HomeMy WebLinkAbout(0035) Quayola's Proposal.pdfQuayola
Pioneer Tower Iconic Public Art Project
Artist's Proposal Summary and Bio
May 2020
PROPOSAL SUMMARY
The new video artwork produced for the Fort Worth Pioneer Tower commission will be a continuation of Quayola's
ongoing research on the tradition of landscape painting, and more broadly a reflection on man's tradition of
representing nature. The observation of nature is at the basis of the primitive bond of man with his surroundings. In
his work, Quayola reclaims an idea of knowledge from the past, in which the artistic practice allowed scientists to
decipher nature. In Leonardo Da Vinci's studies, for instance, the pictorial practice served the task of understanding
the natural world. Similarly, Quayola's artistic research is allowing us a new, different glimpse at the natural world,
which can be achieved through the cooperation between him and the technological apparatus. This new artwork
will be divided into three main chapters, each looking at capturing a different perspective on Fort Worth's natural
settings, using for each a different technological process.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Trees Laser Scanning (Chapter 1) Quayola will employ high -precision 3D laser scanning systems to capture
geometric data of various trees in Fort Worth. Each tree will be translated into hundreds of millions of 3D
coordinates, which will then be visualized digitally as complex clusters of geometries. The resulting animation will
explore both the intricacies of natural forms as well as the aesthetics of digital reproduction.
Computational Landscape Paintings (Chapter 2) In this video, Quayola will employ computer -vision systems and
custom generative algorithms to create digital pictorial representations of Texas (Fort Worth) landscapes. A series
of photographs will gradually blend into computational abstractions, revealing a new way of observing the natural
world — one that is both driven by our heritage visual culture, as well as new and different machinic point of view.
Computational Animal Paintings (Chapter 3) In this video, Quayola will focus on the observation and ultimately
new representation of one of Fort Worth's most iconic symbols: Horses. Employing the latest digital tracking
systems, Quayola will digitize a series of horses' movements and translate them into abstract animations. The
rhythmic movements of the horse become a dataset to drive pictorial simulations. The result of this process will be
a series of computational paintings, on one side completely abstract, but on the other fully driven by the animal's
motion.
Chapter 1: Trees Laser Scanning
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QUAYOLA employs technology as a lens to explore the tensions and equilibriums
between seemingly opposing forces: the real and artificial, figurative and abstract, old
and new. Constructing immersive installations, often at historically significant
architectural sites, he engages with and reimagines canonical imagery through
contemporary technology. Hellenistic sculpture, Old Master painting, and Baroque
architecture are some of the historical aesthetics that serve as a point of departure for
Quayola's abstract compositions. His varied practice, all deriving from custom computer
software, also includes audiovisual performance, video, sculpture, and works on paper.
Past exhibitions of his work of work include V&A Museum, London; Park Avenue
Armory, New York; Bozar, Brussels; National Art Center, Tokyo; UCCA, Beijing; How Art
Museum, Shanghai; SeMA, Seoul; Bienal, Sao Paulo; Triennale, Milan; Palais de Tokyo,
Paris; Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona; British Film Institute, London; Cite
de la Musique, Paris; Grand Theatre, Bordeaux; Ars Electronica, Linz; Elektra Festival,
Montreal; Sonar Festival, Barcelona and Sundance Film Festival.
Also a frequent collaborator on musical projects, Quayola has worked with composers,
orchestras and musicians including London Contemporary Orchestra, National Orchestra
of Bordeaux, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Vanessa Wagner, Jamie XX, Mira Calix, Plaid
and Tale Of Us. In 2013, Quayola was awarded the Golden Nica at Ars Electronica.