Photosynthetics

Project Leader:

Jeanette Angel

Faculty:

Aleksandra Dulic

Collaborator:

David Kadish

Two delicate yet oversized linen leaves hang in a dark corner of the gallery. A single bright light comes on and initiates a subtle movement in the leaves that resembles the rise and fall of a creature breathing. The light goes out and the leaves very gradually return to stillness. The leaves are beautifully crafted examples of high-low technology, merging sewing skills with metal coils and Arduino controllers. It is a work that is alive yet not living in the conventional sense, interactive and at the same time quietly understated.

This is the beginnings of shy art, media works that require patience and attentiveness. These are sensitive interactions where gallery attendees bear witness to leaves that almost imperceptibly curl and unfold, images that may choose to appear or sounds that shift in quality so faintly that to breathe might mean missing the change in tone. In an age of overstimulation these works ask for a slow engagement, a quiet listening and a careful touch.