A significant new exhibition at the Tate Modern in London delves into how artists from the 1950s to the 1990s harnessed early technologies to produce remarkable works that laid the groundwork for the digital age. Entitled 'Electric Dreams: Art and Technology Before the Internet,' the exhibition showcases kinetic, digital, and immersive art by 70 visionary artists from around the world, highlighting their innovative use of emerging tools to envision new utopian futures.
'What we aim to achieve with this exhibition is to examine the generation of artists from the 50s to the 1990s, just before the advent of the internet and the World Wide Web, who were imagining the digital world we inhabit today, albeit with rather basic tools,' explains Catherine Wood, the director of exhibitions at Tate Modern.
One of the standout pieces is Alberto Biasi's 'Light Prisms: Spectral Kinetic Mesh' (1966), an enchanting installation that directs light beams through prisms, creating a vivid spectrum of shifting colors. The effect is both mesmerizing and otherworldly, evoking the imagery on Pink Floyd's 'The Dark Side of the Moon' album cover.
Another notable work is Venezuelan artist Carlos Cruz-Diez's 'Chromointerferent Environment,' an immersive and psychedelic installation. Visitors can engage with white balloons that bounce playfully within a dynamic projection of red, blue, green, and black lines that ripple and glitch across the walls.
Elsewhere, 'Narcissus’ Digital Reflections' (1992) by Monika Fleischmann and Wolfgang Strauss offers a hauntingly prescient look into the era of social media. A touchscreen resembling water ripples at visitors' touch, paired with a camera that projects their image onto its surface. This reflection is then enlarged on the wall, allowing others to observe people interacting with their own likeness.
'These are artists who, instead of using traditional media like oil paint or bronze, utilized the technological tools available to them to envision a utopian future, especially after the disruptions of the Second World War, to think about how they could create work that connects us to the modern world we live in,' says Wood.
The exhibition features 150 works, with the technologies employed becoming increasingly advanced as one progresses through the space. Art critic Tabish Khan appreciated the show, stating: 'It's this idea that technology and art have always been intertwined. Many of the works here may seem low-tech, but that underscores how artists have always been leveraging technology.' Compared to contemporary artists, where digital image manipulation and AI are standard, many of the technologies used then appear 'rudimentary' to modern eyes. LCD digits, LED lights, and projections might not seem groundbreaking today, but they were at the cutting edge at the time.
'I believe there's a nostalgic value to this art, as it reminds us of times past. But it's also crucial to trace that every artistic product today has its origins. This exhibition shows the journey it took to reach where we are now,' says Khan.
'Electric Dreams' runs from 28 November until 1 June 2025 at the Tate Modern in London.
Source link: https://www.euronews.com
