Art history, and particularly the fluctuating recognition of an artist’s work, is the underlying subject of this generative video artwork created with iconic artworks ranging from the Renaissance to our contemporary times.
A Google search for “top visual artists of all times” resulted in thousands of images that were downloaded from the Internet, and then transformed through an algorithm created by the artist’s studio. The algorithm liquefies these images into a mercurial blend that partially abstracts the original artworks. These images slide down the screen in chronological order, organized by the date of birth of the artist. Amalgama addresses the challenge of making, viewing, and circulating art in our liquid modernity.
Brand’s digital animations are hand-made, built from scratch by the use of 3D modelling software. The works often present organic scenes, focusing on greenery and its growth movements. While the images are virtual, they are convincingly close to the detailed appearance of natural scenery in reality. The movements in the animations, and their endless cycles, offer a new way of depicting natural themes and landscapes. Ranging from romantic evening scenes in the forest to absurdist and even humorous sequences in which unnatural objects undergo transformations within the logic of virtual intangibility. Brand’s animations are detached from a classical narrative and display an almost meditative repeated motion. These qualities invite the spectator to keep on looking.
