Visceral Automation : Sean Ripple
Performance: Sunday, August 17, 8:30 PM Sharp
@ Co-Lab
613 Allen St.
Austin, TX 78702
Significantly aided by computational technology, contemporary society has become increasingly adept at replicating/duplicating products, environments, and exact outcomes of prior experience.
Is this drive to duplicate/replicate products, environments, and outcomes of prior experience (a major motivating force behind industrial manufacturing, chain restaurants/chain stores and science among other examples not considered) at odds with the unique individual and a less predictable reality, or are such ideas as the unique individual and a less predictable reality simply myths perpetuated by less organized and undisciplined members of humanity and that in truth, the drive to successfully duplicate/replicate products, environments, and exact outcomes of prior experience is, like biological reproduction itself, integral to humanity’s continuance?
As a means of exploring the aforementioned questions, artist Sean Ripple will attempt to replicate a previously realized self-portrait in a real-time 25-minute period. The source of verification for the real-time work’s fidelity to the previously realized portraits will be a video (simultaneously exhibited) of the artist painting the original portrait in the same location as the real-time performance.
A rhythmic score composed by Sean Ripple will accompany the 25-minute performance.
Because the artist will not be using computationally based automation (which can be thought of as a limited number of responses to a given scenario) to achieve his result, but instead will attempt to replicate the portrait viscerally, it is very likely that deviations from the source portrait will occur.
Do the unintended deviations from the source portrait prove the artist to be an inferior producer, or do they substantiate the notion that despite our best intentions to replicate/duplicate products, environments, and exact outcomes of prior experience as a means to control reality, a less predictable reality is at the wheel which automation only superficially denies?
Posts
One Comment
It was pretty interesting to compare the two paintings at the end. How doing it live effected the product so drastically. The one he did in the video is symmetrical and pretty perfect, and the live one’s all distorted. I was talking to him afterwards and he expressed disappointment with his performance (i.e. the way the painting turned out) and i told him “are you kidding?…. that’s what MADE the show. If they were the same, then that point would be lost.” The music he used (and made) was very hypnotic, overly repetitive for me, but I think that works to create a meditative atmosphere.