Looking Outward – 08

Refik Anadol is a Turkish media artist based in LA that creates huge environmental art pieces driven by data. He operates Refik Anadol Studio and RAS LAB which both focus on “discovering and developing trailblazing approaches to data narratives and artificial intelligence”. He has a background in fine art. As an aspiring environmental and experience designer, I really loved being able to see how his work embodies the environments that they are in and connected to. A lot of his pieces are public art which adds another fun layer of defining space and giving people a new experience. He is able to take both architecture and open space and embed more meaning using data. For example, he created an installation in Boston that took data of the ocean breeze to visualize the connection of the city to the sea. Some of his other work utilizes invisible signals like LTE and bluetooth within spaces to create data visualizations and again visualize parts of those spaces that otherwise wouldn’t be seen or recognized. That is so cool! Another amazing project he shared was called “Archive Dreaming” in which archives turned into a data driven, visual experience. The computer almost becomes a living thing that processes your request and shares history in a new, beautiful way. Upon watching Anadol’s presentation, his imagery and videos in general were very successful in capturing your attention, but I also enjoyed how he integrated humor and light-heartedness into his talk, especially when talking about his past and moving forward with his work in cutting edge technology.

Artist: Refik Anadol
Website: https://refikanadol.com
https://vimeo.com/channels/eyeo2019/355843371
“Archive Dreaming” -> https://player.vimeo.com/video/218573298?autoplay=0&color=ffffff&title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&muted=1