The Next Word
Johanna Drucker, Curator
Neuberger Museum of Art
September 20, 1998 - January 31, 1999
Purchase College, State University of New York (SUNY)
Purchase, NY
from the catalog essay, "The Next Word," by Johanna Drucker
It would be a mistake to pit the materiality of certain modes of art-making against the properties of electronic imaging as if there were an already determined outcome in which the "good" objects of traditional media compete with those of emerging technologies. There are properties to each which have the capacity to serve an artist's expressive vision or communicative goal--and knowing how to use software programs is as essential to successful art-making as is a thorough knowledge of any traditional medium.
TIME © 1996 Clay Debevoise
[TIME, ALL, THIS, ANCIENT, RHYTHM, CANT, THINKING, MESS, AGE, HEAR, A, WANT, MISS, AGE
AGO, TO, GO, AY, L, D, ALLY, MASS, ALLAY, YA, AFTER]
Clay Debevoise's TIME (1996), spirit-x (1997), and idea-x (1997) are digitally produced palimpsets, layered images of texts bleeding through one another in a complex record of written activity. But unlike a material palimpset, Debevoise's works cannot be deciphered as a record of their production. There is no way we can backtrack through their glowing lines to establish a priority--there is no "original" text in this interwoven image, even if there is a suggestion of it in the visual appearance of layered images. The vibrant aesthetic of these works is not unique to digital imaging, but it is fully realized through its technology.
idea-x © 1997 Clay Debevoise
[idea, WHERE, ANY, finishing, from, you, had idea, at night, start, to, I, want, to, explore]
Debevoise's work pulls together many strains of thought in contemporary art which are also evident in the work of the other artists and designers in this exhibition. In the late 20th century artists in all areas work with an awareness of the legacy of conceptual art's attraction to language and idea, with pop art and postmodernism's interest in appropriating language and image from the realm of popular and consumer culture, and with the ongoing engagement of artists with a commitment to the traditions of innovative expression.
spirit-x © 1997 Clay Debevoise
[spirit, For, m, growth, NO, ON, WEB, WEAVE, INFO, Life, NATURE, MANUFACTURE, Death, control, FARM]