Art and Obsolescence

This week on the show we are diving back into exploring what it looks like to collect time-based media art outside of institutions, by chatting with another collector who has developed a real passionate focus on time-based media art. Alain Servais has been collecting digital art for many many years, and not only lives among the work in his home in Brussels, but also operates a loft space specifically dedicated to sharing the collection with the public and serving as an experimental space for guest curators to continually reinvent how Alain’s collection is seen. Just a heads up – this week’s show contains some spicy language!Links from the conversation with Alain> Alain on Twitter: https://twitter.com/aservais1Join the conversation:https://twitter.com/ArtObsolescencehttps://www.instagram.com/artobsolescence/Support artistsArt and Obsolescence is a non-profit podcast, sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, and we are committed to equitably supporting artists that come on the show. Help support our work by making a tax deductible gift through NYFA here: https://www.artandobsolescence.com/donate

This week's episode features pioneering gallerist Magda Sawon, who together with her husband and business partner Tamas Banovich has been running Postmasters gallery since 1984.  Postmasters hardly needs introduction – it is a veritable New York institution, and an incredibly important piece of the puzzle when looking at how time-based media art (and especially digital art) exists within the gallery world. In our conversation we'll hear Magda's hard earned perspective from navigating the booms and busts of the art market for almost 40 years. Tune in for a real slice of New York art world history, and to hear all about what Postmasters is up to in 2022.Links from the conversation with Magda> https://www.postmastersart.com/> Can you Digit: https://www.postmastersart.com/digit/index.html> MacClassics: https://www.postmastersart.com/macClassics/Join the conversation:https://twitter.com/ArtObsolescencehttps://www.instagram.com/artobsolescence/Support artistsArt and Obsolescence is a non-profit podcast, sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, and we are committed to equitably supporting artists that come on the show. Help support our work by making a tax deductible gift through NYFA here: https://www.artandobsolescence.com/donate

This week on the show we sit down with Raina Mehler, who is leading the way for how one of the largest contemporary art enterprises in the world manages the challenging needs of time-based media art installations. Tune in to hear all about Raina’s work as a registrar establishing Pace Gallery's internal practices for installing, shipping, tracking, and caring for time-based media art, what it was like to become Pace’s first director of media arts, and what she is up to these days at Pace’s new venture Superblue. Links from the conversation with Raina> https://www.pacegallery.com> https://www.superblue.com> https://www.teamlab.artJoin the conversation:https://twitter.com/ArtObsolescencehttps://www.instagram.com/artobsolescence/Support artistsArt and Obsolescence is a non-profit podcast, sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, and we are committed to equitably supporting artists that come on the show. Help support our work by making a tax deductible gift through NYFA here: https://www.artandobsolescence.com/donate

This week on the show we take our first foray into an incredibly important pillar of the long term care of art: how we document, catalog, and care for archives. Our guest Farris Wahbeh is the Benjamin and Irma Weiss Director of Research Resources at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Farris’ role is quite unique in the sense that he oversees and serves as a central hub for all of the various teams that manage information at the Whitney: the archives, library, collections documentation – it is a rather unique and interdisciplinary role for a museum. In our chat we’ll explore Farris’ decades of experience working in incredibly interesting art archives, and how the Whitney integrates archives and documentation into their care of their collection of over 800 highly complex time-based media artworks.Links from the conversation with Farris> The Whitney Museum of American Art: https://whitney.org> David Tudor's archives at the Getty: https://www.getty.edu/research/tools/guides_bibliographies/david_tudor/index.html> The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art: https://www.art.org/Join the conversation:https://twitter.com/ArtObsolescencehttps://www.instagram.com/artobsolescence/Support artistsArt and Obsolescence is a non-profit podcast, sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, and we are committed to equitably supporting artists that come on the show. Help support our work by making a tax deductible gift through NYFA here: https://www.artandobsolescence.com/donate

On this week’s show we sit down with the one and only American Artist, whose brilliant practice places a critical lens on technology and systems, often as a means by which to discuss the forms of systemic racism, control, and manipulation that become coded into the world. In our chat we’ll hear about _____________’s origins as an artist and graphic designer, and how their work extends across research and education. Tune in as well to hear about their current research on the life and work of Octavia E. Butler 💜Links from the conversation with ________________> https://americanartist.us> Shaper of God> School for Poetic ComputationJoin the conversation:https://twitter.com/ArtObsolescencehttps://www.instagram.com/artobsolescence/Support artistsArt and Obsolescence is a non-profit podcast, sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, and we are committed to equitably supporting artists that come on the show. Help support our work by making a tax deductible gift through NYFA here: https://www.artandobsolescence.com/donate

