"The best American invention is to be able to disappear."
-Andy Warhol
Today, artists and citizens around the world find themselves seeking respite from the relentless visibility and 24/7 activity of a society accelerated by digital technologies. This panel will include presentations by artists Adam Harvey and Holly Herndon who have approached this state of ultra-visibility in different ways: Harvey, through the creation of surveillance-blocking clothing and strategic accessories; and, Herndon through the creation of electronic compositions out of the sounds and video produced through her own self-surveillance.
Holly Herndon 'Relations' for Ada with Conrad Shawcross
Together with professor and lawyer Sean O'Connor, Julia Fryett and New Museum curator Lauren Cornell the group will discuss possibilities for contemporary art that respond to the invasive aspects of current technologies from artistic, as well as from political and legal angles.
FREE TICKETS
TOWARDS INVISIBILITY is part of a day of project-focused sessions in conjunction with the Surveillance & Privacy: Art, Law, and Social Practice Symposium, hosted by the Henry Art Gallery and Center for Digital Arts and Experimental Media (DXARTS).
This multi-day symposium focusing on the response of artists and cultural institutions to issues related to privacy and surveillance. Examining historical attitudes, contemporary perspectives, and prognostications about the future of privacy, the symposium will explore how changes in technology, law, and social practices intermingle and impact public perceptions and cultural behavior. Among the works featured for analysis during the symposium is the Henry’s interactive art installation Sanctum, created by UW professors and artists James Coupe and Juan Pampin and installed on the museum’s façade.
In addition to project-focused sessions and panel discussions (November 22, Henry Auditorium), the symposium will feature evening lectures by Marc Rotenberg (November 20, Kane Hall) and Edward A. Shanken (November 21, Henry Auditorium). There will also be a pre-conference lecture co-sponsored by the UW Tech Policy Lab with author and activist Cory Doctorow (October 25, Kane Hall).