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    Speculative Futures

    Speculative Futures

    Feb 1–Apr 29, 2011

    Julieta Aranda, Beth Campbell, Cao Fei, and Ana Prvački
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    EXHIBITION BROCHURE

    SculptureCenter is pleased to announce a unique off-site exhibition Speculative Futures. Featuring works by Julieta Aranda, Beth Campbell, Cao Fei, and Ana Prvacki, Speculative Futures looks at futurological tendencies in art and how they may relate to the context of the economic hub that is the Bloomberg New York office. Speculative Futures is curated by Regine Basha and organized by SculptureCenter for Bloomberg. The exhibition will be on view from February 1 - April 29, 2011, by appointment only.

    Futurology, the study of probable, desirable, imaginable and unimaginable futures is based on past and present day events and circumstances. As a practice, futurology (or Futures Studies) aggregates research to arrive at complex and purposeful views of the coming world. Sources as diverse as philosophy, economics, technology, criminology, and popular culture provide insight to futurologists. In the Bloomberg office, information is in a constant state of flux, flowing from what is tomorrow in London to what might be yesterday in Los Angeles. Given the fluid nature with which time and information is treated in this space, it easily can be interpreted as a futurological mothership for this exhibition.

    From the mundane to the spectacular, each of these projects focus on manufacturing plausible tales while conjuring experiences of the coming world. Each will punctuate the space on Bloomberg's 5th and 6th floors, highlighting various aspects of the office and its functions. For instance Julieta Aranda, interested in the flow of information and alternative economies, collected and organized all the email spam sent to her from Nigeria, or allegedly from Nigeria, promising large sums of money. Proposing a solution to the global financial crisis, Aranda represents this data as a public transit terminal, Meanwhile in Nigeria, which will be on view in direct relationship to Bloomberg's own presentation and analysis of financial data.

    Ana Prvacki, aka Ananatural Production, often proposes conceptual strategies for corporate environments offering solutions that bridge the gap between necessity and desire, practicality and fiction. Her installation, POST APIS, actualizes a solution for saving the potential future crisis of bee extinction - also called 'The Colony Collapse Disorder' phenomena. Prvacki proposes investment in the future currency of honey. Consisting of jars of honey kept in a mobile beehive unit, and to be situated adjacent to Bloomberg's own snack bar area, her installation intends to encourage awareness of the importance of bees, and how bee pollination affects our daily diet. Her intervention extends into an actual Bloomberg terminal, which will present relevant news and information on the disappearance of the Western Honey Bee, contextualizing the bee crisis and how it could affect a wide range of stocks, from honey to fruits, and all pollination dependent industries. Overall, all four of these projects present the viewer with alternate realities that are informed by the ambitious architecture, myriad reflections and color-coded flow of information that surrounds the site.

    Access to the exhibition will be by appointment only. For more information on tour dates and times, please visit SculptureCenter's website: www.sculpture-center.org