33 Questions per Minute
Relational Architecture 5
"33 Questions Per Minute" consists of a computer program which uses grammatical rules to combine words from a dictionary and generate 4.7 trillion unique, fortuitous questions. The automated questions are presented at a rate of 33 per minute --the threshold of legibility-- on 21 tiny LCD screens encrusted on the support columns of the exhibition hall or mounted on a wall. The system will take over 271,000 years to ask all possible questions. By means of a keyboard, members of the public can introduce any question or comment into the flow of automatic questions. Their participation shows up on the screens immediately and is registered by the program.
If the PC has an Internet connection, the texts can simultaneously be mirrored to a URL that can be accessed online.
Some observations on this installation :
This piece is loosely based on the long tradition of automatic poetry. It is full of anti-content. It attempts to underline our incapability to respond, faced with an electronic landscape made up of demands for attention. The piece provides useless and slightly frustrating machine irony. Tireless grammatical algorithms perform a romantic and futile attempt to pose questions that have never been asked.
The effect of the installation is destabilising due to its speed. The rhythm of questions excludes any rational answer. 33 questions a minute is the threshold of legibility : there is no time for reflection.
To a viewer (or to the authorities), it is impossible to determine if a question was generated by the computer or entered by a human participant because both are shown at the same rate and anonymously. The intention is to develop a "reverse Turing Test" where the impossibility to discriminate between human and machine opens up the possibility of concealment and camouflage.
The majority of the automatic questions are absurd: Will you bleed in an orderly fashion? Is the creator always being born? Do I snip the marriage bed without rhyme or reason? But this surreal wordplay sometimes turns up questions that do have meaning within the context in which they are exhibited: Who bribes the artist? Why did computers become so self-congratulatory.
General info
Grifo displays
Projection
Exhibitions
- Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Presencia Inestable, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, Monterrey, México, 2019 - 2020.
- Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Unstable Presence, Musée d'Art Contemporain de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada, 2018.
- Lección de Arte, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain, 2017 - 2018.
- Never the Same: What (else) Can Art Writing Do?, Contemporary Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 2017.
- Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Transition States, Gund Gallery, Gambier, Ohio, United States, 2016 - 2017.
- Cómo hacer arte con palabras, MUSAC, León, Spain, 2015 - 2016.
- Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Pseudomatismos, Museo Universitario Arte Contemporaneo, Mexico City, México, 2015 - 2016.
- Calvino After Calvino, Blue Project Foundation, Barcelona, Spain, 2015.
- Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Recorders, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia, 2011 - 2012.
- AA2 Exhibition, AKC Medika Gallery, Zagreb, Croatia, 2011 (projection).
- Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Recorders, Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester, United Kingdom, 2010 - 2011.
- Automatic Update, Museum of Modern Art, New York City, New York, United States, 2007.
- Armory Show, Galería OMR, New York City, New York, United States, 2006.
- Scrabble, Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno, Las Palmas, Spain, 2006.
- Subsculptures, Galerie Guy Bärtschi, Genève, Switzerland, 2005.
- 33 Questions per Minute, Spots Mediafaçade, with realities:united, Postdamer Platz 10, Berlin, Germany, 2005 - 2006.
- Algorithmic Revolution, Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie, Karlsruhe, Germany, 2005 - 2007.
- Centro Cultural de España, Mexico City, México, 2005.
- MUSAC, León, Spain, 2005.
- Art Basel Unlimited - Art Basel 35, Galería OMR, Basel, Switzerland, 2004.
- ARCO '04, Galería OMR, Madrid, Spain, 2004.
- Art Basel Miami Beach, Galería OMR, Miami, Florida, United States, 2003.
- Relational Architectures, Laboratorio Arte Alameda, Mexico City, México, 2003.
- Ill Communication, Dundee Contemporary Art, Dundee, United Kingdom, 2003.
- Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, bitforms gallery, New York City, New York, United States, 2003.
- Emoçao Art.ficial, Itau Cultural, São Paulo, Brazil, 2002.
- Cibervisión 2, Conde Duque, Madrid, Spain, 2002.
- Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul, Turkey, 2001.
- Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam, 7th Bienal de la Habana, Havana, Cuba, 2000.
Credits
- Rafael Lozano-Hemmer - concept, direction
- Conroy Badger, Guillaume Tremblay - programming
- Will Bauer, Ana Parga, María Velarde Torres, Luis Jiménez-Carlés, Luis Parga, Gabriela Raventós (Spanish version), Rebecca MacSween (English version), Stephan Klinger, Sakrowski, Till Braband (German version) - production support.
