Touchstone at American Medium

Artists: Ivana Bašić, Caitlin Cherry, Zack Davis, Jo Nigoghossian, Andrew Ross, Vincent Tiley

Exhibition title: Touchstone

Venue: American Medium, New York, US

Date: September 13 – October 13, 2018

Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artists and American Medium, New York

american medium is pleased to present Touchstone, an exhibiNon of sculpture and painNng by Ivana Bašić, Caitlin Cherry, Zack Davis, Jo Nigoghossian, Andrew Ross, and Vincent Tiley on view from September 13th through October 13th. These arNsts are exploring the human condiNon; employing tradiNonal art-making pracNces, contemporary technology, and a sensiNvity to the anthropomorphic aestheNcs these tools have acquired. The artworks in Touchstone orbit around the concept of the noosphere “…[an] imagining, in one way or another, above the animal biosphere, a human sphere, a sphere of reflecNon, a conscious invenNon, of conscious souls,” – Teilhard de Chardin, “HominizaNon” (1923).

In the context of this exhibiNon de Chardin’s “soul” can be taken to mean self-awareness or senNence. The artworks, though inanimate, possess qualiNes familiar to animals, humans – and more recently – to neural networks, and arNficial intelligences. These objects were giaed self awareness by their makers and allowed to reflect themselves. They are present, purposeful, and knowledgeable, yet obviously inhuman. Although composed of familiar elements populaNng our everyday, these artworks seem to beckon to a world beyond our senses.

In the Turing test, a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behavior becomes indisNnguishable from that of a human. It is in our mind that an AI becomes human; it is in the viewer’s mind that these artworks become animate. From collecNons of steel, glass, resin, and pigment, a “soul” emerges. These artworks are reminders that there are touchstones used to interpret reality other than those we are most familiar with. In the words of the scholar Graham Harvey, “…the world is full of persons, only some of whom are human.”

Touchstone, 2018, exhibition view, American Medium, New York

Ivana Bašić, Breath Seeps Through Her Tightly Closed Mouth, 2018, Breath, glass, stainless steel, torque, 39 x 6 x 11 in (99.1 x 15.2 x 27.9 cm)

Ivana Bašić, Breath Seeps Through Her Tightly Closed Mouth, 2018, Breath, glass, stainless steel, torque, 19.5 x 6 x 13.5 in (49.5 x 15.2 x 34.3 cm)

Ivana Bašić, Breath Seeps Through Her Tightly Closed Mouth, 2018, Breath, glass, stainless steel, torque, 15 x 6 x 13.5 in (38.1 x 15.2 x 34.3 cm)

Caitlin Cherry, Two-Factor Authentication, 2018, Oil paintings on mounted on dual LCD mount, 24 x 18 in (61 x 45.7 cm) 2 paintings

Caitlin Cherry, Dark Rhinestone (Front Shot), 2018, Oil on canvas, 24 x 18 in (61 x 45.7 cm)

Caitlin Cherry, Bright Rhinestone (Back Shot), 2018, Oil on canvas, 24 x 18 in (61 x 45.7 cm)

Zack Davis, Lighthouse, 2018, Electronics, steel, resin, 12.5 x 7.75 x 7.75 in (31.8 x 19.7 x 19.7 cm)

Jo Nigoghossian, The Blackberries, 2017, Steel, neon, blown glass, cable, transformers, 17 x 30 x 60 in (43.2 x 76.2 x 152.4 cm)

Andrew Ross, Home experiment: melted stirene, 2018, Acrylic and polyester on canvas, 34 x 25 in (86.4 x 63.5 cm)

Vincent Tiley, Gom Jabbar, 2018, Acrylic and tempera on leather with rope, hardware, velvet, and Mylar, 23 x 17 x 4 in (58.4 x 43.2 x 10.2 cm)

Vincent Tiley, Club Orpheus, 2018, Tempera on neoprene with rope and hardware, 16 x 21 x 4 in (40.6 x 53.3 x 10.2 cm)

Vincent Tiley, Blue Zombie, 2018, Acrylic, nylon, pleather, leather jacket, and hardward, Dimensions variable, 3 hour performance