Sarah Brady's Material Reiteration

Sarah Brady’s show, Material Reiteration, consists of four exhibits relating to big data. The show aims to present data as a creator instead of a product of the intention. The exhibits that caught my attention was the sculpture entitled “Rise” and "Reiteration".

“Rise” is a kinetic installation that involves a black box of black stones imported from China (As shown in the video clip below). Beneath the black stones is an electric motor that rotated a piece of wood. The continuously rotating wood displaced the black stones, pushing them out of the box, creating slopes of pebbles on all four sides of the black box. In addition, the art piece would randomly produce a prolonged loud creaking sound which did not affect the rate at which the wood was spinning. Moreover, the stone hills on either side would occasionally collapse and be rebuilt by new stones displaced by the wood.

“Rise” invokes the idea that data collection is unrelenting. Additionally, the fact that the loud noise does not affect the frequency of the device, seem to suggest data collection is unfeeling. It reminds me of how major corporations are collecting the meta data on consumer behavior. Like the stones overflowing the box, data collection never stops, with the newer data replacing the old data as servers run out of storage space. However, the aimless displacement of the stones all brings about the thought of the futility of data collection if said data is not utilized.

“Reiteration” is two twin black towers that had speakers installed in them. Standing in the gap in between the two towers, random sounds such as metals rubbing together and static engulfed participants. In addition, when looking at the other installations, the sounds added a certain depth to each piece, casting each piece in a different light metaphorically.

Sculpture Entitled "Reiteration" which Engulfed Participants Standing in Between the Pillars with Sounds of Metal Rubbing Together

“Reiteration” bears striking resemblance to the black monolith in the Space Odyssey. Like how the monolith changed the hominids in the book, the tower alters the viewer’s experience of the other artworks on display. Hence, parallels can be drawn between how the tower alters the perception of the person within it to how access to metadata gives its user power. Both enhances the perception of their user and can reveal much about things or people. As the old saying goes, “Information is power”.

More importantly, the entire exhibit is colored black, which makes the show look chic and modern. However, the black aesthetic also seems to suggest that data collection is unfeeling and self-serving, disregarding any collateral damage. Given the nature of metadata collection, the black hue is well deserved as it highlights the mysterious and concealed methods in which said data is usually collected. 

Overall, the exhibition is a perfect example of the symbiotic relationship between science and art. It was cathartic to see how the science of data collection, which can be said to be a form of order, inspire such art which appears seeming chaotic and random. Most importantly, all the installations presented relied on the use of modern technology. Ergo, Sarah Brady’s show would suffice as proof of the “Third Culture” predicted by Baron Charles Percy Snow, where literary scholars collaborate with science scholars instead of adopting a silo mentality.

Group Photo Featuring Artist Sarah Brady (left) with Fellow DESMA 9 Students

Event Web Link:
https://dma.ucla.edu/events/calendar/?ID=1002

Sources:
Snow, Charles Percy. The Two Cultures and The Scientific Revolution. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge U Press, 1961. Print.
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