the thing as it is™

Online e-say (the second in my e-say series) thethingasitis™ was the second of the e-says, using material in part repurposed from the : ( : ) [sad/happy] installation at Artsadmin in 1999. thethingasitis™ was also shown as part of HTML Color Codes online exhibition curated by Carolyn Kane for Rhizome, September 2009. The opening statement offers 'The HTML Color Codes exhibition features a selection of internet based artwork that address the topic of digital color. The central question that the exhibition poses is whether or not artists working with the internet are in fact limited to a 'ready-made' color palette, a premise that many artists working with film, photography, and mass produced, standardized paint sets have assumed. The rationale for this question stems from theories of perception that argue that color is a not ready-made object found in a paint set or machine, but rather it is an experience that results from a complex process of light interacting with the retina and human nervous system.' Click on the link for an archive version here. ‘But here, Atavar has intentionally offset the possibility of accessing an essence. There is no possible essence for HTML color, as it involves a two-tier process from hexadecimal code, through its execution as visual content. The thingliness of the thing reveals that there is no one thing, but several things, (culture, convention, commercialism) that make the thingliness of thing appear essential.’ (Carolyn Kane for Rhizome 08/09) 'Michael Atavar offers the blue screen of an empty window with text written as if in the condensation of a cold morning.' (Susan Ballard for Furtherfield 10/03/10) ATTC-Minus 10: Michael Atavar for Psopo Bubble Supported: Arts Council London Website: Text, programming and audio files by Michael Atavar. Programming by Julian Baker. Audio files by David Knight Graphic reconstructions: Richard Scarborough