pixelives

News

2011-08-09T06:10:00.001-07:00

There's loads of art stuff in the works, so I'll give details when they become concrete.

In the meantime, for fun, here's a DJ mix I recently did.

Dackattack Dog Days of Summer Mix 08.2011 by pixelife

Post

2011-07-13T00:18:00.000-07:00

This is (for now, at least) an archive. You can find me at pixelives.tumblr.com for more frequent musings. Personal/professional website coming soon, too (seandack.net). I'll probably come back when least expected.

The Shape We're In

2011-02-25T07:12:00.000-08:00

I'm in both the NYC and London versions of this exhibition.

PRESS RELEASE 8 FEBRUARY 2011
Zabludowicz Collection: Six Weeks in New York 1500 Broadway at 43rd Street, NY, NY 1 March – 15 April 2011 Exhibition Preview 28 February, 7‐9 pm, RSVP essential
The Zabludowicz Collection proudly presents its first US exhibition, taking over the top floor of a New York skyscraper to showcase emerging talent in contemporary art.
For six weeks, the 33rd floor of 1500 Broadway will be transformed into a space for US audiences to discover the activities of the London‐based Zabludowicz Collection, which supports emerging artists and innovative curatorial practice by collecting and exhibiting contemporary art, as well as through an extensive education and events programme.
Anita Zabludowicz, co‐founder of the Zabludowicz Collection, says of the project: ‘We’re so pleased to be able to introduce the Zabludowicz Collection to New York City ‐ the show will give new audiences insight into the work we do, which extends well beyond collecting art and takes a very active approach to supporting artists, curators and galleries.’
The Zabludowicz Collection’s intervention in this iconic American location encompasses a library and reference space alongside two exhibitions:
The Shape We’re In (New York)
An exhibition of works from the Zabludowicz Collection featuring new commissions by four New York‐ based artists: Sarah Braman, Ethan Breckenridge, Sean Dack, and Nick van Woert, as well as introducing British artist Matthew Darbyshire in his first exhibition in the United States. Each artist has been invited to respond to this vacant space at the ‘picture postcard’ heart of New York City.
The artists will present new work alongside existing works from the Zabludowicz Collection. Ethan Breckenridge and Sean Dack will exhibit a new iteration of a collaborative work first seen at The Suburban in Illinois: a sculptural and audio installation which invites visitor participation. A second version will also be installed in the exhibition’s London counterpart, The Shape We’re In (London). Sarah Braman and Nick van Woert have produced works specifically for the exhibition and Matthew Darbyshire’s new commission ‘pick n’ mix’ makes links between the two world cities connected by The Shape We’re In. The Shape We’re In is curated by Zabludowicz Collection Director Elizabeth Neilson and Exhibitions Curator Ellen Mara De Wachter.
Proposal for a Floor
As part of its commitment to support innovative curatorial practice, the Zabludowicz Collection has invited independent curator Alex Gartenfeld to produce a new exhibition for this unique architectural space. Proposal for a Floor arose out of a dialogue with Sir Norman Rosenthal and includes a number of artists whose works are held in the Zabludowicz Collection. The exhibition features works by Sam Anderson, Zak Kitnick, Dominic Nurre, Anselm Reyle, James Richards, David Scanavino, Josh Tonsfeldt and Kon Trubkovich.
Proposal for a Floor takes as its premise the challenge to occupy an empty, for‐lease floor in America’s most famous neighbourhood. The artists reconcile architecture and sculpture with a view towards economics and entropy.
The exhibition addresses its historically loaded context; one looming precedent is Sam Delany’s Times Square Red, Times Square Blue, in which the artist allegorises the clean‐up of Times Square as a squelching of sexual culture, but also of class communion. The artists in Proposal for a Floor wonder what types of pleasure might be organically infused into the steel and glass facades of Times Square.
On selected days and by appointment, visitors will also have the opportunity to see a display of the Zabludowicz Collection’s recent photography from Leipzig, Germany in the offices of the Tamares Group at 1500 Broadway. The exceptional photographic practice of the artists, recent graduates from the Academy of Visual Arts, Leipzig, is linked by a studied objectivity and conceptual rigor which runs alongside an in‐depth knowledge and active questioning of the photographic medium. The large scale photographic works in their varied styles and subjects are frequently underlined by subtle humour or social commentary.
Zabludowicz Collection: Six Weeks in New York Visitor Information: Exhibition dates: 1 March – 15 April 2011 Address: 33rd Floor, 1500 Broadway at 43rd Street, New York Subway: Times Square, 42nd Street Station, Trains: A,C,E,N,Q,R,W,S,1,2,3,7 Opening hours: 1– 6 March, 12–6pm and by appointment until 15 April, photo ID required for entry to the building
Admission Free Email: ny@zabludowiczcollection.com www.zabludowiczcollection.com
Press Information and additional information on The Shape We’re in (London) and (Camden): Kristina McLean at Calum Sutton PR Tel: +44 (0) 20 7183 3577 or Email: kristina@suttonpr.com
Exhibition supported by Tamares Group.
Notes to Editors The Zabludowicz Collection is dedicated to bringing emerging art to new audiences and actively supporting arts organisations and artists. Founded by Poju and Anita Zabludowicz in 1994, the Collection contains over 2,000 works by over 500 artists, spanning 40 years of art production, and focussing on emerging art from the late 20th century to the present day. Since 2007, it has run an exhibition space in a former Methodist Chapel at 176 Prince of Wales Road in north London, working with artists, curators and works in the Zabludowicz Collection to produce exhibitions which examine contemporary art practice.

