JUROR STATEMENT
 
With few exceptions—where artists use cartoon-like humor, or optimistically imagine cities powered by renewable energies—the visions of the future presented in the Digital'04 exhibition, TOMORROW, generally incorporate a note of caution.  Specific approaches or topics emerge as being common to many artists, whether based in the United States or internationally: “psychedelic” imagery; apocalyptic scenes of urban destruction; abstract architectural or mechanistic cityscapes and “mind-scapes”; and the merging of natural and artificial forms.

The potential impact of genetic research on human and animal life is a dominant feature.  In TOMORROW, we see the “perfect child”, expertly engineered through genetics and cloning; references to cryonics—the freezing of the dead with the hope of re-animating them in future; hybrid fruits and vegetables; and new breeds of animals occupying fantastical architectural spaces.  In many of these works, artists suggest a world in which humans are increasingly distanced from direct experiences of the environment, receiving instead “second-hand” or simulated experiences presented in museums, zoos, or other social spaces.

Artists’ enduring fascination with the relationship of human beings to machines—and in particular computer and networked technologies—can be seen in a number of provocative images that explore the possibilities of neural networks, memory enhancement by means of distributed computer technology, and the “downloading” or “uploading” of family histories.  One series of work shows humans adopting a nomadic existence in response to a society upset by the impact of technology and capitalist culture.  This “New Breed” of people create “wearable” houses, and adapt their behavior and societal structure in ways that are necessarily more self-sufficient. 

In this exhibition of digital prints, artists use a range of approaches from digital photography to computer-manipulated montage that, in many cases, reveal strong connections with other areas of contemporary visual culture.  These include the aesthetics of “veejay” video projections, the language of video games, and strands of contemporary painting that take inspiration from psychedelia, or from architectural spaces and forms.  Drawing on a diverse range of ideas and aesthetics, the artists in Tomorrow offer visions that are not always entirely comfortable, but that spark lively debates about how science and technology might impact our future.

Anne Barlow
Curator of Education and Media Programs
The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York City

ABBREVIATED BIO

Exhibition Images & Artist Info  - Introduction