Like a Short-Circuit. The Media Art of Dara Birnbaum at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele

Like a Short-Circuit. The Media Art of Dara Birnbaum at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele
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For more than fifty years, the U.S. artist Dara Birnbaum has explored the imagery of Western media to shine a light on hidden codes and ideologies. Towards this goal, Birnbaum uses complex videos and installations, a method of which she was a pioneer - images from varied sources, large photos, sculptural and architectural elements, all come together in her work, some of which are considered cornerstones of media art. Super-heroes and anime, videos of war, historic talk-shows, dreamlike images and personal memories map out the landscape of this exhibition in the spaces of the Osservatorio Fondazione Prada in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, touching themes that move from criticism of the American dream to the depiction of women in Pop culture. On display are the creations of the artist from 1975 to today, with videos, audio works, multi-channel installations, photos and 3D prints on plexiglas which, through a rigorous but not chronological itinerary, reveal the variety of methods and languages used by Birnbaum and the neurological centre of her work. A new step in the reflections carried out by the Osservatorio, the space of the Fondazione Prada, dedicated to experimentation in visual languages and the intersections between technology and various cultural expressions, a platform for free thinking which explores the impact of art and media on an ever-evolving reality.
Francesca Grego - © 2023 ARTE.it for Bulgari Hotel Milano