(UMAMI, Beall Art & Technology Center)

UMAMI
Beall Art and Technology Center
June 3-18, 2010
Opening Reception: Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 6:00pm – 8:00pm.
Exhibition Closes: Friday, June 11, 2010 at 8:00pm

“Come check out the premier of the Beall Center Senior Digital-Art Exhibition, at UC Irvine. Opening reception Thursday June 3rd, at 6:00 p.m. Enjoy free food and admission, while getting a first look at the work of these up-and coming artists. The exhibition UMAMI, deals with themes of social interaction through different means of representation such as sonic explorations, interactive media, and more! Come control a “living Avatar”, play with sound, and other hands on kinetic art. Featuring work from the UCI student artists; Chris Morales, Edwina Dai, Ian Hattwick, Jeanette Lam, Katherine Gu, Kelly Mayfield, and Melly Lee.”

For more information, please check out the Beall Art and Technology Center at http://beallcenter.uci.edu/calendar/0910.php.

(Youth, sugar, water, wood, 96in x 96in x 48in, 2010, collaboration with Jeanette Lam)

I had the privilege to take a new honors class with the amazing Artist Director of the Beall Art & Technology Center, David Familian. Under his direction has been unbelievable shows including solo exhibits of Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Nam June Paik.

The first day of spring quarter classes and I was inspired. David read this quote by Nam June Paik:

“I also envisage the day when the collaboration of artist and engineer will progress into the unification of artist and engineer into one person. According to my past experience, the best results were achieved through accident and error. As you see, the transistor was discovered by accident. This means that the present computer age was the product of chance to a high degree. Therefore, if I give an order to an engineer, and if I don’t go through all the experiments myself (that is, the complicated process of trial and error), I will lose all these precious errors, I will only get what I want, and miss all the disappointment and surprises.”

from Marga Bijvoet, “Art as Inquiry, Toward New Collaborations Between Art, Science, and Technology”, Peter Lang, New York, 1997. She quoted from Jud Yalkut, “Art and Technology of Nam June Paik”, Arts Magazine, april 1968. Found here.

Someone as pivotal Nam June Paik put into words how the process of getting to the end result makes me feel. I’m reading this quote over and over  and in my mind I just know that I need to keep going.