A gun shot. A text message. Two entirely separate actions, with very similar outcomes: a target. How has technology helped Americans as a society? How has it destroyed users?
It seems with every step towards creating a new device or gadget, the impact of it can be both successful and destructive. This is the theme artists at the Prichard Art Gallery hope to convey.
The event will start 5 p.m., Friday, Nov. 4 and run until Jan. 28 at the Prichard Art Gallery.
Entering the space, the director of the gallery, Roger Rowley, and two of the artist’s Jonathon Moore and Fabio Piparo, were busy working on setting up one of the pieces.
Moore, an artist from Los Angeles and Piparo, an artist from New York both focus on interactive media art. “Kinetic works, sculptures that move, a mix of things,” Moore said.
A blend of bringing art and technology together, this form of artwork encompasses any and all forms of media: photos, internet and projections to help bring its message and creativity to life.
Since meeting in college at the Savannah School of Art and Design, the two artists have been collaborating for over a decade. The work and the theme they want to present are how technology has become such an integral part of people’s lives, and how it also comes with repercussions.
In one of their pieces, a chandelier of six-shooter pistol’s are hung up to the ceiling with the barrels pointing down. These aren’t real firearms, however, rather toy cap guns spray painted white and hooked up to a computer that sends signals to fire off the pistols.
These gunshots are supposed to indicate when a drone strike has been made and the number of people killed will be the amount of shots that’ll go off.
“The data that is sent to the guns is in real time. It’s a lot more than an art piece or a video game. They’ll go off at the time it happens, even at night when no one will be here,” Piparo said.
Both Moore and Piparo have worked on an exhibit similar to the one in Moscow, the two have a similar piece in Taiwan.
This powerful presentation of how technology can be used towards progressive and destructive means is not about picking and choosing sides, but understanding what new technology can do.
“Most people can see these bits of data and believe it’s all a black and white situation, but there really is this gray area in it. We want to bring an awareness of how technology shapes our lives,” Moore said.
Rowely said that this will have a meaningful impact.
Entering the gallery, patrons will be introduced by a projection of three dancers with small drones flying over them. They will be flying above the dancers, moving in a synchronized flying display. As patrons watch, the gun shots will fire at their respected times bringing a duality of peacefulness and uneasiness, knowing that someone, somewhere has been killed by a drone strike. Rowley calls it “a distant remote form of violence.”
Additional displays by other artists will be showcasing the impact of war, guns and technology. Guests can walk through the art exhibit and come out with a collective perspective.
The exhibit, “Real & Implied: EEVENPLAY” will feature works from Moore, Piparo as well as Rosemarie Fiore and Suzanne Opton. A talkback with the artists was held 5 p.m. Thursday at the Pichard Art Gallery. Admission is free to all that want to be a part of a powerful and engaging presentation at the Prichard Art Gallery.
Justin Johnson can be reached at [email protected]