Links
Bibliography
Disembodied Presence: Rafael Lozano-Hemmer interview., Neural Issue 26, Bari, Italy, 2006 (english). Text of 4 pages. (Magazine)
- "Artistas contemporáneos recuperan las profecías de Italo Calvino", El Periódico, Barcelona, Spain, June 12th 2015 (español). Text of 1 page. (Newspaper)
- "Technology a 'work of art' at the'Haunted Mansion'", Hurriyet Daily News, Istanbul, Turkey, September 19th 2013 (english). Text of 3 pages. (Newspaper)
- Adams, James, "Eight Canadian visual and media artists win Governor-General Awards", The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, December 3rd 2016 (english). Text of 5 pages. (Newspaper)
- Barrios, José Luis, "Rafael Lozano-Hemmer", Código Postal 06140 Year 2 No. 16, Mexico City, México, August 2003 (español). Text of 2 pages. (Magazine)
- Binder, Pat and Haupt, Gerhard, Excerpt from an interview for Universe, SCRABBLE ‒ vídeo, lenguaje y abstracción, Gran Canaria, Spain, 2005 (english and español). Text of 8 pages. (Book)
- Bosco, Roberta, "El arte contemporáneo interpreta a Calvino", El País, Madrid, Spain, August 19th 2015 (español). Text of 2 pages. (Newspaper)
- Bosco, Roberta, "El Arte Del Futuro", El País -Edición Internacional, Madrid, Spain, October 21st 2006 (español). Text of 1 page. (Newspaper)
- Bosco, Roberta and Caldana, Stefano, "Lozano-Hemmer indaga con las palabras en la bienal de La Habana", El Paìs, no. 144,, Madrid, Spain, December 7th 2000 (español). Text of 1 page. (Newspaper)
- Castillo, Omar-Pascual, Fast four-footed animal (Or... some notes and ideas on contemporary art originating in or circulating about -and for- Mexico), art.es, no. 6-7, November 2004 / February 2005, 2005 (english). Text of 1 page. (Magazine)
- Checkland, Sarah Jane, "My favourite things", Financial Times, Weekend edition, New York City, New York, United States, October 11th 2008 (english). Text of 1 page. (Newspaper)
- Connaissance des Arts, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer et les outils de son temps, Connaissance des Arts, Paris, France, January 2006 (français). Text of 1 page. (Magazine)
- Del Conde, Teresa, "Lozano-Hemmer en el MUAC", La Jornada, Mexico City, México, December 1st 2015 (español). Text of 3 pages. (Newspaper)
- Dorner, Jennifer, "Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts - Rafael Lozano-Hemmer media artist", Canada Council for the Arts, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, March 2015 (english). Text of 4 pages. (Website)
- Fajardo-Hill, Cecilia, Forms of classification: Alternative Knowledge and contemporary art, Miami, Florida, United States, 2006 (english and español). Text of 3 pages. (Book)
- Federico, Cherie, "Digital Art and the Platforms for Participation", Aesthetica, York, United Kingdom, August 2010 (english). Text of 4 pages. (Magazine)
- Fernández, María, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, egofugal - 7th international Istanbul biennial, Istanbul, Turkey, 2001 (english and türkçe). Text of 2 pages. (Book)
- Galindo, Gabriela, "Pseudomatismos y otras paranoias posmodernas. Reflexión sobre el trabajo de Rafael Lozano-Hemmer", Réplica 21, Naucalpan, México, March 2nd 2016 (español). Text of 8 pages. (Website)
- Hasegawa, Yuko, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Cream 3. Contemporary Art in Culture. 10 curators -10 contemporary artists - 10 source artists, London, United Kingdom, 2003 (english). Text of 4 pages. (Book)
- Herrera Ysla, Nelson, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Séptima Bienal de La Habana, Madrid, Spain, 2000 (english and español). Text of 1 page. (Book)
- Jasso, Klara, Questions per Minute - Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Codigo 06140, Mexico City, México, December 2010 (español). Text of 6 pages. (Magazine)
- Jezik, Enrique, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer ‒ Laboratorio Arte Alameda, ArtNexus, vol. 2, no. 50, September – November, Bogotá, Colombia, 2003 (english and español). Text of 2 pages. (Magazine)
- Katz, Miriam, "Rafael Lozano-Hemmer", Artforum, New York City, New York, United States, February 20th 2009 (english). Text of 1 page. (Magazine)
Lovink, Geert, Los nuevos medios, la tecnología y el arte. ¿Matrimonio desgraciado o síntesis perfecta?, Zehar, no. 57, 2005 (español). Text of 3 pages. (Magazine)
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- Lozano, Amparo, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Exit Express, Suplemento Especial Para Arco 2004, No. 1 Febrero / Marzo, Madrid, Spain, 2004 (español). Text of 2 pages. (Magazine)
- Martínez Sánchez, Ricardo Javier, "Rafael Lozano-Hemmer y el arte relacional multimedia", Diario de Yucatán, Mérida, México, February 1st 2016 (español). Text of 2 pages. (Newspaper)
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- Moncada, Futuro, "Pseudomatismos de Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. Un texto de futuro Moncada", Circulo A, México, January 8th 2016 (español). Text of 22 pages. (Website)
- Rebaza-Soraluz, Dr. Luis, "A word on images: the relationship between language and the visual", Contemporary, Vol. 21, No.13, Paitilla, Panama, 2008 (english). Text of 2 pages. (Magazine)
- Sierra, Sonia, "'Ahora son las obras las que miran al publico': Rafael Lozano-Hemmer", Confabulario - El Universal, Mexico City, México, January 2nd 2016 (español). Text of 12 pages. (Newspaper)
- Thea, Carolee, "Staging the Istambul Biennial", Sculpture, Washington, D.C., United States, June 2002 (english). Text of 1 page. (Magazine)
- Turner, Grady T, "Sweet Dreams. The Seventh Havana Biennial addressed the theme of communication, which many artists interpreted in terms of escape or migration", Art in America, vol. 89, no. 10, New York City, New York, United States, October 2001 (english). Text of 1 page. (Magazine)
- Vélez, "El MUSAC cierra su décimo aniversario a través de la palabra", Diario Digital de León, León, Spain, December 18th 2015 (español). Text of 1 page. (Website)