Nechvatal ‘Postflesh’ Artweek
by David M. Roth
On Joseph Nechvatal, as reviewed in the ‘Postflesh’ show at the
California State University, Sacramento Gallery by David M. Roth for Artweek,
April 2003
Among the most
engaging entries (in the ‘Postflesh’ show) are Joseph Nechvatal’s
"viral-infected computer-robotic assisted paintings." Nechvatal, a
superstar in the field of computer-generated imagery since the mid 80s, begins
his wall-sized (5-1/2-by 10-foot) works by creating computer viruses which he
turns loose on his existing digital images. Once infected and altered, the
imagery is painted on canvases robotically. The results, contrary to what you
might expect, are painterly, poetic and a bit otherworldly.
One painting
resembles a giant cuneiform tablet that’s been ripped from an archaeological
dig and rendered as photo-realistic blur. Another features a Rothko-like
expanse of chalky, red-and-white pigment framed by pairs of breasts and
ill-defined pubic zones.
What’s
compelling about Nechvatal’s run-amok virtual/mechanical process is the way
computer viruses mirror their biological counterparts. Cognizant of that
dynamic, Nechvatal’s works reflect the degree to which human life and machine
life are intertwined, and the degree to which mutations, both "viral virtual"
and "viral actual", have become "the genome program" for
life processes.