From January 26-29, 2017, the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica hosted Art Los Angeles Contemporary, an art fair dedicated to exhibiting work from dozens of contemporary art galleries. I attended on Saturday, January 28th, and again brought my 360 capture camera to document the space and work, and observe how people responded to the technology.
I was somewhat surprised to find just a handful of work shown that required any sort of technology or electricity, and very little digital or video installation work. This could be due to the fact that “fine art” is still a category that has not yet opened itself up to this kind of art production or that the field is unsure of how to do so, both on the side of artists working with new media and on the side of the gallery owners figuring out how to find, display, and sell this type of work. In some cases, technology was used in very cheeky ways. One booth contained sculptures that had light bulbs for eyes, completing the happy faces on a pizza and a set of tires. In another booth, a rock like sculpture blew air out of crack and you could feel the breeze if you came close enough to the work (unfortunately, not documented). Another artist had a large mobile installation that ran on batteries. The energy sources were integrated into the sculptures as the body section of the bees. However, none of these would really be considered “digital” artwork. The most common examples I found of that genre were video panels that played short film clips or displayed digital artwork. Find 360 images of some of the art works I just discussed here.
Gallery spaces are different than museums, and people react differently to the space as well as to contemporary art. People dipped into the gallery booths, but this method of display often evokes more a shopping mall method movement and engagement with the work. People would duck in and out of booths, milling around and stopping only briefly to engage with objects. In this setting, technology seemed to work more as a gimmick to get people to spend time with the work and even then, sometimes it backfired.
However, there was one station that did reflect a new way of marketing and distributing art that relied on digital media. Yautepec, exhibited in Booth E3, is a gallery based in Mexico City and was founded by Brett Schultz and Daniela Elbahara. Using touch screens, users could navigate a database of artists and digital files of their work. Artist were grouped under price ranges and people can buy a package of high resolution files to be displayed on touch screen monitors that would be displayed in your own home. You can change the art on your walls with a swipe. As a subscription service, new artwork files would be sent to you at times throughout the year so your digital panel display could be updated. You will find a 360 video of me using the panel here (and remember to play it in the YouTube app or using YouTube360 to see it displayed correctly).
Most people seemed to understand intuitively that Yautepec was using touch panels and they appeared familiar with how to navigate through the database system to the images of the art. People spent roughly 3 minutes engaging with the panels, but very few talked to the gallery representatives about joining the subscription service.
As for my walking around with my own technology at the art fair, while people acted very inconspicuous when they were in my sight line, the video I shared shows a different story for when my back was turned. If you look over my left shoulder, you will find a gentleman in a red t-shirt who cannot seem to help staring at my 360 camera as I operate the touch panel. So while only one person directly walked up to me and asked what I was carrying, it seems evident from this video that I might need to look through all my footage to see who was really interested in my use of tech at the show.
During my visit to the Getty I also found that only a handful of work incorporated technology. I second “fine art” specifically has not yet caught onto the use of technology which I would assume is due to the protection of the work.
Your 360 camera is incredibly interesting! I thought it was really cool that I could both see you interact with the Yautepec exhibit at the same time as watch your reactions to each piece.
Such a fascinating way of capturing the space and observing the visitors! I wonder if fine art will ever incorporate the digital or tech element… It was interesting to see the commoditization of art through the technology. I think it makes sense in that gallery setting. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences!
I think I am starting to like the artwork that employs tech into it’s display. Not only is it at large an aesthetically nice and fun to look at, but they also show that art has entered the digital age by incorporating tech into the displays. I liked the touch screens that you described as it seems to have made the exhibits easier to navigate. The gallery was also an interesting feature.