50 people wander through the Getty Center at dusk, closely watching the same news network on their phones and laptops. A constructed forecast describes an unprecedented severe weather event predicted to hit Los Angeles that evening.

This subtle intervention and expanded video screening weaves a dark, fragmented narrative, while playing with the conventions of screen voyeurism in public space. Only in times of crisis do we see synced content naturally proliferate like this; in tragedy, fear and confusion, we turn to our devices.

This project was commissioned by the Getty Center for their Friday Flights program, curated by Sarah Cooper.

Image courtesy of the Getty Museum


Photo documentation by Agnes Bolt


Photo documentation by Agnes Bolt


Photo documentation by Agnes Bolt


Photo documentation by Agnes Bolt


Photo documentation by Agnes Bolt


Image courtesy of the Getty Museum

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Ditherer is a collaboration with 3D artist Gary Tyler, commissioned by Ballroom Marfa, curated by Laura Copelin.

The Institute for New Feeling is using the new HTC Vive Virtual Reality system to imagine a very near future of online shopping. As participants wander through an infinite wholesale warehouse, they encounter real products that can be purchased through the interface using an e-store “add to cart” function. When they pick up a product with their hands, the shelving and aisles around them are suddenly transformed into a collage of elements from the product’s history (details like: animal/plant ingredients in the product, its manufacturing or labor history, celebrity endorsements, strange trivia, controversy, etc.) This style of teleportation plays on the concept--common to shampoo or perfume advertising--in which purchasing a product immediately “transports” the consumer to its place of origin. But here, the origin myth of Herbal Essences, for example, would reflect not only the pristine rainforest, but also perhaps the realities of plastics manufacturing, the aesthetics of industrial bottling, or an anecdote about this shampoo’s most obscure ingredient... Our intention here is not to stitch a comprehensive history for each product, but instead to replicate the web of associations that emerges when researching a product online. Following an intuitive, undisciplined logic, these narratives are allowed to spin out of control, leading the consumer as far from the original product as possible--similar to the familiar experience of falling down a Wikipedia “rabbit hole.”

Ditherer premiered as part of IfNf's 2016 show at Ballroom Marfa, with additional exhibitions at Art&&Code presented by the Carnegie Mellon University Frank Ratchye Studio for Creative Inquiry, and M WOODS, Beijing.


PRODUCT LIST

1. Avocados, Fresh, Large, Good Taste (6 Avocados)
2. Fuchutech 7inch Car Visor Video Screen
3. SinfulShine Nailpolish, “On Fyre” from the King Kylie Collection
4. The Universe: The Mega Collection Blu Ray Disc
5. Jet Lag Rapid-Reset Pills
6. Balance Bar Gold, S’Mores flavor, 6 ct
7. Simpatico Hobnail Candle, Ambergris








click here to listen to the avocado narrative









For more information, click here

This is a 17-min video that drifts through a fabricated SEO Marketing campaign, a web of interconnected sites populated with training modules, news articles, facility tours, click bait and social networking sites all linking back to the Institute for New Feeling.

Commissioned by Ballroom Marfa for the Artist Film International 2016.
Premiered as part of an IfNf exhibition at Ballroom Marfa, curated by Laura Copelin.

The film has also been screened or exhibited at the following institutions: Whitechapel Gallery, London, Hammer Museum, LA, Istanbul Modern, Turkey, Museu de Arte, Arquitetura e Tecnologia (MAAT), Lisbon, Portugal, Fundacion PROA, Buenos Aires, among others.

CREDITS (alphabetical)
Featuring: Gil Enciso, Julieta Gil, Rebecca Knox, Nina Sarnelle, Tatiana Vahn, Alex Walker
Camera: Scott Andrew, Agnes Bolt, Ben Hernstrom
Editing: Scott Andrew, Agnes Bolt
Motion Graphics: Nina Sarnelle
Sound: Scott Andrew

Thanks to: Alicia Gorman, Ethan Jerrett, Paul Jerrett, Bob Kollar, Zhibin Li, Daniel Pillis, Akshara Rai,
Sam Poulos, S.E. Smith, Pattye Stragar, Nico Zevallos

Private massage sessions performed in the ankle deep flow of the Los Angeles River. Watching the water move below them, clients are immersed in the sound and smells of LA's most infamous water feature—48 miles of raw tranquility fountain.

