Signals Now is a collaboration between Rochester Contemporary Art Center and Signal Culture, a new experimental media art organization based in New York State. The four internationally renowned media artists featured in the exhibition are among the first to participate in Signal Culture’s media art residency program.

About the Artists:

Peer Bode (Hornell, NY) was first exposed to electronics by his father, Harald Bode, a developer of the first modular audio synthesizer. Recognizing the limits imposed by designers on industrial and consumer technology, Bode sought to externalize the “hidden coding and control structures” of the video signal. His works investigate the semiotics and phenomenology of the medium, specifically through the synthesis of audio and video signals. Bode is a nationally and internationally exhibiting artist with media works in museum collections worldwide. He is a Professor of Video Arts at the School of Art and Design at Alfred University, Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Institute for Electronic Arts (IEA), and member of the “Carrier Band” with Pauline Oliveros, Andrew Deutsch and Steve Vitiello.

Kristin Lucas (Austin, TX) is a multidisciplinary artist living in Austin, TX. Her work investigates the uncanny overlaps of virtual and lived realities, alongside the physical and psychological effects of technologies on our perception of time and space, behavior, and identity. Her video, installation, network performance, internet, augmented reality, and hybrid media works have been exhibited internationally and are represented by Electronic Arts Intermix and Postmasters Gallery. She has participated in residency programs at The Experimental Television Center, Harvestworks, Marie Walsh Sharpe Space Program, MoMA PS1's National Studio Program, ARCUS, ACC Gallery Weimar, the Institute For Electronic Arts at Alfred University, and Eyebeam.

Joe McKay (Beacon, NY) is a digital media artist who uses games and interactivity to critically examine the way our culture is consuming and creating current technology. McKay works in several different mediums, including sculpture, performance, video games, video, photo, and more. Mckay has an extensive exhibition history, both in New York City and internationally. He is currently represented by Pari Nadimi Gallery in Toronto. McKay is a Professor of New Media at the State University of New York at Purchase.

Phillip Stearns (Brooklyn, NY) uses electronics to create phenomenological works of light and sound. He commonly employs the methods of deconstruction, dissection, and reconfiguration in his hands-on practice. By extending electronic media techniques, Stearns explores the circuit as a means for sculpting electricity. His work has been exhibited internationally at electronics arts festivals, museums, and galleries including the Transmediale (Berlin), Eyebeam, Harvestworks, Gli.tc/H Festival, FILE (Brazil), and the Torrance Art Museum.

Rome Celli

Signal Culture