NEW YORK, April 28 — Opening on Wednesday at Elizabeth Collective in New York, “The Beginning of the End” is the US premiere of Errazuriz's latest sculptural works.

Curated by James Salomon, the exhibition includes a series of 3D-modeled and printed sculptures of Silicon Valley's tech leaders as Greco-Roman statues. It features Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos and Edward Snowden, all depicted as mythological gods.

In Errazuriz's pantheon of tech moguls, Bezos is immortalised in a Napoleonic pose, reflecting on the growing power of corporations like Amazon. Described by the Chilean-born artist as a “prophet,” Steve Jobs is seen leaning over his smartphone as a modern-day interpretation of Rodin's “The Thinker.”

 

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“THE NEW OPIUM” “Zuckerberg appears as a bust, his stiff face seemingly detached from his subjects. The statues have a classical Roman feel. Purposely exaggerating the mythology of each person represented. When you consider that Rome fell, it becomes clear that Errazuriz wants the viewer to understand that the devices of our digital civilization could lead to our undoing. Much of his work as an artist is social commentary. It is evident Errazuriz has lost sleep over technology’s hold over us” David Pierini . . #zuckerberg #facebook #socialmedia #tech #art #techart #sculpture #sculptor #artist #art #contemporaryart #design #designer #3d #3dprint #formlabs @techcrunch @wired @gizmodo @mashable @verge @digitaltrends

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“The Beginning of the End” is the outcome of five years of work by Errazuriz, who first had to collect images of the tech personalities he wanted to depict. He then had to construct 3D models to make the final AR sculptures, which were also 3D-printed in resin.

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“We've had to sculpt in the same manner as you would be sculpting in real life, but using the cursor of the computer and the mouse to push in and out wireframes,” he told Wired magazine.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Short clips on Tuesday’s upcoming show: “The Beginning of the end”. Hope I can see you there. The exhibit borrows the aesthetics and symbolism from the origins of Roman/Greek western civilization to create a new mythology for today’s potential technological demise... Each of the 12 sculptures represents one of the chronological subsequent forces at play that will sucede each other until they arrive at a dramatic finale. Think of them as place holders for conversations. Tarot cards with which to attempt to understand the reality and future ahead of us. The investigation behind spans 5 years and part of it will be shown during Frieze week at a pop up exhibition at a beautiful townhouse that used to belong to Elizabeth Taylor. Many thanks to @theelizabeth.nyc @roxanaqgirand @salomoncontemporary . . #art #artist #design #designer #tech #elonmusk #markzuckerberg #bezos #contemporaryart #tech #3d #3dprinting #nyulabs #formlabs

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This isn't the first time that Errazuriz has explored the relationship between art and technology. In 2017, he notoriously “vandalised” an AR version of Jeff Koons' iconic “Balloon Dog” sculpture using Snapchat. Errazuriz created his own version, covering it with virtual graffiti.

“The Beginning of the End” will be on view at the Elizabeth Collective in New York, from May 1 to 14. — AFP-Relaxnews