Curated by Carolyn H. Drake and Suzanne Wallinga
ON DEMAND 3 is a non-thematic video exhibition that has a similar structure to that of Netflix. Key questions within the exhibition relate to the distribution, consumption and reception of video art as a medium. Viewers are invited to pick works from a list of pre-selected recent videos chosen by the curators. Artists in ON DEMAND 3 deal with mysticism, transgender issues, escapism, new technologies, capitalism, and semiotics of the image by employing a range of cinematic genres including documentary, science fiction, animation and more. The format of ON DEMAND 3 allows visitors to explore a range of works that might otherwise not be seen together and simultaneously question this continuously developing exciting medium. With a selection of works by Dragos Alexandrescu, Basma Alsharif, Gabriel Abrantes, Neïl Beloufa, Sebastian Buerkner, Sander Breure & Witte van Hulzen, Agnese Cornelio, Jonah Freeman & Justin Lowe, Giovanni Giaretta, Emma van der Put, Jacob Dwyer, Helen Dowling, Hamza Halloubi, Betty Leirner, Cristina Lucas, Virginia de Medeiros, Jonathan Monaghan, Luiz Roque, and Natalia Sorzano.
ON DEMAND 3 experience returns to the White Cube
With the increasing possibilities of on-demand Internet streaming, consumers are able to enjoy films and videos in the comfort of their own home. But how does that affect the viewing experience when it comes to watching video art? Within the art historical repertoire, art has always been enjoyed in so-called holy places: from Egyptian tomb chambers to medieval churches to Parisian museums and since the 1960s in the white cube of a gallery. Ever since the arrival of video art, white cubes have been morphed into black boxes in order to optimize viewing conditions for film and video. Every contemporary museum these days has a specific viewing room for video and most galleries are following suit. In his widely read essay ‘Inside the White Cube’, Brian O’Doherty points out that the gallery space is not a neutral container but rather a historical construct. Have our laptops become the new historical construct? With this question in mind, ON DEMAND 3 challenges the position of video art within contemporary visual culture.
Talks program and collaboration with Art
Plus A talks program is being organized to accompany the exhibition. The first event will take place on Sunday, the 11th of October and includes several artist talks between 4 – 6 pm. ON DEMAND 3 is being made in collaboration with Art Plus, a new platform to securely manage media art ownership and multichannel exhibitions. On Sunday, the 8th of November there will be an expert meeting for professionals in the field of collecting, presenting and distributing video art. Art Plus will introduce their new player: ARTLOCK for the first time, following more than two years of intensive research and development.