Data Deluge
Mar 2-Jul 8, 2012
Opening: Friday, 2 March, 6–8pm
Community Dinner, 8:30pm at the Capri
Luke R. DuBois with Bora Yoon Performance, 9:30pm at the Capri
Exhibition Walk-Thru with the Artists, Saturday, 3 March, 2pm
P.O. Box 1661
108 East San Antonio Street
Marfa, Texas 79843
T 432.729.3600
F 432.729.3606
The ongoing dialogue between the digital and physical worlds provides the backdrop for Data Deluge, an exhibition that presents a selection of sculpture, furniture, painting, photography, video, sound and works on paper by artists who shape Web-based and software-generated data into art. The exhibition, curated by Rachel Gugelberger and Reynard Loki, takes its name from the title of a 2010 special report published by The Economist that observed the emergence of “a new kind of professional…the data scientist, who combines the skills of software programmer, statistician and storyteller/artist to extract the nuggets of gold hidden under mountains of data.”
Data Deluge features work by Rebeca Bollinger, Jon Brunberg, Anthony Discenza, Hans Haacke, Scott Hug, Loren Madsen, Michael Najjar and Adrien Segal that communicates a wide range of concerns, from the development of the world’s stock market indices to terrorist-related deaths, from national water use statistics to male responses to photographs of women in online chat groups. Newly created commissions by Jennifer Dalton, Roberto Pugliese and Anna Von Mertens tap into the unique characteristics of Texas, and Marfa in particular, with a sensitivity to minimalist forms, local weather conditions, the tourism industry and oil.
In Choruses from ‘The Rock’, the poet T.S. Eliot asks, “Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? / Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?” Through various approaches and with different sensibilities, the artists in Data Deluge address this issue by presenting innovative modes of data visualization and uncovering the often unexpected beauty of information.
To inaugurate Data Deluge, Ballroom Marfa will host a weekend of festivities, including an opening reception on Friday, 3 March, from 6–8 pm. After the opening reception is a community dinner at the Capri at 8:30pm followed by a live performance by conceptual new media artist, programmer and performer R. Luke Dubois and multi-instrumentalist, composer and performer Bora Yoon, both based in New York. The duo will perform an experimental work that is rooted in the live shaping of digital information. There will be an exhibition walk-through with the artists on Saturday, 3 March, at 2pm. All events are free and open to the public.
Data Deluge has been made possible through the support of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Foundation for Contemporary Arts and the Brown Foundation, Inc., Houston, with generous contributions by Lacey Neuhaus Dorn & Tucker Dorn, Brooke and Daniel Neidich, Joseph & Esther Varet and Ballroom Marfa members.
Educational programs for Data Deluge supported by Texas Commission on the Arts, Meyer Levy Charitable Foundation, and H-E-B, San Antonio, TX.
In-kind support provided by Pud & Tigger Cusack-Schexnayder, Tobin Levy, Quality Quinn and Hotel Paisano, Marfa, TX.
Ballroom Marfa is a dynamic, contemporary cultural arts space that provides a lively intellectual environment where varied perspectives and issues are explored through visual arts, film, music, and performance. As an advocate for the freedom of artistic expression, Ballroom Marfa’s mission is to serve international, national, regional, and local arts communities and support the work of both emerging and recognized artists working in all media.
Ballroom Marfa is particularly interested in helping artists and curators achieve projects that have significant cultural impact but would be impossible to realize in a traditional gallery or museum setting.
Ballroom Marfa is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
For more information about Data Deluge and Ballroom Marfa’s other programs please visit our website at www.ballroommarfa.org or email us at info@ballroommarfa.org.