Another one off FAD’s occasional interviews with the people that are changing the very fabric of the art world , up now is Larisa Leventon founder and creator of the virtual art exhibition site DOT-DASH-3 .
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“The time is ripe to shatter physical and geographical barriers separating us from artists’ studios and galleries and embrace a new dimension in appreciation and dissemin
ation of art.”
–Dot Dash 3 Manifesto
Fancy receiving a dose of thought provoking art but don’t feel like leaving your house? Well allow Dot Dash 3 to take you on a virtual journey which might not replace the experience of viewing art in person, but will certainly appease your art hungry needs. A sense of intimacy, context, and literal and visual ascetics, are just a few of the characteristics which set Dot Dash 3 apart from other digital art platforms. Recently, the founder and creator of this innovative site, Larisa Leventon took the time out of her manic schedule to have a chat with VC about her inspirations behind building the website, and further explain her as both curator and digital enabler. Now 10 months after the launch which occurred on the 30th of January this year, Leventon is incredibly overwhelmed, yet grateful with the success and positive feedback she has received from artists, galleries and critics and is looking extremely forward to officially announce the site’s launch of the ‘Next Generation’ occuring Fall of 2013.
What is your background Larisa and what inspired you to build such an innovative site such as Dot Dash 3?
I have always loved art and began practicing at an early age. But instead of going to school for Art History I decided to go to MIT and then onward to receive a PHD from Brown in applied mathematics. For the last ten years I worked as a portfolio manager at Steven Cohen’s SAC and ten years previous to this, I worked as a mathematician designing visualization alogrithyms for surgical- image guided navigation.
Crazy cool! So, this is why Dot Dash 3 is so unique, as you have such a firm grasp of how important it is to view things from an audience’s perspective?
Yes, I believe it to be incredibly important to provide context whilst allowing for an artist to express their own voice, thus the reason why I have attempted to develop sufficient software which takes one on a virtual journey where this type of navigation is witnessed. When working in collaboration with a given artist, we by no means are trying to replace the experience of viewing art online, but we do constantly keep the perspective of the viewer in mind aiming to make their experience as close to visiting a gallery as possible.
Animate Me, 2013
Can you explain how you discover the artists you choose to work with and the collaborative processes?
I am originally from Boston, but have been in New York now working for decades and there is no other city I could ever see myself living. And athough my past careers have forced me to be a bit more on the ‘financial’ side of the New York scene, as I am an avid art lover and practitioner, I have always enjoyed taking art classes and going to gallery openings/shows in my spare time, and because of this I have acquired many friends/colleagues whom are heavily immersed in the New York art and international gallery sector, and recommend or point artists in my direction. I feel that I have been incredibly lucky thus far because the way I have been introduced to all of the artists I have collaborated with has been extremely organic- either they have found me or I have found them- whichever the case I always want to ensure that we share a similar ethos and mutual understanding of how and for what reason we would like to promote greater visual and literal accessibility to art.
Once I am introduced to an artist and feel as though we have this same vision and we agree that their work would function well in a digital arena, then numerous conversations begin to happen. Some of the artists are international but will make plans to meet with me while they are travelling in New York, or some of them I partake in skype interviews with. I prefer face to face, but this is not always the case, but no matter what- it is vital that these intimate discussions occur. Like in a physical gallery space, I like the opportunity to get to know the artists on a personal and professional basis in order to gain a precise understanding of where they stand in their current practice and where they visualize their work and themselves going in the future.
Have you ever stumbled on some issues between you and the artists?
Keeping the audience in mind is key in these scenarios and many artists I meet try to tell me what has happened with the way their work has been displayed in past exhibitions, but I always have to remind them that the context of their work in a virtual space will alter. Due to the fact that the current software on Dot Dash 3 is somewhat limiting, many of the artists I work with have to adjust their preconceived perceptions around how their work has been viewed in physical gallery spaces in the past. So it is much trial and error through our collaboration and discussion. However challenging this is always a positive thing because if we find that maybe some of their work will not work as well online as we initially thought, as it usually inspires them to create newer works which are more conducive to the online virtual space thus enhancing and further developing their creative capabilities.
