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Art Mon Jan 04 2010
iPhone Therefore I Art
Technology has done wonderful things for art. One of my personal favorite new tools is the cell phone camera, as I have never been in the habit of carrying a camera around, and I used to miss priceless photo opportunities on a daily basis. Now, when I see a car on fire, a porch with 15 tricycles on it, or a girl peeing in the middle of the sidewalk in Wicker Park, I whip out my phone and capture it instantly. When I do, I amuse myself by deeming it art, and apparently I'm not the only one.
The Chicago Art Department has organized an exhibition of new art made with iPhones, most likely because there's so darn much of it. Plus, if you think about it, we are in the midst of an incredible technological revolution and iPhone art is a symptom of this distinct moment in time (whether you like it or not). And that's pretty cool.
The show, amusingly titled iPhone Therefore I Art, is the culmination of a class led by CAD artist Mike Nourse, in which ten local artists met weekly, working towards a completed project in the forms of photo, digital sketching (finger painting), animation, sound, and video--all made with iPhones, of course. For this exhibition, in addition to local artists, Nourse brought in iPhone artists from as far away as Russia, Norway, Spain, France, and Germany. The end-result is a comprehensive investigation and celebration of this fancy new tool. iPhone Therefore I Art addresses issues dealing both the identity of the artists using iPhones and the identity of art itself. Check out the show to see how the ubiquitous iPhone has worked its way into contemporary art, and to imagine where it will go next.
iPhone Therefore I Art opens this Friday, January 8, at Chicago Art Department (1837 S. Halsted). The public reception is from 6-10pm.
