First Disagreement

Dissidence. Non-places & Device art

Machiko Kusahara y Eduardo Navas, Curators

Non-Places

The works included in Autonomies of Disagreement were selected to reflect on “glocality” within Latin-American production in relation to the concept of non-place. The term non-place is applied here after the theory of supermodernity developed by Marc Augé in 1992 in his book Non-places: spaces of anonymity. Augé views non-places as areas of transition, such as airports, conditioned with a familiarity that is homogeneous. He also extends his concept to spaces that need not be visited, but named, or referenced through pervasive images. With the Internet the concept of non-places has been redefined, and informs glocality as a cultural activity. For this reason we chose artists that encapsulate the complexity of glocality within the discourse of autonomies of discords, as complemented with the occurrence of non-places, that is the artists are aware of the power of citation to create critical commentary.

Device Art as Global and Local Concept

Media art? It is not so easy to answer to the frequently asked question. Media never stay the same and art paradigm also goes through transition, reflecting transformations that take place in society. As the combination of these two ever-changing notions, media art is destined to be at the edge of what “art” could be, pushing its border and communicating with a wider public in various modes. Besides, the “media” of media art are not tools or materials originally meant for making art such as oil paint. Artists use or examine contemporary media technologies as well as technologies past, to visualize what is behind the slick surfaces of commercial media products, or to envision a possible future of the so-called “media society”. Still, the technologies they use do not differ from what we see in our daily life, or from those used in science, industry, or even the military. By appropriating them in a creative manner, artists bring about eye-opening experiences that connect our everyday life and art. Features such as interactivity, user participation, playfulness and connection to popular culture are often observed in media art, reflecting its close relationship to our life and society.