| |
Gary Hill: Language Willing
December 2, 2004 - January 15, 2005
Exhibition hours: Tuesday thru Saturday, 1:00 - 7:00 p.m.
As the inaugural exhibition in 911 Media Arts Center's brand new New
Media Gallery we are extremely honored to host the Seattle premiere of a
new installation by renowned artist Gary Hill.
For over two decades, Gary Hill's work in video and installation art has
opened new possibilities for the use of developing media.
Internationally exhibited, his influential work has been studied for its
contributions to art as language and thinking as well as for its
innovative uses of technology. In his work there is cross-pollination of
mediums, creating an outcome that can only be approached as a unique
vision of reality.
Language Willing (2002) consists of a double-image video projection and
speakers. Australian poet Chris Mann provides the phonetic soundtrack
for a pair of hands that spin two floral-patterned discs. The spoken
phrases, alternately hectic and lethargic, ultimately never convey a
clear, complete thought. Rather, the familiar sounds coupled with
erratic intonations encourage the viewer to find or infer meanings that
are nonetheless elusive. George Quasha, author of the exhibition's
accompanying catalog, has suggested that the title of this work,
possibly a play on the phrase "God willing," suggests that we are not
the masters of language, that rather language is its own master who will
or will not elucidate at will.
Gary Hill was born in Santa Monica, California, in 1951 and lived and
worked for years in New York's Hudson Valley before moving to Seattle.
Originally a sculptor, Hill began working with sound and video in the
early 1970s and has produced a large body of both single-channel video
works and mixed media installations. His work has been exhibited at
museums and institutions throughout the world, including solo
exhibitions at the Guggenheim Museum SoHo (New York), Museum of Modern
Art (New York), Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris), Watari Museum of
Contemporary Art (Tokyo), Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
(Washington D.C.), the Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), Museum of
Contemporary Art (Los Angeles), among others. He has been the recipient
of numerous awards and honors, including the Leone d'Oro Prize for
Sculpture at the Venice Biennale in 1995 and the John D. and Catherine
T. MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Grant in 1998.
Language Willing is made possible thanks to Gary Hill Studio and Donald
Young Gallery (Chicago). Technical support and exhibition equipment has
been generously provided by Cello Technologies and AV Pro.
|
