PRNT SCRN | Ep. 4: Not Your Average Playtest, Part I

02/20/19 • 10 min

I collect treasures. To some people, I collect junk. But one object I own that has never lost its luster is the View-Master. Even as an adult, the sensation of looking at reels ranging from visuals showing vintage Disney cartoons to 1960s New York cityscapes, the View-Master has served up a type of visual immersive space since the late 1930s. From dioramas to panoramas, the allure of being enveloped in a place or tableau outside of one’s reality has mass appeal considering the popularity of virtual reality technologies such as the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive. Through 360 filmmaking and photography, the creation of space within the virtual realm has become commonplace. From journalism to entertainment purposes, while virtual worlds enable a new way of seeing fantastical worlds, artists and designers must consider format and aesthetics. In the first part of a two-part series, Not Your Average Playtest, I scratch the surface of the history of virtuality from analog to digital formats and examine how contemporary artists are using virtual reality as a medium. -- Subscribe to Art Practical on iTunes to catch PRNT SCRN as soon as it publishes! Check us out on Instagram (@prnt_scrn_ap) and Twitter (@PRNTSCRN1). #APaudio.

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(un)making | Ep. 37: Carolina Caycedo

In this episode, I talk with Los Angeles artist Carolina Caycedo. Caycedo’s multilayered projects weave together archival, site, and community research, long term support of grassroots social movements, drawings, performance, documentary video, educational engagements, and the work of many collaborators. Through this array of tactics, she investigates the impact of extractive economies and hyper development on communities, local systems of knowledge, and the environment. While the art objects generated through her practice are not necessarily the endpoint of her work, they have a presence and depth that unfolds across a variety of contexts. For instance, her Serpent River Book--an expansive accordion fold artist book that explores the stories of communities in Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico grappling with the impact of privatization and industrialization of their rivers--is as much at home as a museum installation piece, pedagogical tool for village organizers, or performance prompt for a company of dancers. In our conversation we talk about the embodied knowledge of what she calls “geochoreographies,” navigating--and sometimes haunting--institutions, and working with ethical rigor. Carolina Caycedo has developed publicly engaged projects in Bogota, Quezon City, Toronto, Madrid, Sao Paulo, Lisbon, San Juan, New York, San Francisco, Paris, Mexico DF, Tijuana, and London. Her work has been exhibited worldwide with solo shows at Vienna Secession, Intermediae-Matadero Madrid, Agnes B Gallery Paris, Alianza Francesa Bogotá, Hordaland Kunstsenter Bergen, 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica, and DAAD Gallery in Berlin. She has participated in international biennials including Sao Paulo (2016), Berlin (2014), Paris Triennial (2013), New Museum (2011), Havana (2009), Whitney (2006), Venice (2003) and Istanbul (2001). In 2012, Caycedo was a DAAD Artist-in-Berlin resident. She has received funding from Creative Capital, California Community Foundation, Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Harpo Foundation, Art Matters, Colombian Culture Ministry, Arts Council UK, and Prince Claus Fund. Artist’s site: http://Carolinacaycedo.com Exhibition at the Huntington: https://www.huntington.org/rituals-of-labor Palm Springs Art Museum project: https://www.psmuseum.org/events/pop-up/carolina-caycedo Subscribe to Art Practical on iTunes to catch (un)making as soon as it publishes, or look for it here every other Wednesday! #APaudio Check us out on Instagram at @un_making