Bernie Lubell makes
interactive installations that focus on the intersection of
science and the arts, but his work is adamantly low-tech.
His installations use no computers or video or motors and
are entirely powered by visitors to the show. As visitors
work to animate the mechanisms they create a theatre for
themselves and each other. By requiring participation, touch
and manipulation Lubell gets the audience to engage their
bodies as well as their minds. As they play, participants
tap into the vast reservoir of knowledge stored in each of
their own bodies and they become active partners in
constructing an understanding of the artwork.
Lubell’s constructions feature
soft woods that are ill-suited to be machines and yet they
do work. Hovering at the line between working and not, gives
the mechanisms that tenuous yet tenacious character which
mirrors control issues in our daily lives. In “Pseudo
Science” Lubell will create an interactive installation that
allows viewers to touch, look into, and move the sculpture
in order to experience the work.
Lubell’s pieces are funny, friendly and personal even
as they tackle serious issues such as the nature of
consciousness, or the origins of life.
Michael C.
McMillen’s work shows an
astonishing level of craftsmanship and technical expertise
in his unique installations and intricate constructions. His
work is interactive and evolving in a continuous process of
discovery and invention. Elenore
Welles writes of his work
“McMillen juxtaposes objects to evoke associations and to
investigate the fine line between illusion and fiction. The
transmutation of matter, how it disintegrates and is reborn,
inspires his art. Scientific logic and the nature of matter
are terrains that often remain obscure. But he attempts to
demythologize them. In the process of building his imagery
he plays with the psychology of perception and the ideas
those images might convey. However, trying to penetrate
obscure concepts and make them conscious is certain to lead
to ambiguities. Deceptive realities can offer provocative
perspectives if the viewer is committed enough. The works
demand more than a cursory glance to connect all the visual
fragments. Although they tend to initiate more questions
than answers, the reward lies in layers of associative
visions.”