This week on the show we chat with an art conservator who has been pivotal in formalizing the field of time-based media conservation over the past two decades: Christine Frohnert. When Christine immigrated to the US in 2005 she was the only conservator who had training in  time-based media conservation – and she got to work quickly! Through her private practice with partner Reinhard Bek, her leadership in the American Institute for Conservation’s Electronic Media Group, and her work as a passionate educator, Christine has made a lasting impact on the field of time-based media conservation. Tune in to this week’s show to hear her story!Links from the conversation with Christine> American Institute for Conservation Electronic Media Group> Bek and Frohnert> Conservation Center at NYU’s IFAJoin the conversation:https://twitter.com/ArtObsolescencehttps://www.instagram.com/artobsolescence/

This week we chat with contemporary artist, and pioneer of video art, Gary Hill. For many Gary needs no introduction – he was among the first generation of artists to explore television and the video signal as a creative medium in the early 1970s. Through video sculptures, installations, and single-channel works, Gary explores the phenomenological, language, and the body’s relationship to technology. In our chat we’ll hear about Gary’s origins as an artist, the early video art scene in upstate NY, his evolving relationship to technology, and how he approaches the long term maintenance and perpetuation of his installations.Links from the conversation with Gary> https://garyhill.com> The Experimental Television CenterJoin the conversation:https://twitter.com/ArtObsolescencehttps://www.instagram.com/artobsolescence/Support artistsArt and Obsolescence is a non-profit podcast, sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, and we are committed to equitably supporting artists that come on the show. Help support our work by making a tax deductible gift through NYFA here: https://www.artandobsolescence.com/donate

This week on the show we sit down with gallerist and curator Bridget Donahue. If you know Bridget it’s likely through her gallery’s sharp programming and the impactful work she has done over the years to help steward the careers of time-based media artists like Sondra Perry, Martine Syms, and Lynn Hershman Leeson – but did you know that Bridget got her start in the gallery world as an archivist? Tune in for a real behind-the-scenes glimpse into the important work that Bridget has been doing over the years.Links from the conversation with Bridget> https://www.bridgetdonahue.nyc/> http://www.cleopatras.us/Join the conversation:https://twitter.com/ArtObsolescencehttps://www.instagram.com/artobsolescence/Support artistsArt and Obsolescence is a non-profit podcast, sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, and we are committed to equitably supporting artists that come on the show. Help support our work by making a tax deductible gift through NYFA here: https://www.artandobsolescence.com/donate

This week’s show features artist, musician, herbalist, and community builder Cy X, whose  work encompasses installations, digital instrument building, live audiovisual performances, and their broader interdisciplinary practice blurs boundaries between art, community building (Including co-founding Synth Library NYC), healing work, and music. Tune in to hear Cy’s journey from working in marketing to experiencing a creative awakening and finding place (and making space) in NYC.Links from the conversation with Cy> https://www.instagram.com/cyberwitch666> https://cyberwitch666.com> https://cyberwitchcoven.comJoin the conversation:https://twitter.com/ArtObsolescencehttps://www.instagram.com/artobsolescence/Support artistsArt and Obsolescence is a non-profit podcast, sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, and we are committed to equitably supporting artists that come on the show. Help support our work by making a tax deductible gift through NYFA here: https://www.artandobsolescence.com/donate

Continuing our coverage of emerging professionals, sasha arden will soon be graduating as one of the first conservators from the NYU Conservation Center's recently established time-based media conservation program. sasha is hardly new to the field though, having spent over a decade meeting the audiovisual needs of numerous institutions prior to making the pivot to conservation. Tune in to hear sasha’s journey, and how their trans nonbinary identity strengthens their practice as a conservator.Links from the conversation with sasha> interview with sasha from the Thoma Foundation: https://thomafoundation.org/news-press/foundation-news/meet-the-team-sasha-arden/> sasha's 2019 presentation on the use of AR in conservation: https://resources.culturalheritage.org/emg-review/volume-6-2019-2020/arden/Join the conversation:https://twitter.com/ArtObsolescencehttps://www.instagram.com/artobsolescence/Support artistsArt and Obsolescence is a non-profit podcast, sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, and we are committed to equitably supporting artists that come on the show. Help support our work by making a tax deductible gift through NYFA here: https://www.artandobsolescence.com/donate