Featuring the work of John Michael Boling, Charles Broskoski, and Mark Callahan
Curated by and contributions from Kevin Driscoll and Rebecca Gordon
Opening Reception Saturday March 17th, 8 - 10 pm.
Gallery talk with artists and curators 6:30 - 8 pm
Second Gallery is pleased to present Personal Computer, featuring the work of John Michael Boling, Charles Broskoski, and Mark Callahan, curated by and with contributions from Kevin Driscoll with Second Gallery's Rebecca Gordon. Personal Computer critically examines the role of the familiar imagery and symbols of the personal computing experience. The majority of the works in this show are made and displayed on the internet, and Second Gallery aims to provocatively introduce these web-based projects to the physical gallery setting.
Personal Computer relies on the transformative power of confrontation with familiar imagery in new and reconfigured contexts. For many in contemporary culture, the windowed desktop metaphor has achieved the comforting invisibility of the commonplace. After years of daily interaction, these users have developed trusting bonds with their machines that extend to the most intimate corners of their lives. Meanwhile, popular discourse on technology continues to focus on esoteric technical details- bandwidth, disksize, processing power- scarcely acknowledging the peculiar physical relationship users must maintain with their machines, nor the total dominance of the windowing graphical interface. The works in Personal Computer make visible the unseen organizing principles of today's software by repurposing their visual components: sliders, icons, form elements, themes, buttons, and menus. Reinvented apart from the information they typically frame, these ubiquitous materials may have the power to reveal to us new perspectives on our everyday experience.
John Michael Boling is a web and video artist and a founding member of Nasty Nets "internet surfing club" (www.nastynets.com). His work, including "Lord of the Flies" and other pieces that will be reinvented for the Second Gallery space, can be seen at his personal website, "53 o's" (www.gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooogle.com) Boling has a BFA from the University of Georgia in Digital Media, and currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Charles Broskoski, a current student at Parson School of Design working toward his BFA in Design and Technology, is the founder of Supercentral, (www.supercentral.org) a bustling collective blog of internet surfers and artists, and a brother site to Nasty Nets. Broskoski's work, including his "Myspace Biennale" that will be on exhibit in Personal Computer, can be seen at www.supercentral.org/9/. The works of both Charles Broskoski and John Michael Boling appeared in Professional Surfer, an online group exhibition organized by Rhizome (www.rhizome.org) and co-presented by the New Museum of Contemporary Art, that considers web browsing/surfing an art form (www.rhizome.org/events/timeshares/professionalsurfer.php). Mark Callahan is a multimedia artist, teacher, and assistant director of Ideas for Creative Exploration at the University of Georgia. He is graduate of Cranbrook Academy of Art and the Rhode Island School of Design. Personal Computer will be exhibiting his "Internet Soul Portraits", which can be seen at his website www.mazamedia.com. More information and links relating to Personal Computer can be viewed at Second Gallery's website www.secondgallery.org.
Personal Computer <> Featuring the work of John Michael Boling, Charles Broskoski, and Mark Callahan <> Curated by and contributions from Kevin Driscoll and Rebecca Gordon <> March 17th - April 15th, 2007 <> Opening Reception Saturday March 17th, 8 - 10 pm. Gallery talk with artists and curators 6:30 - 8 pm.
Second Gallery The Distillery 516 East 2nd Street South Boston, MA 02127
W: www.secondgallery.org E: secondgallery@gmail.com T: 617 413 9395