Third Order – curated by Cecelia Stucker and Michael Bank Christoffersen

Paul Allsopp, Mikaela Bradbury, Nick Darmstaedter, Violet Denisson, Adam Henry, Gordon Hull, Anna Janser, Garrett Pruter and Rachel Rossin

In our modern age of digital gleaning, where societies have instant access to a seemingly unlimited globalized network of information, a hyper-evolution of knowledge would appear inevitable. The potential for an evolved Renaissance man not too far-fetched.

Anecdotal observation suggests otherwise, an increased stasis in the vein of Baudrillard’s precession of simulacra. Curiosity is quelled, texts and culture are read cursorily. A device’s bandwidth and processing speed might dictate whether to delve further into a subject.

Though our society seeks the progression of history and itself, former theoretical systems of establishing a canon are absent Our new modes of communication have made us incessantly self-referential. Technology offers unrestrained access to a plethora of information, but must negotiate more substantial modes of absorbing that information within our reach, not letting convenience and superficiality guide us. To this end we must avoid errant, or aimlessly irregular advancement.

Jeron Lanier’s ‘hive thinking’, describes phenomena of the whole acting as an individual. As a whole we must continue to embrace what’s peripheral and on the horizon. But we must also go beyond merely assimilating into the popular and make more of an effort to understand alternate opinions and social development. Deleuze considered metaphor vs. metamorphosis – it’s in this comparison that we find the inspiration to feed our hibernating curiosity. The unknown should inspire the avenues of advancement over the established and accepted. Cultural innovators in particular are meant to push boundaries – to activate and not merely react to a system.

As cultural innovators, artists can be rhizomatic and non-conformative pioneers. The artists in Third Order not only create aesthetically sensational work, they invite us to contemplate and engage with the works through multitudes of layers and trajectories. Considering that most viewers spend 1-5 seconds attending to art objects, a trait of short engagements has developed. This trend demonstrates a potential in the artworks not yet utilized. We ourselves admit our interactions with these propositions only scratch the surface and additional exploration is necessary.

In this regard Third Order, is intended to entice the casual viewer into a continuing dialog or engagement and serve as a catalyst for further exploration into current modes of communication. We hope to encourage social and personal curiosity and engender more substantive use of new medias and platforms. This exhibition inaugurates our investigation into contemporary language and the avenues through which it’s transmitted.

Artists Include: Paul Allsopp, Mikaela Bradbury, Nick Darmstaedter, Violet Denisson, Adam Henry, Gordon Hull, Ann Janser, Garrett Pruter, and Rachel Rossin