Thu Mar 01, 2012 19:00 - Sun May 27, 2012

New York, New York
United States of America

Watchers: Secrets of the Krell by Tom Estes

On some days it is more apparent than others that the ground is shifting beneath our feet. There's no warning. None at all. One minute you're happily walking down the street. The next it feels like the end of the world. Of course the parameters of our world are constantly moving—in incredibly slow motion—it’s just that we don't even notice most of the time. But this realization can also make it all the more interesting to begin to perceive the shape of something else on the horizon. Held every two years, the aim of the prestigious 2012 Whitney Biennial is to present a view of significant contemporary art. The Windsor-Whitney Online Biennial is a collateral event that offers a fresh and cutting-edge alternative to the more established institutional selections. But if we are to judge the value of this latest groundswell, it should be by one of the short listed artists, whose work seems to go beyond this "diverse array of collective actions" and may just may be one of the most exciting and significant things to come out of this years selection.

Since the dawn of civilization, humans have wondered what transcendent intelligence could have created the universe. For some, religion is merely a superstition or an irrational belief that future events can be influenced or foretold by specific, unrelated behaviors or occurrences. The earliest religions were created as a way to deal with ignorance and fear of the unknown. Religious belief can therefore, be seen as one way of attempting to regain control over events in one's life. But whether we believe in a god or not, whether we identify ourselves as theists, atheists or even anti-theists, our world is profoundly influenced by concepts of god and the divine. The human pursuit to bring oneself in harmony with collective worship as a means to find protection, solace and happiness also maintains social relationships and relationships of power as old as humanity itself.

For artist Tom Estes, fantasy and illusion are not contradictions of reality, but instead an integral part of our everyday lives www.TomEstes.info. Estes has strived, not to break down these introverted, often self-imposed boundaries, but to look at how dataflow impacts on the significance and symbolism of real-world human senses. His work 'Watchers: Secrets of the Krell' has introduced a new kind of artwork that functions more as art proposal for a partially realized exhibition; a document of visual and spatial modes of presentation that theorizes a different approach. But in doing so Estes has begun to generate unexpected questions about how art might be able to inscribe itself on the surface of reality- not to represent itself on the surface of reality –not to represent reality, nor to duplicate it, but to replace it.

In his practice Estes has focused on conditions that shape both production and reception of art. At the core of Estes' work is an attention to the paradox of using intervention and history as meta-narrative devices. In 'Watchers' Estes has appropriated the Sci-fi image of writing from the lost language of an ancient and highly advanced alien civilization- and literally projected it directly onto a Bible open at 'Genesis'. By merging these two existing narratives and their related ideological fictions (alien super-beings alongside our own cultural beliefs in an all-powerful creator) the artist transforms both narratives, giving rise to a host of new associations.

The work recalls some of the most outlandish and wild claims of conspiracy theory: that alien astronauts genetically engineered us from apes and placed us back on earth as a new species. However, by projecting directly onto the page Estes over-rides the Biblical text. This act of usurpation alludes to an even more unnerving comparison which emphasizes sex and the reproductive system. The authors of contemporary ‘Alien abduction’ stories often describe being subjected to complex physical and psychological procedures. These involve claims of humans being subjected to forced medical examination, and are described subjectively as nightmarish but real memories of being taken secretly and/or against one’s will by apparently non-human entities.

By merging the common and the absurd, Estes alters not only our perception of Christianity, but also highlights our obsession with tabloid sensation and web fuelled social activity. So putting aside the question of whether abduction reports are literally and objectively “real”, their popularity and their intriguing appeal are easily understood. Conspiracy Theory is compelling and fascinating- but it is also as old as the world itself. Hitler was a master at weaving conspiracy tales and brought the Nazi party to power by blaming the Communist for the Reichstag Fire. Nero concocted one to shift the blame to Christians for the burning of Rome. However, Conspiracy Theory is more than just the belief in an occasional conspiracy. Simply put, it is a whole belief system that asserts that world events are being controlled in secret by a group of ultra-powerful puppeteers behind the scenes. So conspiracy theories that, for example, involve alien abductions project its fictions onto real-life people, families, groups, and organizations that purport it to be actually true. In the post-modern age, tales of abduction are intrinsically absorbing and it is hard to imagine a more vivid description of human powerlessness in the form of a shared delusion- other than ones found in religion. And like religion, the science fiction genre itself has long served as a useful vehicle for "safely" discussing controversial topical issues and often providing thoughtful social commentary on potential unforeseen future issues. Presentation of contemporary issues that are difficult or disturbing for an audience can be made more acceptable when they are explored in a future setting or on a different, earth-like world. The altered context can allow for deeper examination and reflection of the ideas presented, with the perspective of a viewer watching remote events.

