VISUAL ARTS

"Physical Digital" at the Nave Gallery in Somerville

Rachel Gargiulo, Ted Ollier, John Pyper, Liz Shepherd

Four artists interpreting ways of turning virtual information into physical structures. Exhibit dates: 11 Jul - 9 Aug 2009 Opening Reception 11 Jul • 6-9 pm Free and open to the public.

Physical Digital features sculptures and works on paper by Rachel Gargiulo, Ted Ollier, John Pyper, and Liz Shepherd, each of whom explores unique aspects of the structure and configurations inherent in living digitally. Today we find ourselves surrounded by data, meta-data, information, references, keys, passwords, hyperlinks, applets, status bars, transactions, and other digital ephemera. While these tools can provide a bona fide relief this data is often an annoying companion that we are forced to live with daily. A digital fog, sometimes navigable, sometimes tiresomely perplexing has descended on our lives. Gargiulo's "Chronicle I: The Pretenders" details her side of a collaborative project where she produced a simulated love affair on the internet. The online correspondence prior to their initial face to face meeting is documented here. The consequences of this emotional simulation are not yet evident. Ollier scrutinizes the information for which we have developed blind-spots -- the barcode, the scaleless map, the depiction of compression, the languages that run our computers, and unintentional digital artifacts. His meticulously accurate depictions create abstract forms that force us to reconsider what we thought we already knew. Pyper explores the fiction, appearance, and ephemera found in the backgrounds of home video game console games. His objects and prints allow us to approach objects sought after and navigated through for countless hours in a new and material way. Shepherd has developed a visual vocabulary by digitally drawing with discarded everyday illustrations. Her hushed totems of travelers made from architectural drawings and her depictions of hopeless characters acting out dangerous activities derives from digital manipulations and contextualized images.