TECHNOLOGY NEW ART & REFIK ANADOL EXCELLENCY
The new era of technology has expanded the horizons of artistic expression, offering tools, mediums and platforms that redefine traditional notions of ART.
It is an era of experimentation, innovation and dialogue where technology acts both as canvas and catalyst for creativity.
One of the notable contemporary artists known for incorporating new technology into their work is Refik Anadol.
Anadol is recognized for his innovative use of data, machine learning, and digital technology in creating mesmerizing audiovisual installations and immersive experiences.
He explores the intersection of architecture, media arts, and technology, often using large-scale projections, data visualization, and AI algorithms to transform spaces and engage audiences in unique ways.
Anadol’s works challenge the boundaries of traditional art forms and push the limits of technology in artistic expression.
Refik Anadol (born November 7, 1985) is a Turkish-Americannew media artist and designer.
His projects consist of data-driven machine learning algorithms that create abstract, dream-like environments. He lives and works in Los Angeles.
Anadol started his career creating permanent public art commissions such as the Virtual Depictions (2015) project in San Francisco and the Wind of Boston (2017) data painting in South Boston, both of which used digital data.
Other permanent public art installations are Interconnected (2018), a 2,147 square feet of animated art screen at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Virtual Applique at the Beverly Center in Los Angeles,or Data Chrystal a large-scale, 3-D printed, A.I. data sculpture installed at the Portland Building in Portland, Oregon.
Further commissions include temporary installations such as the ‘Infinity Room’ project at the Zorlu Performing Arts Center during the 2015 Istanbul Biennial where he created an immersive environment transforming all surfaces of the room into an abstract infinite moving space. The ‘Infinity Room’ project was subsequently exhibited at the SXSW in Austin, Texas.
In 2018 Anadol was commissioned to project works onto the Walt Disney Concert Hall, as part of their anniversary celebration, with a 12-minute data sculpture animation named ‘WDCH Dreams’. The animation featured an array of digitally abstracted photographs, audio and video recordings found inside concert halls archive.
Awards
Anadol has received several awards and recognition for this work including the Microsoft Research’s Best Vision Award, German Design Award UCLA Art +Architecture Moss Award, University of California Institute for Research in the Arts Award, SEGD Global Design Awards and Google’s Art and Machine Intelligence Artist Residency Award.
NFTs
The Machine Hallucination series is inspired by his studio’s collaboration with NASA JPL and his long-term research into the photographic history of space exploration. The IP rights for eight video artwork installations from the series were sold at a Sotheby’s Hong Kong auction for US $5 million. The sale set a new record in Asia for being the most expensive NFT collection sold by a single artist.