CORY ARCANGEL
BE THE FIRST OF YOUR FRIENDS
APRIL 24–AUGUST 8, 2015
ESPACE LOUIS VUITTON MÜNCHEN
MAXIMILIANSTRASSE 2A
80539 MÜNCHEN
GERMANY
HOURS: MONDAY–FRIDAY NOON–7PM,
SATURDAY 10AM–6PM
ADMISSION FREE
T +49 89 55 89 38 100
info_espace [at] de.vuitton.com
THE ESPACE LOUIS VUITTON MÜNCHEN IS PLEASED TO PRESENT BE THE FIRST OF YOUR FRIENDS, THE FIRST MONOGRAPHIC SHOW OF AMERICAN ARTIST CORY ARCANGEL IN MUNICH.
THE EXHIBITION BRINGS TOGETHER NEW WORKS BY ARCANGEL AS WELL AS A SELECTION OF SEMINAL EARLY PIECES, WHICH HAVE BEEN RECONFIGURED BY THE ARTIST. BE THE FIRST OF YOUR FRIENDS COVERS SEVERAL THEMES, WHICH HAVE BEEN VITAL TO ARCANGEL’S WORK SINCE THE EARLY AUGHTS, INCLUDING THE PRESERVATION OF EARLY COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES (DATING FROM THE 1980S) AND THE RECUPERATION OF CONTEMPORARY ART MATERIALS AND DIGITAL SOURCES SUCH AS THE INTERNET AND YOUTUBE. ARCANGEL’S UNIQUE APPROACH TO MAKING ART STEMS FROM HIS EDUCATION IN CLASSICAL GUITAR IN THE LATE 1990S, WHICH COINCIDED WITH THE START OF THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION AND INSPIRED HIM TO SELF-IDENTIFY AS A “COMPUTER PROGRAMMER, COMPOSER AND ARTIST.”
AS ALLUDED TO IN THE EXHIBITION’S TITLE—A NOD TO FACEBOOK’S SELF-REFERENTIAL FRIEND CULTURE—THE SHOW PRESENTS ARCANGEL’S MEDITATIONS ON DIGITAL CULTURE AND HIS PREFERRED METHODS OF ARTISTIC PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION MARKED BY HACKING AND OPEN SOURCE FORMATS.
THE LOWER GALLERY LEVEL FEATURES A SERIES OF NEW WORKS, WHICH RECONFIGURE AND RESTAGE EARLIER PIECES FROM THE ARTIST’S CAREER. QUICK OFFICE (2015), FOR EXAMPLE, REENGAGES F1 RACER (2004) AND SUPER MARIO CLOUDS (2002–ONGOING), WHEREIN THE ARTIST HACKED THE NAMESAKE CULT-CLASSIC NINTENDO AND FAMICOM GAMES AND REDUCED THEM TO THEIR ICONIC BACKGROUNDS. PRESENTED ORIGINALLY AS ANALOG VIDEOS GENERATED BY HACKED NINTENDO AND FAMICOM CARTRIDGES, IN QUICK OFFICE (2015) THE SAME CONTENT IS RESTAGED ON NINTENDO EMULATORS RUNNING ON CONTEMPORARY ANDROID SMART PHONES. ARCANGEL HERE MAKES THE DELIBERATE POINT OF USING OBSOLETE AND SOON-TO-BE-OBSOLETE TECHNOLOGY: AS THE POP REFERENCES BECOME MORE OBSCURE OVER TIME AND EXIT CONTEMPORARY CULTURE, THEY GAIN RELEVANCE PROPORTIONATELY IN CULTURAL DISCOURSE AND ART HISTORY.
UPSTAIRS, ARCANGEL PRESENTS SIX NEW WORKS FROM HIS RECENT “LAKES” SERIES (2013–ONGOING). THE WORKS DEPICT A WIDE ARRAY OF IMAGES, WHICH ARE SOURCED FROM THE ARTIST’S DIGITAL ARCHIVE OF ONLINE, CELLPHONE, SCREEN-GRAB, AND INSTALLATION IMAGES AND ARE PRODUCED WITH THE APPLICATION OF THE ONCE UBIQUITOUS ’90S SOFTWARE, THE JAVA APPLET “LAKE,” WHICH ANIMATES AN IMAGE WITH A RIPPLING WATER EFFECT. DISPLAYED VERTICALLY ON 70-INCH LED SCREENS LIKE TRADITIONAL PORTRAIT PAINTINGS, LAKES COMMENTS ON OUR CURRENT CELEBRITY AND IMAGE-OBSESSED CULTURE AND REVEALS A TENSION IN CONTEMPORARY ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE PRESERVATION OF CULTURE: AS VISUAL ART AND POPULAR CULTURE ARE OBSESSIVELY NARRATED AND CONSERVED, TECHNOLOGY IS DISMISSED AS ADVERSARIAL TO ART AND ART MAKING.
