Datumsoria

»Datumsoria« is a neologism that conjugates datum and sensoria, denoting a new perceptual space immanent to the information age. The exhibition is consisted of three idiosyncratic works. Pushing boundaries of his documentary style of live painting, LIU Xiaodong reinvents himself by penetrating into the digital now.  In »Weight of Insomnia«, the artist has created an automated system to continuously paint monumental canvases using streaming data from three distinctive locations, generating at each moment a new sediment of emotional residue as if the painter, reincarnated in a robotic consciousness, wrestles through an endless, restless insomnia to piece together an ever-evolving jigsaw of amorphous desires and anxieties, fleeting nightmares and ruptures. In contrast, Carsten Nicolai’s installation »unitape« offers an examination of perception on graphic structures that resemble punch cards of the early computing era. »unitape’s« immaculate images and sounds manifest pure mathematical precision that illuminate an algorithmic sublime while at the same time addressing issues related to the socio-psychological aspects of the interaction between human and machine.  In addition, a 1993 robot sculpture titled »Rehabilitation of Genghis-Khan« by the media art pioneer Nam June Paik lends a historical footnote to the evolution of artistic imaginations prefiguring a new reality elicited by the technical construct of space and time.

»Weight of Insomnia« is a specially commissioned work and the inaugural presentation of Chronus Art Center (CAC) initiated Art & Technology @ program conceived and curated by ZHANG Ga, artistic director of CAC.  The Art & Technology @ program facilitates leading artists working in conventional media to critically experiment with new potentials enabled by digital technologies.  »Datumsoria« is co-presented by Chronus art Center, ZKM | Center for Art and Media, and the Nam June Paik Art Center.

Note: The exhibition will be on display at the ZKM from
September 9^th 2017 till November 12^th 2017.