George

Exhibition Dates: Saturday, January 14 - Sunday, February 12, 2023
Gallery Hours: Fridays - Sundays, 12pm-6pm
Opening Reception: Saturday January 14, 4pm-7pm

CURATORIAL STATEMENT

The word ‘interactive’ became popular towards the end of the 20th century, coinciding with the shift in understanding of art from something that “at the end of the 19th century, everybody understood [was made entirely by the artist] and the audience was a passive observer” to the end of the 20th century, where “much of the contemporary art experience was a collaboration between the artist and the audience.” These quotes, taken from George Fifield’s syllabus on the foundations of interactivity in the arts taught at RISD, introduce an art historical lens which informed much of his curation, organizing, pedagogy, and practice.

Fifield’s legacy includes a wide-ranging conversation between artists that defy and also expand the language of fine arts. This exhibition,‘George’, is dedicated to his exploration of avant-garde approaches to art production and his ability to build bridges between worlds that seemingly moved away from one another. Bringing together art historical theory, literature, science, and technology, he was able to connect ideas on the topics of new media and the artists that continue to explore them today. 

Fifield’s experimentation, mentorship, and participatory approach towards building communities in the art world guided his curatorial insights toward redefining disciplinary boundaries of what constitutes ‘new media art’. Included in the show are examples of Fifield’s series of early color copy machine collages, a 20th century stereoscope, video projects, documentation of WGBH artist residencies, take-away copies of his syllabus, Marcel Duchamp’s Rotoreliefs, and examples of his community driven media experiments. 

As a champion of experimental art and visual culture, Fifield used his platform to explore the connections between traditional and non-traditional artists. Specializing in new media, his collaborators included fine artists, alongside data visualization engineers, bomb researchers, hackers, scientists, all of which were exploring questions on the nature of curiosity in the human experience.

Throughout his career, Fifield made clear that the enigmatic relation and mind of the artist was a keystone in making sense of our forward movements as a society. ‘George’ is dedicated to the story of Fifield’s life’s work, offering a view into his legacy as a foundation that carried his undertakings as community organizer of new media art, and will continue to serve as an important source of reflection for generations to come.

PRESS RELEASE

A gallery space known for exhibiting groundbreaking new media experiments will turn inward this month, providing a space for the local art community to reflect, grieve, admire, and contemplate the profound impact of Boston Cyberarts founder George Fifield.

Works exemplifying the spectrum of new media art, including personal pieces by the Cyberarts guru, will be on display and open to the public at Boston’s Cyberarts Gallery beginning Saturday, Jan. 14 through Sunday, Feb. 12. 

In addition to Fifield’s work, the exhibit will include objects and artifacts from his private collection and is designed to spotlight Fifield’s legacy. Fifield was an early innovator and advocate of new media transformed by emerging digital arts. His expertise in the field of new media made him a valued and respected collector and curator both locally, regionally and internationally.

The exhibit, entitled “George” will include early color copy machine collages, a 20th century stereoscope, video artworks and catalog essays, among other artifacts that highlight Fifield’s eclectic curatorial spirit. The exhibit has been curated by Autumn Ahn and Keaton Fox.

The public is invited to the opening reception on Saturday, Jan. 14 from 4 to 9 p.m. The Cyberarts Gallery, established by Fifield, is located at 141 Green St., (the Green Street MBTA Station) Boston. The gallery reception will be preceded by a memorial service for Fifield on Saturday, Jan. 14 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the First Church in Jamaica Plain, 6 Eliot St., Jamaica Plain.

This project is funded in part by a grant from the Mass Cultural Council.

Special thanks to Phaedra Shanbaum, James Manning, and Lynne Adams Fifield.