Rist’s work shows vibrant and engaging images of nature (and sometimes people interacting with it). The movement of the camera and the seamless editing allows viewers to feel like they’re literally moving through nature and experiencing it as they never have before. Using two videos projected on two adjoining gives digital art even more depth- literally by adding dimension to the piece. I think that Rist is using this work to bring an immersive natural experience to the audience. The sound is also highly edited, which creates a new meaning in the piece. Having people physically wade through stings of light also is a great part of the piece. The natural color changes of the clearly man-made fixtures also have this duality of natural and new technology.
This “new” nature challenges the way we approach and look at the environments we live in and interact with. I really enjoyed the Bishop article and think that it relates to this piece in particular. The conflict between the digital revolution and the art world is interesting. Just this past week, I’ve seen multiple people on social media share pictures and snapchat stories of this exhibition. Recently, I’ve noticed that a lot of popular shows become so because of popularity on social media. Pretty, interactive, and Instagram-able art is super popular these days. People wait hours for immersive art and tickets sell out to interactive shows like the ice cream pop up museum. Some artists have been quick to jump on this trend, but many like Bishop talks about, are hesitant. Its an interesting intersection that the art world is standing at. I think that social media and the digital revolution create a unique opportunity that allows artists to reach more people for less money and barriers than ever before. At the same time, making art to be “instagram-able” doesn’t always add value to the art itself. Its an interesting back and forth that will challenge the way we look at and interact with art moving forward.