TRANSMEDIA :29:59
+media art in public urban space+

curated by Michael Alstad and Michelle Kasprzak

June 1 - 31, 2006:
29th minute: Luke Painter 'Babel'
59th minute: Maris Mezulis 'Fast Sale'

Year Zero One is pleased to present TRANSMEDIA :29:59, a year long exhibition on the pedestrian level video billboard at Yonge-Dundas Square in downtown Toronto. Launched August 1st 2005, TRANSMEDIA :29:59 features one minute video works 24/7 every half hour on the 29th and 59th minutes.

Featured for the month of June is Luke Painter's 'Babel' and Maris Mezulis's 'FAST SALE'.

In Luke Painter's Babel The Tower of Babel is represented as a vertical form of architectural time periods resulting in a collapse of stylistic concerns under their own weight. The Tower presents the current use of a synthetic aesthetic prevalent in manufactured spaces (condos for one example). This is mixed with the last few hundred years of popular architecture including neo- classicism, the international style of modernism and the more recent use of the mixture of styles culminating in what is labeled postmodernism. The erection of the Tower is propelled by a utilitarian looking industrial revolution style of architecture that underlines some of basic underpinnings of western architectural development. As in the tale of Babel, these different voices (styles) collapse and separate only to be rebuilt again in a continual loop that historically implodes on itself.

For FAST SALE, Maris Mezulis methodically photographed hundreds of generic vending machines all over Tokyo. Condensing the pictures at an overwhelming speed, the piece draws out subtle variations in lighting, machine design and product selection. The result is a composite image of the homogeneous, copy-paste tendencies of global consumer culture in a snack-sized, one minute package.

The typology of the Tokyo vending machine has been extensively documented by photobloggers, tourists and urban enthusiasts. Contrary to expectation, however, the quirky machines selling dirty underwear, blow-up dolls and comics are rare finds. Instead, there exists millions of identical white boxes selling identical goods, quietly sucking electricity and generating mountains of garbage. The incredible density of human-operated, 24-hour convenience stores leaves one to wonder why such an immense number of automated machines is even necessary.

BIOS

Luke Painter is a multidisciplinary artist living and working in Toronto, Canada. In 2001 he graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design and recently received his MFA from Concordia University. He is a sessional professor at the Ontario College of Art and Design and is represented by Angell Gallery in Toronto.

Maris Mezulis is a photographer, filmmaker and graphic artist based in Tokyo. Mezulis works with fragments of space and experience to create short films and installations, with a sensitivity to pattern and structure. He has participated in numerous exhibitions and events since 1997, with pictures published in books and magazines in Canada, Japan, USA and the UK. 'FAST SALE' is part of an unfolding series of photographic cinema compositions the artist began producing in late 2005 using images from his private collection. The series was launched in March 2006 with a solo exhibition at IID Gallery, Tokyo. Each piece is comprised of thousands of still images set in rapid succession. The intensely concentrated streams are analogous to synaptic flashes as the brain cycles through image-memories, merging effortlessly with the viewer’s own memories and experiences to provoke unpredictable emotions.




Year Zero One gratefully acknowledges the Ontario Arts Council,Yonge-Dundas Square and Clearchannel for their support of Transmedia :29:59.




TRANSMEDIA :29:59

<<Rewind
May 2006: Nelly-Ève Rajotte, Peter Eudenbac
April 2006: Nicolas Flemming, Brenda Goldstein
March 2006: Kate Armstrong, Myfanwy Ashmore
February 2006: Shaan Syed, Ed Pien
January 2006: Donna Szoke, Chris Meerdo
December 2005: Gwen MacGregor, David Crawford
November 2005: Cheryl Sourkes, BlueScreen
October 2005: Honeybyte, Risa Horowitz
September 2005: Pascual Sisto, Luke Lamborn
August 2005: Manu Luksch, Jillian Mcdonald