Final Writing Assignment

Eye Catcher

Becoming recognized as an artist in modern times is a very difficult feat to accomplish. However, two individuals making an impact in the present art world are Evan Roth and Addie Wagenknecht. Both of which have found distinct and unique ways to encapsulate their personal views and interests within their work. Two specific pieces we will be examining include, “The Eyewriter” and “Asymmetric Love Number 2.” Although their exterior may be aesthetic polar opposites, both pieces have great purpose and hidden similarities.

            Evan Roth is a media maker that enjoys utilizing technology and urban topics such as graffiti in his work. He studied at Parsons “The School For New Design” in New York where he obtained his Masters in Fine Art. He is one of the main influences and teachers in the topics of Geek Graffiti and visual programming. However, “Evan current lives in Hong Kong with his wife and enjoys spending his free time violating laws related to copyright and vandalism”(Eyebeam).  A quote from his website accurately portrays the views and direction of his work: “Evan Roth is an American artist based in Paris whose work explores the relationship between misuse and empowerment. Creating prints, sculptures, videos and websites, the work is defined less by medium and genre than by its appropriation of popular culture. Roth's work is informed by the misuse of seemingly rigid structures and the effect that philosophies from hacker communities can have when applied to non-digital systems”(Roth).

            Even Roth is the founder of The Graffiti Research Lab, which is a team that is “dedicated to outfitting graffiti artists with open source technologies for urban communication”(Roth). One of their current and phenomenal works is known to the public as The Eyewriter.

Evan is on the design team that created this amazing tool to enable people who do not have the freedom or physical ability to make art with their limbs, hands or other body parts. This device utilizes low cost camera equipment and computer software to track the users eye movement. The computer software known as open-source computer vision then translates the users eye movement into an artistic interface that somewhat replicates common programs like Microsoft Paint. This enables the user to draw and make art solely by moving their eyes. Initially, this device was developed with a paralyzed graffiti artist that goes by the name of Tempt1 in mind.

            Tempt1, also known as Tony Quang, was a very reputable graffiti artist from Los Angeles who became active in the early 1980’s. Although, in 2003 Tony Quang was discovered to be suffering from a disease known as Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (more commonly known as ALS). This disease causes extreme levels of muscle atrophy to the point where Tony became completely paralyzed from the neck down. Because of this, he could no longer pursue his art and became severely depressed. When Evan Roth and his team introduced Tony to their project, The Eyewriter, he felt a new sense of hope and responded, “Art is a tool of empowerment and social change, and I consider myself blessed to be able to create and use my work to promote health reform, bring awareness about ALS and help others”(Quang). Evan Roth and his team were bringing great new technology to the forefront of art in a way that users thought unimaginable before.

            Addie Wagenknecht is a modern artist that studied at New York University where she obtained her Masters of Fine Arts. She enjoys focusing on concepts regarding surveillance, technology, and privacy issues. Although she hitchhiked all across the world before settling down in New York City, “she splits her time between the US and Europe but really just lives on the internet”(Eyebeam). Throughout her works, it is apparent that she enjoys and stresses the importance of anonymity; in an interview she states, “Anonymity as a concept is addictive - especially when you're living in a major metropolitan city like New York. That is why projects like Pirate Bay and Tor are some of the most successful works of our time. They have a large scale participatory aspect allowing people freedom and a chance to challenge outdated ideas around copyright. It is one to many system, no one person controls it, there is so much beauty in that. I think we are reaching a point if we haven't already where anonymity is imperative to creativity”(Wagenknect).

            Addie Wagenknecht is a member of an organization known as The Free Art And Technology Lab which, “is an organization dedicated to enriching the public domain through the research and development of creative technologies and media. The entire FAT network of artists, engineers, scientists, lawyers, musicians and Bornas are committed to supporting open values and the public domain through the use of emerging open licenses, support for open entrepreneurship and the admonishment of secrecy, copyright monopolies and patents”(FAT).  One of Addie’s works showcased on The Free Art And Technology Lab is named “Asymmetric Love #2.”