An allegorical interpretation of Genesis is a reading of the biblical Book of Genesis that treats elements of the narrative as symbols or types. But even those who favor an allegorical interpretation of the story claim that its intent is to describe humankind's relationship to creation and the creator.The polar opposite would be 'Biblical Literalism': the belief that the Bible, or at least large portions of it, should be read literally, not allegorically. To some extent, literalism is a matter of degree, since not even self-described literalists claim to believe that everything in the Bible is literal. But by literally projecting an image of Krell writing on to the top of the Biblical creation myth of ‘Genesis’ Estes transforms these two narratives and their related ideological fictions. But Estes not only supplants the Christian text, but calls into question the process by which its authenticity as a literal text is propagated. So while religion offers a spiritual answer, it offers very little in the way of tangible proof. However, much of the 'fiction' in science fiction is based on real-life science theory or scientific fact.

But of course criticism of religion is nothing new. The culture of belief itself is contested by numerous scientists, historians, psychologists and ethnologists – those who reject any form of religion, irrationalism, superstition or pseudo-science. In past decades many lobbied instead for a world that is dominated by rationality and intellect in lieu of irrationality and religious hatred. Religion is according to Karl Marx, "the opium of the people" and according to Friedrich Nietzsche, one can reach a higher level of humanness through completely stripping away western Christianity with a "transvaluation of all values". Likewise, for many scientists our Galaxy should be full of advanced alien civilizations, but when they’ve looked the Galaxy appears to be quiet and lonely. Where are all the alien civilizations they ask? Many people would of course argue with this, pointing out that aliens have visited us; that they created the pyramids, Atlantis and humankind itself. By paying homage to the imagined and fictional, Estes has supplanted one grand narrative or ideological fiction for another.

By intentionally leaving the project unrealised, Estes’ closed circuit of illusion mimics and merges with the mass media desire for immediate novelty. In the work, Estes anticipates the online reduction of his installation to a single image. By creating an art-world-as-fiction, the work raises the question of whether this project should be understood as an online representation – using fictional space to comment on the ‘real’ world - or as intervention- actually reordering the real world. Estes work recalls the little known ‘Conquest of Ubiquity’, by Paul Valery which makes prognostications that works of art are designed with their reproducibility in mind. It is therefore neither uniqueness, nor specificity, but the potential for ‘ubiquity’ that yields the value of work made for new media. As we said earlier for Estes, fantasy and illusion are not contradictions of reality, but instead an integral part of our everyday lives. But Estes' work has also begun to generate unexpected questions about how art might be able to inscribe itself on the surface of reality; not to represent itself on the surface of reality, not to represent reality, nor to duplicate it- but to replace it. Just as the movement of commodities presupposes a demand, a work of art must conform to an established, shared protocol. But if we are to judge the latest shift, then it could be said that the language of representation has even superseded the role of the exhibition space in the presentation as art.

In his practice, Estes approaches the theme of 'reality' by engaging with the variety and fidelity of sensory information found on the internet. Estes strives not to break down this introverted, often self-imposed hall of mirrors; instead his theatrical interpretation looks at how dataflow from the virtual realm impacts on the significance and symbolism of real-world human senses. Many artists have now joined Estes and others in feeling that a capacity for lateral, horizontal movement has had a flattening effect upon not only their production, but now also the physical world. This realization makes it all the more interesting to begin to perceive the shape of something else on the horizon—something that will follow the convergence of new forms of popular expression that do not deny, but include the economic realities that have allowed advances in symbolic exchange, but that can also be taken further.

The 2012 Windsor Whitney Biennial opened on March 2nd in New York and also includes the work of: Mitchel Ahern, Stephanie Angelo, Ivana Basic, Martkus Blaus, Sabine Blodorn, Sean Boyce, Zel Brook, katerina Bykhovskaya, Jeannie Choe,Hunter Clarke, Joan Cox, Angela Dieffenbach, Paula Dixon, Travis Donovan, Donna Dralle, Celia Eberle, Celia Eberle, Tom Estes, Tony Faddoul, Ichi Foto, Stephan Fowlkes, Joseph Geary, Maki Hajikano, Leigh Hall, Susan Harmon, Tom Holmes, Shelah Horvitz, CJ Hungerman, Sasa Jantolek, Majorie Kaye, Matthew Keller, Khara Koffel, Renato Koledic, Ya Laford, Rachel Leibman, Gabriella Levine, Charlene Liska, Peter Lograsso, Kate Mackay, Sarah Manuwal, Nenad Marasovic,Nenad Marasovic, Christina Massey, Abdul Mazid, Jason Moan, Nicole Moan, Giuseppe Munafo, Ted Ollier, Bo Petran, Chas Reed, Joan Ryan, Irma Sanchez, Marlene Sarroff, Claudio Scardino, Jeff Schreier, Michele Schuff, Robert Sebanc, Clarissa Shanahan, George Shaw, Kelly Jo Shows, Donna Simons, Gabriel Stallings, B. Avery Syrig, Csaba Szentesi, Vanessa Thompson, Linnea Tober, Mare Vaccaro, Paul Valadez, Rafael Vargas and Terrance Wong

Fri Jan 27, 2012 12:00 - Sun Feb 05, 2012

Overlords at SALON NEU
From 28 January - 5 February, 2012

It’s hard to remember a world without the internet. In its current pernicious state of velocity combined with a fathomless audience, the internet has become a dizzying source of daily information. According to a recent survey, we now spend almost half our waking hours either online, on the phone, or watching television. The flow of information has continued unabated and transmission of images has accelerated to become a source of daily reality for most users of technology. Younger people have shown the biggest changes in how we use media. But the divide between younger and older people's use of technology is starting to narrow.

