Joseph Smolinski, Cemetery (2009), Ink, watercolor and graphite on paper, 26 x 40 inches

GROUND CONTROL, Exhibit installation

Artist's Statement

There are things in nature that never cease to make me wonder. Living through developing societies, tragedies of war and natural disasters, trees continue to regulate our climate, improve our water quality and clean our air. The oldest and largest organisms on our planet survive a history longer than we can remember.

It was quite a shock the day I came across a giant fake tree looming above the interstate landscape. This pseudo-biotech hybrid was erected to camouflage the cellular communication transmitters beneath its fronds. It struck me as the beginning of a new history yet to be written. In this vision, parasitic cell tower trees populate the landscape in many forms that become historic landmarks, roadside curiosities and subjects of natural disasters.

Through these explorations I wondered what else the tree could become. I began reading about wind power and its aesthetic opponents led me to begin my Tree Turbine project. It is clear that wind-generated electricity is a clean, sustainable alternative to climate-warming fossil fuels. I concluded that if these opposing groups disguised their cell towers as trees then why not disguise the wind turbine?

In the newest permeations of my work I have begun to explore the relationships of power and control of the natural environment. Projects such as Taking Back the Jetty reflect on the debate of big oil companies looking to exploit the site of Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty for new sources of oil. The preservation of art and the environment come into question as we exhaust our supply of cheap fuel.

In another light a new series of drawings titled Disconnected poses animals against the parasitic cell tower trees taking over the landscape. These technological hybrids become victim to species of creatures looking to take back their habitat. Through out history many animals have gone extinct because of technological advancements. The slash and burn practice of gathering resources to supply products fueled by convenience, immediacy, and superficial necessity has wiped out entire species of animals. At what point do these creatures begin to fight back?

GROUND CONTROL brings these projects together to reflect on our current interactions with the landscape. It poses questions about the notion of control of the environment and envisions an optimistic and apocalyptic view of the future.

Joseph Smolinski, Still from Taking Back the Jetty (2009), High definition digital animation, Ed 1 of 5

Taking Back the Jetty

As the race to find unclaimed sources of oil continues earthwork art sites are starting to become threatened. Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty in Utah's Great Salt Lake is currently under pressure by oil companies who want to drill near this secluded site. Foundations such as the Dia Art Foundation and National Trust for Historic Preservation have fought to prevent the degradation of this site. The State of Utah has denied the oil companies' applications for exploratory drilling rights yet will allow future applications. These debates raise questions about the longevity of art and the protection of the natural environment at the expense of cheap energy.

Taking Back the Jetty envisions a future where the oil companies have succeeded in their quest for oil defacing the pristine view from the Spiral Jetty. The last resort to preserve this site, perhaps more devastating than the first, is a very powerful and dramatic act.

PREVIEW WORKS

Project | DREAMLAND | David Hodge and Hi-Jin Hodge

When we dream, we are released from everyday logic, the laws of physics, and the expectations of coherent storytelling. Dreamland explores this phenomenon by presenting a pastiche of dream sequences from multiple storytellers. The absence of a conventional storyline and structure does not produce chaos. Instead, the dream structure itself provides the logic that draws the stories into a coherent, stimulating, and entertaining experience.

David Hodge and Hi-Jin Hodge, Dreamland (2009), Video

David Hodge and Hi-Jin Hodge have created video installations for artistic exhibitions around the world. Their pieces typically blend editorial materials and innovative uses of technology to explore complex human and social questions. Above all, they create aesthetically appealing work that identifies foundational principles and expands on them through multiple viewpoints.

Their work encompasses both new and traditional types of media. They've shown ocean views on the side of a 40-story office building in downtown Seoul and were the first to use video iPods in an artistic installation. Currently they are at work creating new installations for their first solo exhibition: Closer by the Minute. These include explorations of topics ranging from the effect of the automobile on our lives to the question of what we leave behind. The exhibition will begin its journey at the Loyola University Museum of Art, Chicago in the spring of 2010.

David Hodge and Hi-Jin Hodge, Dreamland installation (2009), Video