FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Entertainment

Now You Can Try Out the Picture Frame for Digital Art IRL

At Electric Objects Showroom, visitors step into the future of at-home art displays.
Lionsong by Björk, Inez & Vinoodh, and Aaron Pronger. All images courtesy of Electric Objects

When Electric Objects created the E01, its internet-connected display for media and web art, it was attempting to bring digital art out of the two-dimensional realm and into people’s homes. Since introducing the E01, Electric Objects has commissioned over $50,000 worth of art by the likes of Björk, Sabrina Ratté, Ghostly International, YACHT and Nicolas Sassoon. Electric Objects also has an installation on at the New Museum’s window display through the new year.

Advertisement

In its latest initiative, Electric Objects is setting up a showroom in Soho. Called Electric Objects Showroom, the showroom allows people to see some of the commissioned artworks, interact with the EO1 and get exclusive access to limited edition handmade wooden frames for it—one in maple, the other in walnut.

Panda to Panda by Ai Wei Wei and Jacob Appelbaum

Electric Objects’ Jake Levin tells The Creators Project that he and co-founder Zoë Salditch feel that it is important people understand what the display feels like.

“For most people, screens are objects of frustration, anxiety, and distraction,” Levin says. “We want to show people that Electric Objects feels different, and help them visualize how it fits so naturally into their homes. In typical fashion, we started planning for it about three weeks ago.”

In total, 25 EO1s will be on display. Visitors will get a chance to explore Electric Objects’ entire collection of digital art.

Among the artworks that will be seen at Electric Objects Showroom, Zach Gage’s WarOrPeace.net stands out. Gage’s piece, in satirical fashion, fully exploits the EO1’s screen and body as sculptural piece or art object in commenting on the mass media’s “persistent sensationalism surrounding violence and terror.” Gage’s piece displays either the word “war” or "peace” depending on Google Trends’ daily statistics on the search queries for the two words.

WarOrPeace.net by Zach Gage

Visitors will also see a new work by Björk, which features mesmerizing video loops culled from her Lionsong video. Artist Ai Wei Wei and internet activist Jacob Appelbaum’s anti-NSA work Panda to Panda will also be seen on the EO1s at the showroom.

Advertisement

Levin says that the inclusion of Björk and Ai Wei Wei in the Electric Object's collection illustrates the type of artists and artworks that Electric Object is looking for—those that aren’t bound by the dictates of the art world’s intelligentsia.

“These are two of our favorite artists in the world—they don't fit into traditional categories, nor do they feel constrained by any historical means of distribution,” Levin says. “What we love about them, and what we love about all of the artists that we work with, is the value they place on reaching actual people in actual homes, in sharing their message, and not restricting it to a small number of eyes.”

To see Electric Objects’ collection of digital art, click here.

Related:

Anti-NSA Pandas by Ai Weiwei and Jacob Appelbaum Go Digital

The Framed Internet Is Expanding With Digital Artist Residency

Sci-Fi Dance Punks YACHT Get Post-Human for a New Collab