nail Gallery Site
To learn more about Luca Nino Antonucci and his work, please click on the exhibition image above or click here.
Sonami’s selected artist for the Spread exhibition was artist, Jacqueline Gordon. Yet another amazing artist that does incredible work exploring architecture and how sounds (whether from the outside coming into a designated space or synthesized sound) affects both the space and the listener. Hoping to see her featured on artist site, The Limner, soon. You can view her upcoming graduate show here.
Although a pretty lengthy video, it’s worth the time and energy especially if you are into experimental music and abstract sounds. For the last installment of my reflections on the Spread Exhibition, which is unfortunately over, I’m working through the last pair that includes this incredible vanguard sound artist, Laetitia Sonami!
I’ve heard that anybody can be a photographer these days. I’m sure you’ve heard this as well.
From SLRs to point-and-shoots to our mobile phones, people with mobile devices have the ability to make anyone a photographer. Inevitably, this leads to artists having to re-construct and re-purpose such a medium. Anyone can take a picture but how does an artist show, through photography, elements of how we live, who we interact with, and how we know things through contemporary photography?
The photo above was taken while I was traipsing around my girlfriend’s apartment complex backyard. It’s, literally, an insane collection of discarded toys and plastic artifacts. I took pictures and ended up saving them on my phone thinking that I could, possibly, order a print (yes, from my phone, I still think that’s pretty unbelievable myself) if I was inclined. Either way, it was a way for me to record what couldn’t easily be described with words.
Before opening night of the Spread show, the OFFSpace Curatorial team sent a message to their distribution list encouraging individuals to contribute a photo that would be utilized in the Cell Tango (2010) piece by George Legrady and his selected artist Angus Forbes. The collaborative work involved sending a picture to an e-mail created specifically for the show, excluding text in the body of the e-mail, but adding one word descriptors or “tags” of the image in the subject line. When I submitted the above, my tag was “monster”. During the artist panel discussion, I stood in anticipation for my picture to appear. Eventually I saw my “monster” photo grouped with other photos. Legrady explained to audience that the photos sent by the audience were connected and streamed with Flickr photos with the same tags within the community. In Cell Tango, Legrady and Forbes showed the intersections of language and image and our collective understanding of objects and things and even ideas!
