NMA - Networked Modern Art

Networking means both connections and technology, both of which are represented here in this collection. Starting off, A Passage of Twilight is straightforward: dark, with purple and blue highlights at the top and bottom, and contours ontlining a tunnel in between. Inside the tunnel are vertical lines stretching from top to bottom, providing illumination but perhaps also barriers. At one end, the tunnel begins to show light, whereas at the other the tunnel fades out of view, obstructed by another rough, spiky object. Misshapen Beacon is rough and somewhat dim, with even the area that would usually be a solid black having elements of color and tint. That area forms a tower with a large round head, sending out signals and presumably receiving them also. The beacon tower is protected by the terrain around it, rising up protectively in many layers. Enduring Network Connections is colorful and abstract; the thick dark blobs that connect points to other points are distinct, but their meaning and configuration is incomprehensible. Alongside the variety of colors, the shading style of this work is a unique blend of dithering and tissue-paper shading. Faded Emerald Watchpost keeps watch vigilantly, if tiredly. Far from having a full emerald color, the watchtower here has many lines that are white, instead of an emerald green, and even the background of the work fades into a tired black from the weary violet dust around it. But my personal favorite work this week is Conductance in Silhouette, a work focused entirely on outlines, and shaky static outlines at that. They arc from one figure to another, conducting a rainbow of color through them, but never in a stable, confident way. The light red area at the top of the image contrasts with the black background of the rest of it, emphasizing that lack of confidence. Please enjoy!