image: Algae Chorus by Yan Shao at Biobat Art Space. Photo courtesy of gallery.
While considering these art and technology exhibitions, it may be interesting to think about these works from an art historical context. How should they be defined to help make connections that can strengthen understanding? What new naming conventions would work to enhance these connections? Would the term ‘Techspressionism’—more earnestly considered circa 2020 to illustrate “an artistic approach in which technology is utilized as a means to express emotional experience”—adequately define many of these works?
What is appealing about the term Techspressionism, coined by artist Colin Goldberg and promoted by the director of Pollock-Krasner House Helen A. Harrison, is that unlike many terms used to describe Art and Technology, it relies on the emotional connection and not the process, think Glitch Art or Augmented Reality Art, to place it within the collectively used categories and movements. It perhaps gets us closer to the heart of it. Wherever you find the definition lands, the following exhibitions all use technology to challenge us to connect with our collective shared past, present, and future.