Art Bets: Upload at Upstairs Artspace

The information age has yielded new formats of art-making and curatorial opportunities. Last December at Art Basel Miami, for example, a gallery exhibited only animated .gifs culled from the various websites. Now in Tryon, a collection of more than 100 images created and edited via cellphones and tablets is currently on display at Upstairs ArtSpace. Cumulatively, Upload acknowledges a new era of creative expression now accessible to a broad range of people. Furthermore, the line between artist and non-artist is blurred when these types of photos are shown in a gallery setting. After placing an informal cyber-call for mobile-phone pictures, Upstairs ArtSpace received responses from as far away as Turkey. Participants emailed the gallery their images, which were then printed and pinned to the wall, close together, running the length of the gallery, as if in a scroll on a phone. What is meant to be viewed on an LCD screen, lit from behind, does not always translate suitably onto paper, but the transference of media is intriguing to consider. A compelling documentation of contemporary culture emerges within the imagery. Upload will be on display until March 2. More at upstairsartspace.org

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