New Edition

2011-02-23T20:08:00.000-08:00

New edition just came in the mail. Limited to 100 copies, TRT 72mins, recorded in Stuttgart, DE, 2010. Produced by Zabludowicz Collection. Will be available through their website here very soon.

Neglect

2010-12-05T00:52:00.000-08:00

Sorry that I have been neglecting this blog.. I feel like I've been pulling away from a lot of web usage in a way. Been working more "in the box" and less as box as portal. I think that will change again, but it's been very productive none the less.
I've also been wondering if blogger is the best platform for musings and image postings. Tumblr has become a place for me to do this quickly without fuss. But this site has history, and more original content so I want to keep it going.

I will be updating more in the future. I have lots of images from my travels in Europe and abroad and lots of news on the exhibition and music fronts.

Here's an image from last weekend incoming to Stockholm. -18C.

I've been bad about posting...

2010-10-05T09:50:00.000-07:00

But here are two new exhibitions of my work that just opened last week. I suppose I've been busy!

Image Transfer at The Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington

Data Mining/Artists Constructs at Columbia College, Chicago

Mobile#23

2010-09-16T02:57:00.000-07:00

Mobile#22

2010-08-31T18:17:00.001-07:00

Nomadich

2010-08-25T19:07:00.000-07:00

Real Life Ghost Hardware

2010-08-17T01:48:00.000-07:00

via NYT

Mobile#22

2010-08-02T16:54:00.000-07:00

Julian Assange and Wikileaks offer reality

2010-07-25T17:15:00.000-07:00

link

Sky

2010-07-22T05:39:00.000-07:00

STR--->LHR

2010-07-20T17:03:00.000-07:00

On Screen

2010-07-20T12:30:00.001-07:00

Storm over Solitude (mobile)

2010-07-14T19:45:00.000-07:00

Well Done, Guys...

2010-07-14T16:37:00.001-07:00

RIAA and their legal fees and what they got back

Screencaps from the nowness.com feature

2010-07-13T16:18:00.001-07:00

You have to go to the website to see the slideshow or hear the sound, however.

Lawrence Lessig and ASCAP's attack on creative commons

2010-07-13T15:51:00.000-07:00

link

Two Features

2010-07-09T02:58:00.000-07:00

You can see two exclusive features on my work at the website Nowness.com.

link1

link2

Chris Cunningham interview in The Guardian

2010-07-08T16:39:00.000-07:00

link

Mobile#21

2010-06-28T13:19:00.001-07:00

Observation

2010-06-24T14:21:00.000-07:00

SIgnage

2010-06-24T02:40:00.001-07:00

Bridge 3

2010-06-23T18:39:00.000-07:00

Unique C-Print 2010, 30"x40"

Youtube

2010-06-18T13:28:00.000-07:00

I've uploaded a few more video works to my youtube page. You can see them here

Phillip K Dick, Minority Report and Speed of Technology

2010-06-18T04:46:00.000-07:00

via The Guardian

Flight

2010-06-14T16:29:00.001-07:00

Berlin

2010-06-14T16:13:00.001-07:00

Systematic at Project Space 176

2010-06-06T22:58:00.000-07:00

July 1st-Aug 15th

Featuring:

Cory Arcangel
Justin Beal
Sean Dack
Damien Hirst
Haroon Mirza
Katie Paterson
Seth Price
Charles Sandison

176 Prince of Wales Road
London NW5 3PT
T: +44(0)20 7428 8940
F: +44(0)20 7428 8949
info@projectspace176.com

Solitude#1

2010-06-06T22:18:00.001-07:00

Backstage, Chicago

2010-06-06T22:09:00.001-07:00

William GIbson's Book Expo Talk

2010-05-31T21:57:00.000-07:00

sorry, I've been very, very busy and preparing for a long trip/sojourn to Germany, Back to regular posts very, very soon.

