jun. 1, 2012 – jun. 23, 2012
In his “Primitive-Level Signals” exhibit, LiQin Tan, co-director and professor of art at Rutgers University, presents two of his art series: “Brain Spirit Levels” (2012) and “Burl + 4” (2003-2004). In the former, Tan uses spirit levels as a signal to describe a natural phenomenon in humans, where human brain development is an equalized procedure. The competing concepts of the brain – whether the battle of the brain’s size versus its intellectual capacity, or of its technological versus its spiritual side–are always kept in equilibrium. In the latter art series, Tan presents himself as a digital naturalist, choosing the burl/lava as the natural art form to explore his “Digital-Primitive” theme in a multifaceted and reciprocal process: Making digital 3D images through primitive technology and materials, while also making primitive rawhide/wood/rock art through digital technology.
This exhibition of work consists of spirit-level installations alongside dozens of digital prints on metal, wood, and rawhides. There are also numerous animations projected onto suspended rawhides and LCD monitors displaying separate animations.