Press
Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 3, 2002
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For more information contact:
Casey Page 410-962-8565

"Mapping the Unseen"

An Exhibition of Networked & Digital Art at MAP
Students of the Maryland Institute College of Art
Sponsored by the MICA Center for New Media

Randy Devost, Daniel Forsythe, Dan Halka, James Kafader,
Tae Lee, Molly Maguire, Ilya Mayzus, Jack Tai

Maryland Art Place presents Mapping the Unseen an exhibition of student work from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Organized by Randall Packer, Professor of Electronic Arts at MICA, and Director of the Center for New Media, the exhibition showcases the artistic investigation of wireless networks that are transforming the way we access and experience the Internet. These networks are also redefining the way we interact as communities, bridging the gap between on-line and on-site proximity.

For the exhibition, a local area wireless network will be positioned at MAP that establishes a network zone in the vicinity of the Power Plant Live Plaza in downtown Baltimore. Each artist in the
exhibition will choose a location, object, building, etc within this area and construct an on-line event or set of events that corresponds to the artwork in the exhibition. Those who visit the exhibition at the plaza will be able to use their laptops to view the show on-line within a 150-foot radius of the gallery.

Mapping the Unseen explores a new approach to networked media. Typically, we think of the Web as the dissolution of geographical space, the loss of place. Wireless networks on the other hand reaffirm place and create a direct continuum between networks and location. These networks are springing up at an incredible rate and are creating an extraordinary sense of community grounded in place and neighborhood.

Tis is the first show staged on the Internet by Maryland Art Place. The exhibition investigates the implications of how the network is transforming, in the larger sense, the way we think about maps, geographies, topologies, distance, time, etc. - expanding the experience of art beyond the confines of the gallery walls. The map is changing. Mapping the Unseen transforms our sense of location, as well as visualizing and providing orientation in virtual space.

Maryland Art Place (MAP) is a non-profit center for contemporary art established in 1981 to: develop and maintain a dynamic environment for regional artists to exhibit their work, nurture and promote new ideas and new forms, and facilitate rewarding exchanges between artists and the public through educational leadership.

MAP’s new state of the art facility at 8 Market Place, Suite 100—across from the Port Discovery Children’s Museum in Power Plant Live! — features three galleries with more than 320 feet of wall space. Galley hours are Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m., and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. There is no admission charge.

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