Media art artists speaking with uncertainty and simulacre

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Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be.

Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art lacks one element.
It is an existence in time and space, a unique existence (Aura) in the place where it exists.

German writer, literary critic, Walter Benjamin, “Illuminations”

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Image Excess and Simulacre

Modern society can be expressed with the keyword of image overload. Numerous images and symbols poured out by various media have become a style of existence that penetrates the era, Reality disappears into the fog of images and signscaused the concern of the philosopher Jean Baudrillard.

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The most famous concept he explained was simulacream. It refers to a substitute that does not actually exist but is perceived as existing, sometimes more real than it exists.

To put it simply, the world in the movie is as if it actually exists Seen, but according to the script a virtual worldam. But sometimes it affects real people. Because sometimes it feels more real than reality.

This substitute itself replaces reality, and reality becomes more real than reality because it is dominated by these images. Simulacre is also applied to art because everything that exists in reality and reproduction is applied to it.

an uncertain future

<Black Swan: An Unexpected Future>focuses on the serious impacts caused by unpredictable events such as pandemics and the human attributes that try to explain these events. It also focuses on the possibility that all the values we protect and trust in today will be subverted by the emergence of situations believed to be impossible or non-existent.

The exhibition was hosted by the Open Media Art Festival Organizing Committee and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, and Arts Council Korea. Today, through three works by three groups of artists, simularkand unpredictable, uncertaintyI would like to talk about

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Byungjun Kwon

Byungjun Kwon began his music career as a singer-songwriter in the early 1990s and has released six albums ranging from alternative rock to minimal house. Since the 2000s, he has shown his musical talent in various cultural fields such as movie soundtracks, fashion shows, dance, plays, and Korean traditional music.

He has been living in the Netherlands since 2005 and worked as a hardware engineer at STEIM, an experimental electronic musical instrument research and development institute. In addition, by developing and utilizing new musical instruments and stage equipment to create dramatic 'scenes', we are planning and directing new media performances that encompass music, theater, and art.

Landscape and Landscape, Windbell and Landscape (2020)

It is a sound experiment using a wind-bell that is delivered with a long reverberation. The 16 landscapes made of aluminum pipes are electrically moved and remotely controlled according to the location of the audience in the space, forming harmony and creating soundscapes in the space.

The motive was taken from the beat of the Korean traditional bell played in the multi-channel sound installation of the same name presented at the opening exhibition of the Asia Culture Center in Gwangju in 2014, and the 16 scenes are composed of the scale of the Korean traditional instrument Pyeongyeong.

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also the subject of the work beatingA phenomenon in which sounds of similar frequencies meet each other and merge into one sound, and the amplitude periodically increases and decreases.. The amplitude of these oscillations is unpredictable to humans and thus creates unpredictable sounds.

However, since the sound of the landscape is the sound itself using vibration, it is difficult to distinguish between the real sound that vibrates in the real world and the reproduced sound that has been recorded and reproduced in advance.

In the video above, the artist says that the sound of the landscape using beats is based on the sounds of Buddhist meditation that can be felt from bells, oriental sounds, and sounds that soothe the soul.

So, from the species A phenomenon in which sound (replica) of scenery surpasses species (reality), The phenomenon that the reproduction becomes the original, not the reproduction, and the difference between the reproduction and the original disappears can be interpreted as the hyperreality of simularch.

Daniel Iregui

Daniel Iregui is a Quebec writer from Colombia who lives and works in Montreal. The artist has created interactive digital installations with the goal of engaging the viewer in an ever-evolving work of art.

The digital system is infinite and changes as the viewer moves or manipulates it. random combinationis used as the subject of art. His interactive works put viewers in the position of technological tools. questioning It provides a visual and acoustic experience.

Antibodies ANTIBODIES (2020)

Forced by the impact of the pandemic Untact societyreflects how separated humans are at present and the sense of distance through the work. It can be said that it is a work that raises questions about the fragility of our existence in front of huge platforms that force us to give up the intimacy of realistic interaction.

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In front of the antibody, the audience is not aware of this phenomenon by themselves, imitating the platform and not being given a choice take part in the work We are fully exposed as the interaction technology within the piece listens to conversations, tracks movements and studies behavior, conveying the dangers online can have by clearly visualizing them with overlay graphics that follow every movement of the face.

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If we assume this as a simulacre, we can think of it as a work in which we come to realize the originality of ourselves while facing the replicated audience on non-existent media. This is because what uniquely exists in time and space is not the replicated data within the work, but the existence of the individual. author's work betweencrackYou can also experience the interaction related to the work.

Studio 8 (Studio 8)

Studio 8 is a Jordanian non-profit company operating in the dance and performing arts sector. the joy of dancingis creating a space where diverse voices can be heard.

Through supporting, producing and presenting works for emerging local artists, along with a network of international and regional partners, Studio 8 serves as a platform for innovation, experimentation and continuous development of dance culture, especially in Jordan.

The Unwritten New Normal (2020)

As a performance born out of pandemic quarantine, two artists who are 3,000 miles apart challenged themselves to produce a performance with creativity that could connect people. It was co-produced by Jordanian choreographer and performer Anas Nahlé and German visual artist and sociology researcher Stephanie Müller, and lasted for a month through email, WhatsApp, and Facebook groups. interacting online made

This performance is a universal target used in politics, art, culture, education, healthcare, economy, and border control. Paperexplore the subject of Paper discards its form and transforms into a blank projection screen that opens up a beautiful future and unwritten poetry. In this way, very special performances were born, including music, sound art, dance, textile art, installation art, and projection art.

Amidst all the uncertainty, what Anas Nahlé needed Pauseam. It is a moment to disconnect, to think, to wonder about normality, to imagine a return to normalcy, to explore what the new normal might look like.

At the same time, Stephanie Müller questions the notion of normality. privilege to define normalwho has this? Along with that, he expresses his thoughts to challenge the boundaries of normality through his actions.

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This can be likened to an activity in search of the reality each possesses. Their opinions of normalcy are different, and they can change, just like the circumstances of an uncertain pandemic. To them, the reality of normality itself does not exist, but it is perceived as if it exists, sometimes more real than it exists. So, stationarity can be interpreted as a simulacrum.

concluding remarks

So, for Baudrillard, the ability to grasp the message media literacy(media literacy) was emphasized as the most important thing. The process of finding the real in the flood of unpredictable, virtual images will be essential in our society today. This is similar to the process of media art conveying a message to the audience through images.

Each person's thoughts and opinions on the interpretation and philosophy of art will be different, but personally, I think the originality of the process itself in which the audience searches for the message will be the individual's aura. So we can become a work of art, and media art will always speak up.