Concentrations 59: Mirror Stage—Visualizing the Self After the Internet
April 10–December 6, 2015
Dallas Museum of Art
1717 North Harwood
Dallas TX 75201
Through a series of recent single-channel videos, Concentrations 59: Mirror Stage—Visualizing the Self After the Internet examines the changing understanding and representation of the self via digital technology and the Internet. Psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan’s term “mirror stage” refers to the stage of human development in which the infant first encounters an image of itself (often via a mirror) and begins to perceive the notion of selfhood. With this concept as its starting point, the exhibition explores how we as human beings now reencounter and reimagine the self via the myriad of screens we engage with in our digital lives (computer, smartphone, tablet, etc.).
This exhibition proposes that our confrontation with the screen establishes the relationship between ourselves and reality anew, allowing for infinitely mediated and malleable notions of the self that were unimaginable prior to the advent of the Internet. At times schizophrenic and narcissistic, the work included in Mirror Stage employs a variety of technologies such as motion capture, 3-D animation, and webcam footage to explore various facets of how we come to know and define ourselves as individuals in today’s “post-Internet” world.
Over the course of eight months, the exhibition will display works by an international roster of artists—including Ed Atkins, Trisha Baga, Antoine Catala, Aleksandra Domanović, Jon Rafman, Jacolby Satterwhite, Hito Steyerl, and Ryan Trecartin—with a different artist’s work on view each month.
Exhibition schedule:
April 10–May 10: Ryan Trecartin
May 12–June 7: Jon Rafman
June 9–July 12: Antoine Catala
July 14–August 9 : Trisha Baga
August 11–September 6: Jacolby Satterwhite
September 8–October 4: Aleksandra Domanović
October 6–November 8: Ed Atkins
November 10–December 6: Hito Steyerl
In conjunction with Concentrations 59: Mirror Stage, the DMA hosts a series of public programs with visiting artists.
Kool-Aid Man in Second Life Tours
Friday, May 15, 9pm
Dallas Museum of Art, C3 Theater
Free and open to the public
Artist Jon Rafman will perform as the iconic Kool-Aid Man as part of his ongoing performances within Second Life—an online, virtual world. Join Rafman as he explores the user-created online community, seeking out lesser-known areas and subcultures in the hidden corners of this vast landscape. DMA audiences will virtually join the artist for a guided tour of the elaborate fantasy worlds of Second Life, blurring the lines between our online and offline lives.
Mirror Stage: panel discussion with Ed Atkins and Jacolby Satterwhite
October 2015
Dallas Museum of Art, Horchow Auditorium
Free and open to the public
Join exhibition curator Gabriel Ritter, The Nancy and Tim Hanley Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art, for a discussion on the elastic notion of the self in the digital age. Featuring Ed Atkins, Jacolby Satterwhite, and other Mirror Stage artists, this panel will take a critical look at how the Internet has fundamentally changed how we as human beings come to know ourselves and our place in the world.
Acknowledgements
Concentrations 59: Mirror Stage—Visualizing the Self After the Internet is organized by the Dallas Museum of Art and curated by Gabriel Ritter, The Nancy and Tim Hanley Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art. The exhibition is accompanied by a full-color illustrated brochure with explanatory text by the exhibition curator. Additional support for the presentation is provided by the Contemporary Art Initiative and TWO X TWO for AIDS and Art, an annual fundraising event that jointly benefits amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research and the Dallas Museum of Art. Air transportation is provided by American Airlines. The exhibition is included in the Museum’s free general admission.