On CNN fictional plane crash gets 2x as many pixels as real plane crash

2010-05-22T22:08:00.000-07:00

Cyberwar

2010-04-25T23:17:00.001-07:00

cyberwar

From the Air

2010-04-21T01:08:00.001-07:00

Hallway

2010-04-21T00:42:00.000-07:00

TO/TS

2010-04-21T00:41:00.001-07:00

Another Train

2010-04-21T00:40:00.001-07:00

City by a Lake

2010-04-16T21:47:00.001-07:00

River

2010-04-16T21:37:00.001-07:00

Could this get any more Ballardian?

2010-04-15T21:34:00.001-07:00

Via LA Times

Autechre Oversteps vinyl edition

2010-04-12T23:21:00.001-07:00

Mobile#20

2010-04-12T23:17:00.000-07:00

Airplane Surveillance

2010-04-08T00:35:00.000-07:00

the theatre of security gets more ridiculous and invasive

Great quote from one of the creators of this system:

"If I had to pay an extra £5 on an airline ticket and it would go towards a system which would make me safer, I would be happy to do it."

Of course you would motherfucker because you would be laughing all the way to the bank.

Mobile#19

2010-04-08T00:17:00.001-07:00

New Edition

2010-04-03T18:06:00.000-07:00

I have a new edition for sale via the 176/Zabludowicz collection shop in London. You can see it here

New thing

2010-03-15T00:41:00.001-07:00

liquid and curing...

Mobile#18

2010-03-13T21:11:00.001-08:00

Autechre Live at Pure, Manchester March 11, 2010

2010-03-12T00:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, first gig of Oversteps tour

I'll get back to art-ish posts soon.

Review of Autechre "Oversteps"

2010-02-25T00:59:00.000-08:00

If there’s one thing I can say about Autechre fans upon hearing their new album Oversteps, and all prior fakes that made their way around the internet, is that they are the most confused and inconsistent bunch of fans in the entire world. I have yet to find a single artist that polarizes even its own fans as much as Autechre. But for awhile, there were at least two major camps; Camp 1 loved everything pre 96, when they were less abstract and more ‘melodic’. Camp 2 loved everything after that, embracing the chaotic abstractness they dove into. Not everyone falls into either of these sides thank god, and I tend to think the most ‘true’ fans can appreciate them as a whole. For awhile, the two sides seemed to make sense. But in true Ae fashion, Oversteps once again confuses an already confused bunch of listeners.

As a fan of Autechre myself, allow me to explain the ‘confusion’ bit: As with most albums released by this duo, there comes a time where fake album leaks are inevitable. For the most part, it is largely single tracks that are sometimes just small snippets, and they make rounds for a bit until they are proven to be fake. Some are prominent, fairly widespread, but something very bizarre happened when Oversteps supposedly leaked. The leak, which was obviously fake, was listened to by a staggering amount of people. Even more bizarre: some of these people were claiming it was 100% without a doubt, genuine. Fans of this group, who have claimed to be fans for ages, who felt like they deeply understood Autechre and knew everything about them, were sincerely claiming this fake to be completely real, utterly legit. So if that wasn’t already confusing enough, Autechre decide to throw yet another curveball, albeit it not in the way anyone ever imagined; this is the single most melodic Autechre album ever produced. It’s also the most ambient. No longer can Amber fans say they want them to return to melody. Not only that, but it’s incredibly bright, vibrant and at times, playful, similar to Plaid, even Aphex Twin.

So is this album good? I would say yes, very much so. Some will say no. Despite its obvious melodic bent, I feel it sacrifices absolutely none of the qualities that make them good in the first place, and this is painfully clear. The misconception of Autechre being futurist masters of all things technological is burned into the heads of far too many people. So much of mid-to-late 90s had this boundary pushing idealism and they were the poster boys for that, and I can guarantee you it was not their intention. Despite the chronological shifts, every album has contained traces of their personal, unique touch, and this album is no different. It’s singular focused yet amazingly clear compared to much of their work, it’s very free and open without a pretense of moodiness that bogs some Autechre down. They’ve written some of the most tuneful, engaging melodies of their entire career, something that would attract ‘many’ instead of ‘few’. Then again it’s personal taste here, not all the melodies here will appeal to everyone, and that is completely fair.

Some people feel that they went off the boil when Untilted was released, but I don’t really think so. Their back catalogue is not bullet proof, nobody ever agrees on anything, and fans endless assumption that they are intent on pushing the envelope is skewed. And if you have hardcore Autechre fans claiming a fake is legit, can you honestly listen to anyone? Time will tell how it holds up, but as I listen to this I can’t help but feel Autechre has made one of their best releases to this date. It is completely unapologetic in its vision, abstract or no, just like all the best Autechre albums.

From www.discogs.org

Mobile#17

2010-02-22T20:32:00.000-08:00

A Testbed of Futurity Installation Shots

2010-02-22T10:06:00.000-08:00

Once again, the link to the gallery

Those Who Sacrifice Liberty For Security Deserve Neither

2010-02-21T21:48:00.001-08:00

via The Guardian

A review

2010-02-08T13:48:00.000-08:00

A Testbed of Futurity featured in Artslant.com

Autechre Oversteps

2010-02-07T22:53:00.000-08:00

"As far as my personal version of Autechre goes, this – now, then, next - is exactly where they belong, at this end of various stories that exist because of a number of cultural, technological, political, ideological, social and musical changes that took place during the 20th century, some of them heating up as the 20th took a turn for the 21st century, some of them slowing down and thwarted, some of them spiralling out of control, some just moving forward following their own glorious, imperturbable momentum. Autechre take their rightful advanced place in various histories of music that have formed in my mind, following, part of, involved with, on one hand something that was known as serialism, which fell through radio, tape and edits into musique concrete, which resulted in the relief of what was known as minimalism, which puts them on the quiet, eternal shores of Morton Feldman, Arvo Part and LaMonte Young, and then they draw from the immense results achieved by Can, Kraftwerk and Eno in using exploratory electronic means to sensitively generate sadness, sensation and sensuality, and a whole host of abstract surprise, and they filter earvisions of Xenakis, Stockhausen and Varese through a privately cultivated handmade machine-smart post-hip hop sensibility. They make the music that has responded the most accurately and inquisitively to the uncompromising strangeness and unsettling changes of the times."

Paul Morley on Autechre

OVERSTEPS out in March on WARP

I've heard it, and it's amazing.

PROOF:

My watermarked promo from WARP NYC office.

Interview with Jaron Lanier

2010-02-03T21:47:00.001-08:00

here

Images

2010-02-02T09:51:00.000-08:00

I'm taking proper installation shots of the group show this week. Images forthcoming...

Testleak

2010-01-26T19:57:00.001-08:00

A Story..

2010-01-15T21:06:00.000-08:00

He wakes up in a cloudy haze of last week’s numbers and the after-image of an empty bottle of Patron in collusion with some designer amphetamines. The high-end speed cost what most people make in a week but these pills really were at the forefront of pharmaceutical technology and imported from Russia and it seemed important to be at the vanguard of such things. When he closes his eyes, he sees the numbers falling, getting smaller and smaller, other people’s money, and this makes him glad for the blackout shades in this boutique hotel on the riverfront in a large city. The extremely thick curtains make his situation seem vaguely womb-like, though his end goal is something quite opposite. An illuminated "do not disturb" sign on the wall next to the doorknob allows for relative privacy, though he doesn't really know if he's engaged the switches correctly, they are rather complicated and modishly unlabeled. The mobile phone is turned off and the number disconnected, clients will have very little chance of reaching him at this point.

He thinks about the most recent acquisition for his whitewashed designer loft newly renovated by Swiss architects, a neon and glass sculpture that required a party for the install and unveiling. He liked to show these new things to friends and clients, it made him feel like he was a part of something: a part of a culture unfolding itself, making sense of the world.

He didn't realize it for the first few hours in the suite and only realized when the boredom and alcohol started settling: the flat screen television was on. It was not only on, it was tuned to the hotel's default menu channel, featuring all the amenities therein with a looping female voice that chimed in every minute or so, "welcome to, etc..." This hotel-specific station also had a looping musak-like audio bed that sounded like some thoroughly emaciated redux of electronic music popular a decade ago. It was at first pleasantly benign but it was increasingly grating on a low level of his consciousness. However, the remote was missing, the television had no visible buttons and one of his pre-set rules was not to call the front desk for any reason.

Nevertheless he considered making a few outbound calls, mainly because he was bored but also because it was a force of habit (maybe one of his periodic love interests was bored, too). Then he realized that when he threw his mobile phone in that dumpster all his phone numbers were gone and he didn’t even know any numbers by memory, not even his mother’s.
Looking into the bedside table drawer for the Russian blister pak and the small bottle of whiskey that he kept there for safekeeping he thought that maybe this looping electro-musak was helping create an environment do to exactly what he wanted to do…. Then the doorbell chimed.

Sean Dack 01.2010

A Testbed of Futurity

Mobile#16

2010-01-14T22:51:00.000-08:00

A Testbed of Futurity

2010-01-13T00:16:00.000-08:00

A group show curated by Sean Dack, coming soon..

Images and texts to follow.

Brooklyn Dead Television

2010-01-11T16:59:00.002-08:00

Flare Up

2010-01-11T16:59:00.001-08:00

New Years Day 2000

2010-01-04T22:43:00.000-08:00

Ten years ago, New Year Day, 2000, Martha's Vineyard, MA

Dystopia Gallery

2009-12-30T16:38:00.000-08:00

Dystopia Gallery

Seriously, just go there for the photo gallery. Don't even bother reading the text. It's just more of your typical blogger listicle uninteresting nonsense.

Bright Shiny and New

2009-12-29T21:10:00.000-08:00

New weapon. Mac Pro 8 Core, 6GB of RAM.

Now all i need is this and my setup will be complete:

Mackie Onyx 1640i

Mobile#15

2009-12-29T06:59:00.001-08:00

Summer Train

2009-12-28T07:54:00.001-08:00

By Water

2009-12-24T06:32:00.001-08:00

Mobile#14

2009-12-22T14:21:00.001-08:00

Another dead mall (China version)

2009-12-22T13:46:00.001-08:00

via Gizmodo

Mobile#13

2009-12-16T08:23:00.001-08:00

AngleAngle

2009-12-14T08:36:00.001-08:00

Facade

2009-12-10T07:46:00.001-08:00

Dubai's Improbable Tale

2009-11-30T21:21:00.000-08:00

Lauren Greenfield's Photographs of Dubai via NYT

I Could Live in This Forever

2009-11-28T18:51:00.001-08:00

1:45 Belinda starts crying and wipes away a tear.

The Dark Side...

2009-11-26T00:00:00.000-08:00

of the internet

Behind the BLACK ICE

Somehow related in the data construct

9-11 text messages

my question is: when were text messages first surveilled if the NSA didn't supposedly start doing that till AFTER 9/11.

This Is Not Surprising

2009-11-25T23:41:00.000-08:00

Dubai is Broke

Just Finished

2009-11-24T16:44:00.001-08:00

Untitled (Nakamichi #1) 2009, Private Commission
Consumer Electronics, Paint, Shellac, Rubber.

Sculpture using the collectors personal cassette deck (a Nakamichi Cassette Deck 2) as source material and four identical units.

Mobile#12

2009-11-23T22:39:00.001-08:00

Google Map Glitches

2009-11-22T01:27:00.001-08:00

R.I.P Gerhardt (Jerry) Fuchs 1975-2009

2009-11-10T17:10:00.000-08:00

A good friend of mine passed away this past weekend in the most inconceivable and tragic way. Jerry was a bright shining star amongst my friends and colleagues in the New York music scene. A force on the drum kit and a force as a friend.
I said that my goal every night I went out was to either hang out with Jerry or to see him play in the many bands he contributed to. Either way you were going to have an amazing time.
He played drums in The Juan Maclean, Maserati, Turing Machine, and previously with !!! and LCD Soundsystem.
Jerry was incredible through and through. I will miss him forever.

A night out in NYC in 1983

2009-11-04T23:29:00.001-08:00

DUBAI : 1990 - Now

2009-11-03T21:09:00.000-08:00

The change in Dubai over the last 15-20 years

A work available at The Kitchen's Fall benefit

2009-10-27T22:08:00.000-07:00

Sean Dack "City" 2009 20"x24" Unique Digital C-Print

The Kitchen's Fall benefit art auction is on November 18th, I am very happy to be a part of it and you can preview and bid on works here:

Fall Auction