The awards were announced live from FOUND:RE Phoenix Hotel on Thursday, November 3, 2022.
The 22nd Annual Artlink Juried Exhibition will run through February 2023.
Three artists who presented exemplary work rooted in the digital realm were announced as winners of the 22nd Annual Artlink Juried Exhibition during an opening night reception at FOUND:RE Phoenix Hotel.
The first place $5,000 award went to Phoenix-based artist Shomit Barua for his performance/installation “SCATR.irl.” Spatialized Cellular Audio Transmission and Reception (SCATR) is a live performance tool in which the cell phones of audience members become independent channels for live audio manipulation and spatialization. This was accompanied by _irl, an experimental durational performance using an esoteric live-coding environment. The single channel video installation of _irl contains clips from an earlier month-long performance that expressed new code written daily.
As Barua explains, “Covid19 had a devastating impact on performance artists. With mass closures of public venues, performance artists were forced to adapt to the limitations of video-telephony—musicians, dancers and actors flocked to Zoom and other streaming platforms to give stunted, amputated approximations of live performance… What distinguishes a “live” performance from an online performance? What if the “limitations” of online adaptation—such as latency, physical distance, the absence of immediacy or corporeal presence—were treated as a feature, not a bug? Concurrently, what if there was a dissolution of those elements that made traditional performance temporally and economically exclusive?”
‘SCATR.irl’ by Shomit Barua
‘Uncontained Harmony’ by Unheard Harmony
The second place prize of $1,500 went to Phoenix-based artist Unheard Harmony for his “Uncontained Harmony” photo paste installation.
In his artist statement Unheard Harmony (Danny Upshaw) shares, “Being an Indigenous person, I enjoy sharing the stories and the culture of the Diné and other Indigenous tribes too. The stories I most love to tell are a direct reflection of myself.”
The temporary exterior installation can be found in the porte cochere at the main entrance to FOUND:RE Phoenix Hotel, 1100 N. Central Ave. Phoenix.
‘Untitled # 1 from Thuy & Sand video’ by Anh-Thuy Nguyen
A third place $750 prize went to Tucson-based artist Anh-Thuy Nguyen for “Untitled # 1 from Thuy & Sand video.” Thuy & Sand (2017) is part of a larger series, Thuy &, in which Nguyen employs a semi-autobiographical character named Thuy to process her experiences as an immigrant. The series began at a time when Nguyen was unable to return to Vietnam.
Two artists received Honorary Mentions: Heidi Dauphin for “10x10x101000”, and Andrea Pro for “Not Perfect Just Growing”.
The Juried Exhibition features 66 works selected from nearly 1,000 submitted by more than 350 artists from throughout Arizona. This represented the highest number of submissions in the event’s history to be reviewed a dedicated panel of jurors:
- Liz Cohen, Visual Artist
- Nicole Olson, Performing Artist and Dance Creator
- Hermann Plank, President, TecnoKal and Chief Innovation Officer, METAXFASHION Inc.
- Gilbert Vicario, Chief Curator at Perez Art Museum in Miami
- Eunique Yazzie, Cahokia Co-Founder Designer/Artist/Creative Cultural Advocate
The exhibition catalog, designed by Clynt, can be viewed here and is available at FOUND:RE.
FOUND:RE Phoenix Hotel is located 1100 N. Central Ave. Phoenix AZ 85004. FOUND:RE is open to the public on a 24/7 basis, which gives art lovers the opportunity to see the exhibition at their leisure. The exhibition is presented as part of FOUND:RE Contemporary art program’s regular schedule of rotating exhibitions as headed by curator Jordan Zurn. The works will also be shown online at foundrecontemporary.com. The majority of works are available for purchase.
About Artlink Inc.: Artlink keeps the arts integral to our development by connecting artists, businesses, and the community. Founded as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization by artists in 1989, the Artlink name is a guiding principle for the organization as it supports the stakeholders of the arts and culture community, amplifying its collective strength. Visit artlinkphx.org to sign up for the Artlink newsletter or connect socially on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
More on “SCATR.irl” in the words of artist Shomit Barua:
Covid19 had a devastating impact on performance artists. With mass closures of public venues, performance artists were forced to adapt to the limitations of video-telephony—musicians, dancers and actors flocked to Zoom and other streaming platforms to give stunted, amputated approximations of live performance. Most shook their heads and lamented the shortcomings of these technologies.
What distinguishes a “live” performance from an online performance? What if the “limitations” of online adaptation—such as latency, physical distance, the absence of immediacy or corporeal presence—were treated as a feature, not a bug? Concurrently, what if there was a dissolution of those elements that made traditional performance temporally and economically exclusive?
Simply put, a performance in real life is different than a live-streamed performance. Effective adaptation and a harmonious, symbiotic integration of these two realms requires careful navigation of the constraints of each system.
_irl is an exercise in resiliency. This expression reframes the live performance as a slow process that advocates the subtle richness and variation that emerges from repetition and multiplicity over the immediate and explosive impact of garish spectacle. It is impossible by design to enjoy from beginning to end, and instead encourages bite-sized tastings, leisurely—inclusively—at one’s own convenience.
_irl is an experimental durational performance using an esoteric live-coding environment. The semi-generative soundscape is authored in real-time as an unfolding expression of conditions set by the artist. _irl considers the affordances of contemporary live-streamed performance and reflects on such themes as “liveness,” immediacy, and access. Referring to the novel coding practice of Cellular Automata, the code behaves as a colony of living creatures that evolve and flourish sonorously despite arbitrary rules and remotely imposed aesthetics.
