Prior to the announcement of the And/Or Show #17, I had never heard of Brooklyn artist Cory Arcangel. So I did some research
and I laughed my ass off. I checked out "Things I Made" on Arcangel's Weblog and discovered a Doogie Howser, M.D.-related search engine hack, a log of timecodes for instances of tension between Simon and Garfunkel on the The Concert in Central Park DVD, Iron Maiden's "Number of the Beast" compressed on itself 666 times and an original program that when used, from what I understand, will allow someone to watch the movie Colors line by line over 33 days. The guy either has too much time at the keyboard or he's my new best friend. Now, And/Or is showcasing some of Arcangel's more "displayable" artworks that still feature his love for computers and technology but are wall-hangers as opposed to mouse-clickers. A series of four squares, for instance, demonstrates Photoshop techniques simply but eye-catchingly nonetheless. Arcangel's tongue-in-cheek delivery is refreshing in the often heavy-handed gallery world and pairs well with co-exhibitors, artists Olia Lialina and Dragan Espenschied. The German-based pair works in techy mediums as well, pairing images of online publications with graphics and animation that are both somewhat immature and out-of-date. Combined, the three artists provide And/Or Gallery, 4221 Bryan St., with a taste of the computer age seemingly at battle with progress but removed from its standard method of viewing: the deskbound monitor. And/Or is open 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, noon to 6 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and by appointment. Visit andorgallery.com.
Wednesdays-Saturdays. Starts: June 7. Continues through July 19, 2008