The definition of 'reality' is one of the big questions for our time. For artist Tom Estes fantasy and illusion are not contradictions of reality, but instead an integral part of our everyday lives. In his practice, Estes approaches the theme of 'reality' by engaging with the variety and fidelity of sensory information found on the internet. Estes strives, not to break down this introverted, often self-imposed hall of mirrors; instead his theatrical interpretation looks at how dataflow from the virtual realm impacts on the significance and symbolism of real-world human senses. At the core of Estes' work is an attention to the paradox of using intervention and history as meta-narrative devices. Estes originally conceived 'Overlords' as a video installation comprised of images of ‘Time Travel’ projected on to a book called ‘Local History and Antiquities’. The work was deliberately left incomplete. The display of the digital image- as the only reminder of the artist’s original intention- points backwards to interrogate the capacity of the viewer to recognize the gesture of 'inertia' as ironic. Because irony always implies a ‘double audience’ – there are those who accept the gesture at face value and those who realize the gesture is simulated intentionally.

So how much of reality is fictional and how does fiction express reality? Estes has begun to generate unexpected questions about how art might be able to inscribe itself on the surface of reality; Not to represent itself on the surface of reality, not to represent reality, nor to duplicate it- but to replace it. The work 'Overlords' recalls the little known ‘Conquest of Ubiquity’, by Paul Valery which makes prognostications that works of art are designed with their reproducibility in mind. It is therefore neither uniqueness, nor specificity, but the potential for ‘ubiquity’ that yields the value of work made for new media. By intentionally leaving the project unrealised, Estes’ closed circuit of illusion mimics and merges with the mass media desire for immediate novelty. In the work, Estes anticipates the online reduction of his installation to a single image. By creating an art-world-as-fiction, the work raises the question of whether this project should be understood as an online representation – using fictional space to comment on the ‘real’ world - or as intervention- actually reordering the real world.

Throughout human history the most powerful groups in society have used images to institutionalize their power and to shape social memory. Today's increasingly homogenized 'market' implies the inability of the consumer to acknowledge life experiences that are different from their own. An image today needs a compelling and persuasively clear message that the target audience can understand immediately. An act of 'Passive Resistance' can end up lost to viewers who conceive of others experiences as substantially analogous to their own. Screwing with reality then seems to be a logical next step in a world ridden by exploitation and exclusion. This may seen reactionary and counter productive, but in doing so Estes questions the position of art as a potentially critical gesture – and in turn creates a potential for criticism back onto the art world itself- an issue he has attempted to play out in a number of recent projects. But by disrupting the conventional barriers between artist, audience and art institution, Estes' act of subterfuge has begun to generate unexpected questions about the flickering, fading definition of 'reality' in the PR driven world we inhabit. The distinction between representation and intervention reveals the problem of presenting to an ‘art audience’, and comes back to the intriguing and troublesome question of what happens when ‘we’ see ourselves seeing something from the vantage point of a particular cultural position, such as that of contemporary art.

The global world of the 21st century is increasingly complex, hard-hearted and cynical. While there was a time when we thought of photographs as recorders of reality, we now know they help to shape and invent reality. E-mails, mobile phones, search engines and even navigation systems propel images towards us throughout our daily waking hours in a way that is both ‘real’ and utterly superficial. Prior to this plethora of images, the decision-making time span was attached to a photographs presentation or recording capacity. No longer are we dependent on secondary sources such as the photographic laboratory or other specific technologies for their retention, development or processing. Images are produced in one instant and disseminated within the next giving the illusion of a certain cultural freedom. And yet Lens-based technology is routinely subscribed to without a second thought to the point of being all-pervasive. At one stage or another, whether in shooting, developing, editing or placement, pictures are manipulated, which means that we are manipulated.


'Overlords' by Tom Estes recieved an Honorable Mention- as part of The Boston Online Biennial- and was shown during The Biennial Project's VIP Opening Reception for the opening week of the 54th Venice Biennale. Overlords was also part of The Agency of Unrealized Projects at the Kopfbau in Art Basel. The Agency of Unrealized Projects (AUP) was devised by Julieta Aranda, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Julia Peyton-Jones and Anton Vidokle and was organized as a join effort between e-flux and The Serpentine Gallery.

Overlords at SALON NEU
From 28 January - 5 February, 2012

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