BE THE FIRST OF YOUR FRIENDS IS THE FOURTH FEATURE EXHIBITION AT THE ESPACE SINCE ITS INAUGURATION IN 2014. IT CONTINUES THE STRANDS OF THE ESPACE NETWORK’S MOST RECENT SHOW, LE FIL ROUGE, WHICH TAKES PLACE BETWEEN JANUARY AND MAY 2015 CONCURRENTLY IN PARIS, TOKYO AND MUNICH AND EXPLORES THE THEME OF “THREAD” AS A CONCEPTUAL TROPE FOR ADDRESSING THE ISSUES OF CONNECTIVITY AND COMMUNICATION, AND WEAVING AND WIRING IN BOTH THE REAL AND VIRTUAL WORLDS OF TODAY.
CORY ARCANGEL IS THE RECIPIENT OF THE 2015 AWARD FOR THE FILMIC ŒUVRE, THE SECOND EDITION OF A PRIZE CREATED BY MUNICH’S KINO DER KUNST COMMEMORATING OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS TO INTENSIFY THE EXCHANGE BETWEEN VISUAL ARTS AND FILM. ARCANGEL’S SOLO SHOW AT THE ESPACE LOUIS VUITTON MÜNCHEN AS PARTNER VENUE OF KINO DER KUNST IS AN EXTENSION OF THIS ACKNOWLEDGMENT.
PUBLIC PROGRAMS DURING KINO DER KUNST (APRIL 22–26)
MUNICH PREMIERE OF CORY ARCANGEL’S COMPOSITION DANCES FOR THE ELECTRIC PIANO, PERFORMED BY HAMPUS LINDWALL
APRIL 24 AT 7:30PM
HOCHSCHULE FÜR FERNSEHEN UND FILM, MUNICH
SUNDAY MATINÉE
APRIL 26 AT 11AM
ESPACE LOUIS VUITTON MÜNCHEN
CORY ARCANGEL IN CONVERSATION WITH HANS-ULRICH OBRIST
APRIL 26 AT 6:30PM
KINO DER KUNST ARTIST CONVERSATIONS AT MUSEUM BRANDHORST, MUNICH
ABOUT CORY ARCANGEL
CORY ARCANGEL (B. 1978 BUFFALO, NEW YORK) LIVES AND WORKS IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK. HE RECEIVED A BA IN CLASSICAL GUITAR FROM THE OBERLIN CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC IN OHIO IN 2000 AND SINCE PRACTICES AS AN ARTIST. ARCANGEL WORKS IN A WIDE RANGE OF MEDIA, INCLUDING COMPOSITION, VIDEO, MODIFIED VIDEO GAMES, PERFORMANCE AND THE INTERNET. HIS RECENT PROJECTS INCLUDE ARCANGEL SURFWARE (2014), A MERCHANDISE IMPRINT WITH PRODUCTS INCLUDING BEDSHEETS, IPAD COVERS AND MAGAZINES; WORKING ON MY NOVEL (2014), PUBLISHED BY PENGUIN BOOKS, AND AN EXTENSIVE RESEARCH PROJECT WITH A TEAM OF COMPUTER EXPERTS FROM THE CARNEGIE MELLON COMPUTER CLUB, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE ANDY WARHOL MUSEUM, THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM, AND THE CARNEGIE STUDIO FOR CREATIVE INQUIRY TO UNEARTH WARHOL’S LOST DIGITAL EXPERIMENTS. ARCANGEL IS THE YOUNGEST ARTIST SINCE BRUCE NAUMAN TO RECEIVE A SOLO SHOW AT THE WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART, NEW YORK (2011). HIS OTHER RECENT SOLO EXHIBITIONS INCLUDE GALLERIA D’ARTE MODERNA E CONTEMPORANEA, BERGAMO (2015); REYKJAVIK ART MUSEUM, REYKJAVIK (2015); HEART HERNING MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, HERNING (2014); FONDATION DHC/ART, MONTREAL (2013); CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF ART, PITTSBURGH (2013); BARBICAN ART GALLERY, LONDON (2011); HAMBURGER BAHNHOF, BERLIN (2010) AND MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, MIAMI (2010).
FOR PRESS AND FURTHER INQUIRIES, PLEASE CONTACT:
BASTIAN LERDON, COMMUNICATIONS, ESPACE LOUIS VUITTON MÜNCHEN
b.lerdon [at] de.vuitton.com / T +49 89 55 89 38 355
Pictured here:
Cory Arcangel, H/AF/EI/T, 2015. ASCII modified institutional press release.
