NEWSLETTER
Opens Friday, October 27, 2023, with reception and artist talk
Astoria, New York (August 23, 2023) — Museum of the Moving Image will present Dissolution, a jewel-box, sculptural hologram created by artist David Levine that captures the experience of a person trapped inside a machine. This hypnotic volumetric projection—viewable from any angle—functions as a kind of digital zoetrope, beaming colorful pixels at 30 frames per second onto an oscillating glass plate that clatters like a 16mm film projector. Opens Friday, October 27, 2023, with reception and artist talkThe installation opens in the Museum’s Amphitheater Gallery beginning Friday, October 27, with an artist talk and reception from 6:00–8:00 p.m. Dissolution will be on view through March 2024.
“We are thrilled to be the first institution in the United States to present Dissolution,” said Sonia Epstein, the Museum’s Curator of Science & Technology, who organized the exhibit. “David Levine’s work evokes the past and present of the moving image, combining unique digital media technology with references from the history of cinema, television, and video games—a perfect fit for the Museum and our subject matter.”
Melding analog and digital is intrinsic to Dissolution. With a 20-minute story arc presented on a loop, it draws on the central conceit of iconic 1980s movies and TV shows such as Tron and Max Headroom: human characters who find themselves dematerialized and confined within the interior worlds of electronic devices. The work’s disembodied protagonist shapeshifts through digital terrains that allude to cultural touchstones: from the tragic Greek figure Laocoön to the classic game King’s Quest to psychedelic Op-Art paintings. The work reflects on its own condition—zapped into the machine, stuck in a museum—raising questions about the value of art and the nature of value itself. Dissolution’s narrator, by turns anguished, insightful, humorous, and disillusioned, offers a provocative ambivalence about the technologies that both enable and contain its existence—a resonant reflection at a time when much of our physical reality has become virtual.
From January–March 2024, the Museum’s presentation of Dissolution will be accompanied by a Science on Screen series featuring a selection of films that depict humans reconstituted into the interior landscape of digital devices.
Coinciding with the Museum’s presentation of Dissolution, artist press PPP Editions will publish a limited-edition broadsheet reprinting the full text of the piece, accompanied by images. This publication, a collaboration with David Levine, will be available in limited quantities in the Museum Shop.
Dissolution was created with support from: Harvard University’s Lasky-Barajas Innovation Fund, the Adrian Cheng and Jennifer Dean Fund for Innovation in the Arts, and the Dean's Competitive Fund for Promising Scholarship; the MIT Center for Art, Science, and Technology (CAST); the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
About the artist: David Levine’s work encompasses performance, video, and photography. He is a Professor of the Practice of Performance, Theater, and Media at Harvard University. His performance and exhibition work has been presented by the Brooklyn Museum, Creative Time, MoMA, Jeu de Paume, MACBA, REDCAT, MCA Chicago, Mass MoCA, PS122, and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and has been featured in Artforum, Frieze, Theater, BOMB, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. His solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, Some of the People, All of the Time, was named one of the ten best exhibitions globally by The New York Times in 2018. He has also directed operas and plays at BRIC House, the Atlantic Theater, Primary Stages, and Soho Rep. His writing has been published in n+1, Cabinet, Parkett, and Triple Canopy. He is the recipient of a 2013 OBIE award and 2018 Guggenheim Fellowship, and has also received fellowships from the Radcliffe Institute, the MacDowell Colony, and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.
Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) is the only institution in the United States that deals comprehensively with the art, technology, enjoyment, and social impact of film, television, and digital media. In its acclaimed facility in Astoria, New York, the Museum presents exhibitions; screenings; discussion programs featuring actors, directors, and creative leaders; and education programs. It houses the nation’s largest collection of moving image artifacts and screens over 500 films annually. Its exhibitions—including the core exhibition Behind the Screen and The Jim Henson Exhibition—are noted for their integration of material objects, interactive experiences, and audiovisual presentations. For more information about the MoMI, visit movingimage.us.
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Press contacts:
Tomoko Kawamoto, MoMI, tkawamoto@movingimage.us, 718 777 6830
Alex Cutler and Hayley Brinkman, Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis, momi@ssmandl.com
PRESS IMAGES ARE AVAILABLE HERE. Additional images are also available. Please contact Tomoko.
MUSEUM INFORMATION
Hours: Thursday, 2:00–6:00 p.m. Friday, 2:00–8:00 p.m. Saturday–Sunday, 12:00–6:00 p.m.
General Museum Admission: $20 adults, $12 senior citizens (ages 65+) and students (ages 18+) with ID, $10 youth (ages 3–17). Children under 3 and Museum members are admitted free. General admission is free every Thursday, 2:00–6:00 p.m.
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Program Information: Telephone: 718 777 6888; Website: movingimage.us
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Film Screenings: Friday evenings, Saturdays and Sundays, and as scheduled. Unless noted, tickets are $15 adults / $11 students and seniors / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / free or discounted for Museum members. Advance online purchase is recommended.
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Museum of the Moving Image is housed in a building owned by the City of New York and has received significant support from the following public agencies: New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; New York City Council; New York City Economic Development Corporation; New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; Institute of Museum and Library Services; National Endowment for the Humanities; National Endowment for the Arts; and Natural Heritage Trust (administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation). For more information, please visit movingimage.us.