Digital Artists at the 2019 Venice Biennale: VR, Net Art, and AI
At the 2019 Venice Biennale, three digital artists presented works that explore technology's impact on climate, surveillance, and emotion. Marina Abramović's VR piece 'Rising,' shown in a gallery near Ca' Rezzonico, addresses climate change through a seven-minute virtual sequence where her face contrasts with melting Arctic ice. The project is a collaboration between Canadian organization Phi and Acute Art, also involving Jeff Koons, Anish Kapoor, and Olafur Eliasson. In the Taiwan Pavilion, Shu Lea Cheang, a pioneer of Net Art, exhibited '3X3X6,' referencing standard prison cell dimensions monitored by six cameras. The work draws on Foucault to examine sexual deviance and electronic surveillance, using a digital-pop-kitsch aesthetic. Hito Steyerl presented 'This is the Future' at the Arsenale, a multimedia video installation across twenty screens that critiques AI's inability to predict the future. The piece, titled after a Laurie Anderson song, blends 1980s optimism with dystopian imagery, including digital flowers that bloom and die rapidly. Steyerl's work emphasizes emotion and commotion, urging caution with digital media.
Key facts
- Marina Abramović's VR work 'Rising' is about climate change.
- The VR project involves Phi and Acute Art.
- Other artists in the VR project include Jeff Koons, Anish Kapoor, and Olafur Eliasson.
- Shu Lea Cheang's '3X3X6' is shown in the Taiwan Pavilion.
- Cheang's work references Foucault and prison surveillance.
- Hito Steyerl's 'This is the Future' is at the Arsenale.
- Steyerl's installation uses twenty screens and questions AI's predictive power.
- The Biennale is the 58th Venice Art Biennale in 2019.
Entities
Artists
- Marina Abramović
- Jeff Koons
- Anish Kapoor
- Olafur Eliasson
- Shu Lea Cheang
- Hito Steyerl
- Laurie Anderson
- Lorenzo Taiuti
Institutions
- Phi
- Acute Art
- Taiwan Pavilion
- Arsenale
- Ca' Rezzonico
- Artribune
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
- Arctic