Gartel Archives
GARTEL at the Miami Sea Fair - Photos by Ric Globus.
Photos by
Perfect Prints
Contemporary art is characterized by an increase in the use of technological media, such as videos, television and computers. The human body has also become a site of artistic investigation. It is a challenge to conventional gallery spaces as an exclusive site for artistic display. There is increasing interest in process and procedure as opposed to a finished or static artifact.
Context and intentionality are crucial. Design (understood as rational planning) forms an important part of the realization of an interactive artwork. There are many design tasks (often distributed among co-creators or helpers): for example, designing an interface, or a flow-chart for a hypertext architecture. There is also need for engineering skills.
However, neither a beautifully designed software code, nor an ingeniously engineered hydraulic platform is a work of art. An artwork requires something else, a kind of surplus of inspiration and signification which will transcend the rational assembly of the "machine parts", melt them together and give them a raison d'être on a higher level of abstraction.
Art is multi-layered and open-ended. There is no final "solution" to an interactive artwork, no way to exhaust its meanings. Modern art is transient, interdisciplinary, multimedial, processual, discursive, dependent on concept and context and besides that increasingly aimed at interactivity with the recipient. Its diversity is in need of documentation in a wider sense, in case it should at some point be subjected to scientific questions and authenticity by those who were not present at its conception and presentation.
Contemporary art requires rethinking and a strategic procedure in its documentation. Documentation is a work of art, is a process, navigation, interpretation and a tool for communication and discussion. The instruments of digital and multimedia technology require specific art efforts. The increasing presence of digital media appliances in museums changes the viewing habits of visitors to the museums as well as researchers. There is an entirely new set of curating problems and questions to cope with. (Harald Kramer)
Interactive art is firmly rooted in the aesthetic upheavals of the 20th century. The questioning of the role of the artist, the work, the audience, the market and the relationship between art and society by the Dadaists, the constructivists, the surrealists and others prepared the ground. In the 1960's Fluxus, happenings and "participation art" (Frank Popper), cybernetic art, the art & technology movement, environmental art and video art already provided many of the ingredients of interactive art.
In an artwork which also incorporates an on-line connection the situation gets even more complex: in addition, there is now the possibility of communication with real humans in remote locations as well as with manifold software agents and knowbots residing in the net. Sometimes it will be difficult to tell which is which. In the near future we will probably see more and more of these kind of hybrid artworks, with both a local and a global face, providing the user the simultaneous experience of being present and faraway in some distant location. Such situations tend to reduce rather than increase the narcissistic potential of the medium.
We are arguably moving through successive transpositions toward a world where man is art – the locus of art has returned to the immediacy of the body in performance and body art. In interactive art, we become part of the system, part of the dynamic artifact or experience. And, often we are changed tangibly by that interaction.
Context and intentionality are crucial. Design (understood as rational planning) forms an important part of the realization of an interactive artwork. There are many design tasks (often distributed among co-creators or helpers): for example, designing an interface, or a flow-chart for a hypertext architecture. There is also need for engineering skills.
However, neither a beautifully designed software code, nor an ingeniously engineered hydraulic platform is a work of art. An artwork requires something else, a kind of surplus of inspiration and signification which will transcend the rational assembly of the "machine parts", melt them together and give them a raison d'être on a higher level of abstraction.
Art is multi-layered and open-ended. There is no final "solution" to an interactive artwork, no way to exhaust its meanings. Modern art is transient, interdisciplinary, multimedial, processual, discursive, dependent on concept and context and besides that increasingly aimed at interactivity with the recipient. Its diversity is in need of documentation in a wider sense, in case it should at some point be subjected to scientific questions and authenticity by those who were not present at its conception and presentation.
Contemporary art requires rethinking and a strategic procedure in its documentation. Documentation is a work of art, is a process, navigation, interpretation and a tool for communication and discussion. The instruments of digital and multimedia technology require specific art efforts. The increasing presence of digital media appliances in museums changes the viewing habits of visitors to the museums as well as researchers. There is an entirely new set of curating problems and questions to cope with. (Harald Kramer)
Interactive art is firmly rooted in the aesthetic upheavals of the 20th century. The questioning of the role of the artist, the work, the audience, the market and the relationship between art and society by the Dadaists, the constructivists, the surrealists and others prepared the ground. In the 1960's Fluxus, happenings and "participation art" (Frank Popper), cybernetic art, the art & technology movement, environmental art and video art already provided many of the ingredients of interactive art.
In an artwork which also incorporates an on-line connection the situation gets even more complex: in addition, there is now the possibility of communication with real humans in remote locations as well as with manifold software agents and knowbots residing in the net. Sometimes it will be difficult to tell which is which. In the near future we will probably see more and more of these kind of hybrid artworks, with both a local and a global face, providing the user the simultaneous experience of being present and faraway in some distant location. Such situations tend to reduce rather than increase the narcissistic potential of the medium.
We are arguably moving through successive transpositions toward a world where man is art – the locus of art has returned to the immediacy of the body in performance and body art. In interactive art, we become part of the system, part of the dynamic artifact or experience. And, often we are changed tangibly by that interaction.
Millennium Girl, Italy
Kaleidoscope, Cleveland
"Early in 1997 I won and installed the first digital public art commission at Concourse F. It consists of 19 back lit light boxes which are the images in this series.
The Miami International Airport is a multi-cultural, multi dimensional nucleus. This was experienced first hand by arriving on Northwestern Airlines from Frankfurt, Germany into Miami International. While the airport is a gateway to South America, it welcomes visitors from all over the world to an international city, Miami.
Art in the airport should fulfill the mission of embracing its visitors to a warm and friendly city. As a seasoned traveller myself I have been to many airports and understand that the initial reaction upon immediate arrival to an airport is most critical. It sets the tone for the extended visit to that city.
South Florida is a plenitude of diversity rich in culture and activities. Thus, when people come to visit the region for business or vacation, they expect to have a stay which will uplift their human spirits. The concept of "getting away" allows the mind to be open to new experiences. Truly the landscape, climate and people are the key components to human interactions.
The light box project addresses the above issues. It is my goal to reach out to all passengers arriving in Miami and enlighten them that South Florida is an aesthetically beautiful place, with lots of enriching activities both physical and psychological.
I have photographed various towns/cities which neighbor Miami International. These areas all offer unique dimensions to the region. "South Beach" as demonstrated by the artwork in its final form, emphasizes the natural beauty of its people in everyday situations. My objective
was to capture ethnic diversity as well as the classical architecture of the deco era that is so prominent, renewed, and gentrified. Photographing the vibrancy of South Beach contemporary culture tantalizes the senses.
Utilizing my digital camera, I am able to capture images electronically and view, edit and store my pictures in an orderly data base in which to orchestrate a cohesive, narrative collage on the specific region. Here is where the computer as a creative tool enables me to layer the fabric of culture in its diversity. Most of my "digital collages" have between 30-40 images juxtaposing each other. I have photographed over 4,000 images.
It was my goal to give Miami International passengers the most in depth, comprehensive, creative, visual documentary this area has to offer." L. Gartel
Annual Cigar
Rock Hall of Fame, Cleveland
(c) 2016 Laurence M. Gartel;
All Rights Reserved for Graphic & Written Content
Use by Explicit Written Permission Only
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All Rights Reserved for Graphic & Written Content
Use by Explicit Written Permission Only
[email protected]