So what do you mean by trial and error? What kind of collaborative processes occur before a show is displayed?
I usually discuss how the software in which I have developed functions with them so they get a better understanding of what fuels or motivates my systematic and technological algorithms. Once they feel confident enough, I hand the tools over to them so that they can have the freedom and opportunity to augment their ideas in a digital scene. If they dedicate the time to getting to know the software, they then have the independence to create virtual galleries which go beyond their own expectations. After they show me what they have created, I then have an even more coherent understanding of what messages they are attempting to illustrate through the immanent inclusions they demonstrate through the calculated virtual placement of their work. We collaboratively work together on making any last alterations or adjustments and then we appropriate the accompanying text in order to accurately support the concepts they are aiming to exhibit.
Andrea Bianconi, My Best Friend, 2013
Davide Balliano, A Dividable Loan, 2013
David Spriggs, Critical Cartographies, 2013
Do you have any similar relationships with galleries as you do with artists you currently work with?
Yes. Although this was not originally part of Dot Dash 3’s initial construction we now essentially have two parts to the creative business platform. One part is our involvement with individual artists and executing solo exhibitions where I or other invited curators will work side by side with an artist using for the most part the system outlined above. However, because Dot Dash 3 does not currently have the capability to display multiple exhibitions from other physical galleries, the other half to DD3’s equation is enabling any organization/ gallery to utilize other artists work on their website.
In the past 6 months or so galleries have contacted me because they think that a certain artist’s work they represent would function really well online, or provide another opportunity for an artist to gain even more exposure . For example, I just recently designed a virtual gallery for Blank Space and their artist JT Kirkland. Although his work is not currently on display in Blank Space he has in fact shown in this gallery before and the gallery owner thought that his work would work in perfectly with what our current software enables. These types of collaborative projects coincide perfectly with the ethos of Dot Dash 3 where another avenue is created allowing for viewing art more readily accessible to viewers from any part of the world at any time.
You mentioned you work with other Curators on certain projects, can you name a view and how they influence any particular project or the framework of Dot Dash 3?
I work with many curators from all backgrounds. One whom has been extremely influential in the exhibition progress has been Boshko Boskovic who is also the program director for the Residency Unlimited based in Brooklyn, NYC. Boshko curated one of the first exhibtions we launched entitled ‘Animate Me‘ where there were videos by talented filmakers Marko Tadic and Eric Dunn and a back room of the virtual space which featured a corresponding show ‘My Bestfriend‘ with works by visual artist Andrea Bianconi.
As soon as I met Nathalie Angles and the RU team, I knew that our visions were the same and that we had to take our already compatible relationships further. As they are an artist-centered organization dedicated to producing customized residency formats to support the creation, presentation, and dissemination of contemporary art it only made sense to contribute a portion of all profits made from purchased works through Dot Dash 3 towards Residency Unlimited Funds.
Installation View of ‘Animate Me’ Curated by Boshko Boskovic, 2013
So what kind of developments can we expect from you this fall?
Well, I cannot give too much away as there are many things which are still in the works, but as mentioned earlier, the current software we have been working with has been somewhat limiting and time consuming which cause for less exhibitions to occur on the site. For the past months I have been dedicating my time and efforts, along with the help of many others, to construct a type of software which will allow artists to create a virtual gallery space which will take viewers on an even more highly developed navigational journey. My goal is to enable as many exhibitions as possible helping artists to expose their genius work, hopefully helping to take the status of their professional career even further. I am looking extremely forward to working with even more upcoming and established artists, intersting galleries, and more heightened awareness of the growing contemporary art world on a global scale through the use of technology.
To visit the site go HERE
To find out more about Residency Unlimited go HERE
