Continuous Current Exhibition

“Continuous Current”

October 25 – November 26, 2008
Reception: Wednesday, October 29, 5 – 7pm
Westside Gallery

School of Visual Arts (SVA) presents “Continuous Current,” an exhibition of sculpture, prints, digital video, computer animation and interactive video installations by students, alumni and faculty in the MFA Computer Art Department. Curated by Diane Field, the exhibition will be on view October 25 – November 26 at the Westside Gallery, 133/141 West 21 Street, New York City.

Participating students include Eric Berthoud, Claudia Cardoso-Fleck, Jose Ramon Vincente del Prado, Asa Gauen, Jelani Gould-Bailey, Dustin Grella, Adel Kerpely, Sung Kyu Koo, Peihsi Kuo, Luis Navarro, Rita Sá and Taili Wu. Their works represent a variety of artistic strategies, including abstraction and narrative.

The exhibiting alumni are JiHyun Ahn, Kwibum Chung, Anton Cabaleiro Fontenla, Chrissy Conant, Alejandro Dron, Ricardo Gonzalez, Kai-Min Hsiung, Daniel McKernan, Quimetta Perle, Eli Toyster, Chang-Pei Wu and Shu Han Yang. Among their diverse contributions, Daniel McKernan’s “Magic H8 Ball” is a darkly comedic reinterpretation of the classic fortune-telling children’s toy through an interactive video installation featuring nightlife celebrity Sophia Lamar. After asking a yes-or-no question, the viewer presses a button and Sophia’s floating head appears and reads the fortune in her infamously hateful and insulting manner.

The works of faculty members Kathy Brew, Andy Deck, Russet Lederman, Joseph Nechvatal, Kurt Ralske, Alexander Reyna and Bruce Wands offer suggest the depth of creativity in the MFA Computer Art Department. For example, in her video “Mixed Messages,” Kathy Brew constructs a dream narrative that examines gender stereotyping in popular culture. Russet Lederman explores female body politics in her online documentary “Barely Skin Deep,” which presents a fragmented, pluralistic perspective on personal and social issues that influence a woman’s conception of beauty and self.

The Westside Gallery, located at 133/141 West 21st Street between 6th and 7th Avenues, is open Monday through Friday, 9am to 7pm, and Saturday, 10am to 6pm; closed on Sundays and public holidays. The gallery is accessible by wheelchair. For more information, please call 212.592.2145.

School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York City is an established leader and innovator in the education of artists. From its inception in 1947, the faculty has been comprised of professionals working in the arts and art-related fields. SVA provides an environment that nurtures creativity, inventiveness and experimentation, enabling students to develop a strong sense of identity and a clear direction of purpose.