30 Jul 2009

Horsecross presents: OUT OF CHARACTER at Threshold artspace, Perth

Horsecross is delighted to present Out of Character – the first solo exhibition in Scotland by internationally recognised artist Vuk Cosic described as 'an archaeologist of the future'. The exhibition features new commissions and acquisitions, which echo Cosic's earlier signature works. They are showing alongside the artist's own favourites from the permanent Horsecross collection of contemporary art. Out of Character reflects Cosic's interest in media archaeology and his belief that the role of the artist is to move away from the blind adoption of engineering defaults and instead to suggest 'constructive abuse' of technology. The exhibition includes:

Game Flags (2009) – a site-specific outdoors installation satirising the intersection of vintage computer games, colour field aesthetics and national symbolism. Commissioned as part of Players – an ongoing strand in the Horsecross collection exploring the relationship of contemporary art and gaming culture.

Horsecross first commission of contemporary art for the city centre. It is sited on banner posts in the urban environment around the oval-shaped, glazed building, which houses the Threshold artspace.

ASCII Wave (2009) – a multi-channel video installation as part of Cosic's ongoing project to translate culture from one obsolete format to another. Scenes from twenty classic films ranging from Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory (1895) to The Matrix (1999) are converted into retro-futuristic moving images using ASCII code. Cosic creates visual havoc by exposing 'the ones and zeros' of which popular cinema icons are made of.

Horsecross latest commission for Threshold Wave – an area of 22 flat, 40-inch screens all in a row dominating the artspace.

ASCII Unreal (2009) ¬– a large-scale installation of Cosic's reworking of the seminal video game Unreal Tournament through streaming ASCII. Foregrounding text as the primary ingredient in the artist's visual grammar, this work features extruded Cyrillic characters set adrift in darkened skies and unrecognizable letterforms shipwrecked in a sea of squiggly tildes.

Acquired as part of Players for the Horsecross collection of contemporary art and showing at Threshold Stage as a large-scale wall projection.

History of Art for Airports and Toilets (2009) – an 8-channel video installation of Cosic's public signage poetics work. Compressing art history from Michelangelo's La Pietà (1499) to Heath Bunting's Borderxing Guide (2001– 2011) the artist creates a new desktop iconography resonating with Brian Eno's Ambient 1: Music for Airports (1978).

Acquired as part of Horsecross collection of contemporary art and showing at Threshold Flush – a distributed area of flat screens with one in each of the eight public toilets.

The exhibition Out of Character is accompanied by a new issue of Read More – Horsecross journal of critical writing (ISSN 1755-0866 Online) to be published later in 2009. A newly commissioned essay by Neil Mulholland will explore Cosic's new works in relation to his oeuvre to date. A limited edition artist's print is to be released as part of Collect + Support – Horsecross new initiative for collectable contemporary art. Threshold artspace YouTube Channel is home to the tribute documentary Vuk Cosic and ASCII net.art by GenaxC.

Out of Character is produced by the artist and Horsecross for Threshold artspace in partnership with 55degrees and ARC Projects. Supported by Henry Moore Foundation and the Scottish Arts Council New Work Fund.

Launched in September 2005, Threshold artspace is about positioning Perth and Scotland within the contemporary art world at large through curating, commissioning, producing, exhibiting, publishing and collecting.

Horsecross is an independent agency delivering cultural activities at Threshold artspace, Perth Concert Hall and Perth Theatre. Threshold artspace and Perth Concert Hall sit on the site of the original Horsecross – Perth's 17th century horse market. The name is synonymous with bustling regeneration activity in the heart of the city.

Also showing:

SCENE 2: Inga Darguzyte | Anita E Hutchison | Joanna Kessel | Frances Law | Judith MacLauchlan | Gayle Nelson | Jackie Smith
The second in a two-part series of Perthshire Visual Arts Forum exhibitions especially curated for Threshold artspace. Selected by Diana Sykes
1 August – 1 November 2009
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COLLECT + SUPPORT: Glenlandia by Susan Collins | Acres Wild by Marek Styczen
The first collectable limited editions produced by Horsecross with proceeds supporting the exhibition programme.
Limited edition - limited availability!
Both at Threshold artspace, Horsecross, Perth Theatre, 185 High Street, PH1 5UW, Scotland, www.horsecross.co.uk
Open Monday to Saturday, 10am – 5pm or late on performance evenings. Admission always free

For further details please contact Iliyana Nedkova, Horsecross Creative Director (Contemporary Art) tel: +44 (0)1738 477743 e-mail: inedkova@horsecross.co.uk