© Joel Hagen
For a computer artist, getting work into gallery shows can be quite a challenge.
This column will explore some ideas more along lines of sculpture than
print that might help you break into exhibition. For the moment, let's
ignore the content of your computer work and focus on physical display
aspects you can control as an artist to create an effective gallery exhibition
The first and simplest thing you can do to dress up
a gallery display is to feature the computer itself as an art object. Place
it on a clean, painted pedestal as though it were sculpture. You can even
conceal the computer in a pedestal, then showcase the active monitor on
top. Cables can feed through a hole to the computer. One or more pedestaled
monitors arranged like this in a gallery setting can have a powerful effect
on the senses if the lighting is well handled. I have found it best to
have very low ambient light in the area and use tight soft spots aimed
from the ceiling to fall on the top rear of each stand. This avoids any
light striking the monitor face and preserves a brilliant screen while
giving presence and focus to each display. The trick is to think at three
levels. First, plan the artistic content of what the computer is showing
the audience. Second, and just as important, think of an effective display
of the computer itself as an object of interest just as though you were
arranging a group of "ready-mades" for exhibition. Instead of
soap boxes or basketballs, you are displaying monitors. Third, think of
the entire gallery space, the layout of the room, how you want traffic
to flow through the exhibit, the lighting, the music, all the details.
It is the composition of the room itself that will hit the viewer first
and set the initial impression.
Beyond these gallery fundamentals, There is a lot you can do with the monitor
itself. The Amiga has always been video friendly and with a little imagination
you can capitalize on that for sculptural displays. Instead of a standard
monitor, think about running the display through a television set. The
trend in displaying computer graphics is to always seek bigger, brighter
higher resolution true color displays. Think instead of trying a choppier
low resolution display for some projects. Vintage black and white TV sets
picked up at thrift stores or yard sales for a few dollars can be a real
novelty in a genre where the audience expects the latest technology. Of
course, not every project lends itself to low tech display, but consider
it an option. Most Amigas have at least a black and white AV plug in the
back from which you can play a video signal into any TV with AV inputs.
For older TV sets (or newer Amigas with no video output) try the trusty
A-520 video adapter to feed video and audio straight into any TV through
the antenna input. Using the A-520, you can add an inexpensive video splitter
to run multiple sets from the same video source. This opens up the possibility
of arranging a cluster of interesting old TV sets facing different directions
for display. That arrangement can become quite sculptural.
For an even more interesting look, try building a display device. The illustration
above shows a viewer I made for a recent exhibition. You don't have to
be Mr. Wizard to build such a contraption. Most of what you see is non-functional.
I bought a small $50 TV set at the local drugstore and encased it in old
electronic junk from my scrap bins. On the 4 inch screen, 16 color greyscale
images are crisp and sharp. Because of this, there is low storage overhead
for pictures and animations. Impressive presentations can be run from even
a single floppy. To build something like this, use a hot-glue gun (available
at any hardware store) and encrust any little TV set with old radio parts,
circuit boards, model kits, wires and so on. I protected part of the TV
screen with masking tape and spray painted the set to blend it in with
the rusty radio tubes. If you have any skill with electronics, it is easy
to add a few LEDs here and there which run from the same power source as
the TV. These spots of light make the fake components seem functional.
Be very cautious about exploring any old electrical devices as there can
be dangerous voltage lurking in some components even if no power is present
The viewer you see in the illustration was part of an assemblage sculpture
which included old books, my ceramic skulls of alien creatures, dusty chemical
bottles, star charts and so forth. This concept of making the computer
part of a larger sculptural context can be visually powerful and may open
gallery doors more easily than a simple display of a few computers and
monitors. If you use your imagination there are hundreds of ways you can
disguise a TV set or computer monitor to look like something far more interesting.
Video projectors offer other possibilities. You can rig them for rear projection
to get a huge display which can itself be integrated into a larger context.
You can use combinations of mirrors to "pipe" a projected video
image through a sculpture for an added illusion of depth at the final point
of view. For example, project the display sideways behind the length of
a display, then reflect it up and out to a rear projection surface for
the audience. You can also project images onto a three dimensional surface
or even a moving object for interesting effects.
Speaking of mirrors and reflections, you can create interesting displays
by having a monitor facing up from floor level, hidden from the viewer.
Its image can be reflected to the viewer from an angled piece of glass
incorporated into the display. The advantage of glass over a mirror is
that a person can also see other display elements which lie directly behind
the angled glass. Careful lighting and placement of the two displays can
create some intriguing illusions in which reflected elements seem to float
in space over the second display. One of the monitors can even display
live video feed from a camera trained on the spot where a person must stand
to view the exhibit. This can add immediacy to a sculpture and remove some
of the distance we often associate with computer art. The possibilities
for interesting displays are endless once you break away from thinking
only about what is seen on the monitor and think instead about the overall
physical exhibition.
end