Extra Credit Event 2: DMA Final Presentation

This week, I attended the final exhibition for senior DMA students. The exhibition was called "Unsolicited Airdrop."

The exhibition featured a variety of exhibits that all pertained to technology. As I now reflect upon the art I saw, I realize the point of the art there was the daily exposure we have to unwanted technology, how we are slave to something we don't always have a choice in experiencing. However, much of the art demonstrated that despite this, there are huge benefits, sometimes even moments that we chase, that involve technology and innovation.

One of the first pieces I saw featured art that was centered around the artist's struggle with bipolar disorder. She created 3D-printed images of the chemical compounds that made up her meds, and told a story by going through her trial-and-error process with each medicine she tried to control her illness. A booklet sat below the 3D printed object and contained stories about the bad side effects they caused. She lost her ability to feel and almost ruined her relationship as she fell out of love with her significant other. She found herself drowsy, falling asleep at the wheel on another med. The art really spoke to me, as someone who has also dealt with mental illness and struggled with endless compounds attempting to alter my way of thinking. This piece reminded me of the biotech/medtech weeks, and I found a great appreciate in the fact that while many artists use biotech to create their art, this artist found something powerful in medical technology that she had no choice but to experience.

The second piece I focused on viewing was a simulation where you had options after every written passage that controlled your destiny. It was about what it means to graduate and how we all hope that each of our printed out diplomas was actually worth something. The passages focused on how we all use technology, and while sometimes it leads to positive things, like working in a computer lab all night to produce an essay, we just as often stay up much later than intended scrolling through our social media. I thought back to the week on neuroscience, and how technology has such a grip on each of us, much like a drug.

My favorite, and third piece, was one that featured hundreds of screen caps lined up. They appeared to have been taken over regular intervals and displayed common websites that many of us frequent. At the bottom of the collage was a boy (a live one) that sat on his phone for the entirety of the exhibit. The hooded sweatshirt he wore had all of the screencaps printed on it, to the point where his body merged with the art on the wall. This art really emphasized how we are becoming the technology we consume. We are so greatly influenced by every technological advancement. Furthermore, our search history and internet presence are not always as anonymous as they seem, as each of us "wears" our involvement with the web. Whether it be how the government has access to nearly anything you do or simply how you display yourself on a public social media outlet, each of us reflects the scientific advancements we interact with.

 All pictures taken by Jennifer Merritt (2017); all art exhibit material courtesy of  UCLA MFA DMA. Extremely awkward proof of attendance: