In a wired world where so much of our daily communication and consumption of information is mediated through technology, how do we separate fiction from reality? To get some ideas on how group of artists approached this question the public is invited to attend a unique Saturday afternoon event called Fictive Realities.
Hosted by the Richmond Art Gallery in conjunction with the opening of its latest exhibition, guest curator Paul Walde is bringing together five artists who use various means - from artist-made software, online tweets, and digital projections to handmade structures and old fashioned storytelling - to present "truths" about our lives by overlaying them on the familiar and the mundane.
The panel will engage in broad discussion around major themes in the exhibition such as "truth" in image making, alternative visions of reality, and the impact of new technologies and media on our everyday lives.
"We wanted to address issues of technology and the way in which people deal with information," said Walde, adding it revolves around text, and how it operates on different platforms in society. "Whether it's text messaging or books, newspapers, and how many of these are self-generated by audiences, as well, and how theses texts inform our perception of reality and the environment around us."
The exhibition, which contains all new material, covers a wide array of media including Steve Lyons' Flat Earth Maifesto, a threedimensional sculpture Walde described as an explosion of a 2D image of a historic billboard from Zion City, Illinois in the 1920s.
"This is from a cult of flat earth believers that shows this idea that when you look at something, you don't always realize what you're seeing. And I think Steve's work really does that in a profound way."
The exhibition is on view from Sept. 7 to Nov. 3 at the Richmond Art Gallery, open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and weekends from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