Presented by MyScionGallery in conjunction with the 17-min video This is Presence.
Massage Therapist: Tatiana Vaughan.

Click the image above to load The Redirectory

The Internet is a mirror. It positions us in a perpetual mirror stage, learning and re-learning what we are through the web; casting these curated & haphazard shadow-selves, watching them transform and proliferate. Selfies and Tinder profiles are to the individual what SEO services and Reputation Management are to the corporation. Truly, in a country where corporations have been granted legal “personhood,” this comparison does not feel off-base. How do the exploded, user-generated, “democratized” strategies of individuals differ in reach or aesthetics from professional services offered to companies at a cost? How might institutions imitate the individual identity online, and individuals imitate the institution?

As the legal system struggles to catch up with the complexities of digital life, Google assumes regulatory powers that conspicuously resemble a governing body, waving its Terms of Service as if it were a constitutional document. But who defines the ethical and legal boundaries of our online operations? Take the phenomenon of crowd-sourced law enforcement & surveillance apparent in the attempted identification of the Boston Marathon bomber, Black Lives Matter-era cop watch, or the cellphone as weapon during the Arab Spring; take the tension between vigilantism and cyberbullying in the work of 419 Scambaiters, consumer advocacy resources like Ripoff Report, or anonymous public conversations on YikYak. There exists both utopian and dystopian applications for every tool. The internet has the power to exalt, lynch or completely ignore; like a bratty toddler, there’s no way to really predict where its Goldfish crumbs will land.

And it is into this indifferent, scrutinized landscape that we cast these fragile projections of our selves--ghost of who we are and who we might be. Who can say exactly how our fragmented online identities, the lumpy summation of one’s Facebook photo feed, browser history, or memed infamy, shape who we are in the physical world?

The Redirectory is a loose, meandering collection of ongoing research, cataloging terms and narratives from these converging worlds of online identity formation. We bring together jargony techniques from the playbook of Black Hat SEO, case studies in digital vigilantism, our own experiments in deep self-googling, stupid puns we thought up... This glossary is a starting point, a way of cataloging details while also connecting disparate worlds; we welcome all additions and corrections. Please send us your neologisms, weird stories, and one-time offers for discount prescription drugs >>> hello@institutefornewfeeling.com All we ask for in return is a 5-star review.

seek: a self-fulfilling prophesy

seek is a 20 min private session offering individuals a clairvoyant reading generated by the misuse of online search engines. Seated in our custom massage chair and connected to a remote voice on headset, this live experience generates a personal video for each participant--a vision of their future predicted by the Internet.

This project was originally presented at Recess in New York as part of their Session residency, Spring 2015.

seek has been featured in Art in America, ANIMAL New York, Bedford+Bowery, ARTFCITY, and others.

Forty-five anonymous undersides, Seek study #1  |  32x22" edition of digital prints  |  2015

Watermark.mov is a brand hypnosis session held in ten portable steam sauna pods, featured in the 'HOW TO WATER' exhibition at Eastside International, and covered in Art in America, Hyperallergic, WOAH, Creator's Project, CurateLA, and 5 Every Day

five energy vortexes installed around the city of Pittsburgh, PA

This project was created for Open Engagement 2015, in collaboration with The Drift.

a 3-course gastronomical experience made entirely of foam & air

This project was originally hosted by Thank You For Coming in Los Angeles, Winter 2014.

A two-person stage performance using 90 minutes of original music and projected video. Drawing upon conventions of electronic music concerts, spiritual rituals, yoga classes, team-building exercises, self-help seminars and group therapy, this immersive audiovisual experience leads participants through a series of activities designed to generate intimacy, physicality and energetic connection between them. The audience will participate in karaoke chanting, breathing exercises, guided meditation, aerobic routines and more as they progress through our 7 platforms: AGREE - VOICE - CONTACT - DIGEST - ACT - BREATHE - RELEASE

group has been presented at Special Effects, Kelly Strayhdorn Theater’s New Moves Festival in conjunction with VIA New Media and Music Festival, Rhinestone Steel Queer Festival, and TEDxCMU.

purchase the full album with do-it-at-home booklet here.

www.iamgroup.me

Use this self-hypnosis video to find your personal mantra. Recommended viewing in full screen in the dark with headphones.

Implement this workout video into your daily exercise regiment. Recommended viewing with a small group of your favorite gym buddies.