Event 1: Toni Dove's Installations

On April 19th I had the good fortune of attending a lecture by Toni Dove, a New York based Artist who specializes in works with electronic and interactive media. I enjoyed the lecture thoroughly as Toni described how her pieces of art are interactive, and not static like most art. Her method of expression of using gestures to control video playback shows how far the use of technology has come in the art world. From simple pieces of art where artist have to express themselves in a 2D frame, we've come to a time where artists have the most innovative and revolutionary methods to freely express themselves.

 Toni Dove and I after her lecture

The works that struck me most were Spectropia and Lucid Possession. I was initially quite confused as to how I'm supposed to be interpreting these demonstrations, but I realized that my thoughts were too divided into cultural norms as described by C.P Snow^[1]. I began seeing patterns and structures that I couldn't see before and realized the true value of the 'aura' of an artistic piece^[2]. I enjoyed the free way in which Toni controlled her videos and her visualization of the human soul in a third person view.

Toni interactively demonstrating the struggles of the human soul.

What I appreciated most about Toni's pieces is that she does not let funders and donators influence her artistic direction. Most artists today shape their art to the vision of their buyer or funder, but Toni's works are a true expression of who she is as a person and what she observes in the world^[3]. 

However, the one critique I have of Toni's works is that her pieces are often hard to decipher as they seem abstract. While her pieces make perfect sense to her, she should try harder to make them more decipherable as this would help her express herself in a better way.

One of Toni's more abstract pieces.

Overall it was an enjoyable experience as I got to witness the true expression of a passionate and creative person.

SOURCES

[1] Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. New York: Cambridge UP, 1959. Print.

[2]  Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. London: Penguin, 2008. Print.

[3] "Toni Dove." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 03 May 2016.

[4] Bohm, D. "On Creativity." JSTOR. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Oct. 2013.

[5] "Spectropia Excerpts." Vimeo. Web. 03 May 2016.