In this piece, Addie created a unique sculpture out of steel, surveillance cameras, and Ethernet cables. She describes the piece as, “Asymmetric Love Number 2 is about duality of function. It is a reflection of our current digital infrastructure, as the knowledge and ability to monitor others is defining the hieratic of power. Asymmetric Love Number 2 was intended to mimic an iconic baroque chandelier. It attempts to be perceived as something familiar in memory by the audience so that the details of the CCTV cameras recording them is overlooked. In that regard the surveillance is not perceived as a direct threat, which becomes the biggest threat of all”(Wagenknect).

            The main differences between the two works, The Eyewriter and Asymmetric Love # 2, are their aesthetic qualities and medium. The Eyewriter is an interactive invention while Asymmetric Love #2 is a sculpture. Although both can be looked at as art pieces, the “aura” came to mind when examining how these relate to each other. For example, “One might subsume the eliminated element in the term “aura” and go on to say: that which withers in the age of mechanical reproduction is the aura of the work of art”(Benjamin II). It becomes apparent that Evan Roth’s piece, The Eyewriter, is more of a manufactured technological advancement while of course, Addie Wagenknecht’s piece, Asymmetric Love #2, is a unique sculpture. This brings forth an interesting discussion regarding both pieces’ auras or more specifically, the aura associated with The Eyewriter. Could The Eyewriter potentially have a unique aura due to the fact that each user creates an individual work of art with it? Or, should it be taken at face value for what it is, a mere piece of reproducible technology.

            Another difference worth noting is the target audience associated with the two pieces, and how each was intended to be affected. The EyeWriter had a goal in mind, which was to facilitate its target audience, specifically graffiti writers and paralyzed artists. Roth wanted to liberate those which could no longer function independently by helping them in any way he could. However, Asymmetric Love #2 had the intention of disrupting or making its viewers feel somewhat uncomfortable in attempts to cause a “call to action” per say. Addie wanted people to realize that they are constantly and publically being watched to an extreme that should not be ignored or tolerated. By creating a chandelier out of surveillance cameras, she captured the aspect that we have not only ignored this issue as a society, but also sugarcoated it within our minds to the extent of something as quaint as a chandelier. Although the target audiences associated with these two pieces may be quite different, and one may be approaching with a positive effect compared to a seemingly shock value effect,  they attempt to achieve somewhat similar outcomes.

As Raley would put it, “The activity of disturbance and provocation offers participants in the projects a new way of seeing, understanding, and in the best-case scenario interacting with a given system”(Raley 7).  Both Wagenknect and Roth hoped to give their viewers or participants a new way of interacting and seeing their current position as human beings. Even if it was completed through different means, the final outcome gave the handicapped a new way to create art, and the general public a new way of perceiving surveillance.  

Another similarity between these two pieces is their general theme and influence. Both dabbled along the lines of political topics such as surveillance and vandalism. Also, both pieces were coming from the artists individual morals and ethics; Wagenknect’s being the hatred of being monitored and Roth’s being the justification and love of graffiti. Finally, both had a very technological aspect about them. The EyeWriter is literally a piece of technology and Asymmetric Love #2 was constructed out of purely technological materials.

            Both Addie Wagenknecht and Evan Roth were extremely interesting and influential to research. Their bold and unique contributions to the modern art world made them stand out tremendously. It was exciting to discover the similarities associated between the two that were only apparent after more and more research. However, it was disappointing that neither were available for interview even over email during this time.  I hope to see more work come from both artists and possibly hear back from them within the near future.

Works Cited

Benjamin, Walter, and J. A. Underwood. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. London: Penguin, 2008. Print.

Eyebeam. "Addie Wagenknecht | Eyebeam.org." Eyebeam Front Page. Eyebeam, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.

Eyebeam. "Evan Roth | Eyebeam.org." Eyebeam Front Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.

Free Art And Technology. "The F.A.T. Manual – Black & White Edition." FAT. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.

Raley, Rita. Tactical Media. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 2009. Print.

Roth, Evan. "BAD ASS MOTHER FUCKER (BADASS MOTHERFUCKER)." Evan Roth: BAD ASS MOTHER FUCKER (BADASS MOTHERFUCKER #BADA55). N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.

Roth, Evan. "EyeWriter." EyeWriter. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.

Wagenknecht, Addie. "Asymmetric Love Number 2." Placesiveneverbeen. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.