Get Ready for #TheSocialGraph

UPDATE: Visit HYPERALLERGIC.COM/THESOCIALGRAPH for the latest info and updates on #TheSocialGraph.

In two weeks, #TheSocialGraph will open at Outpost in Bushwick, Brooklyn and we’re incredibly excited. What is #TheSocialGraph? It is an evolving exploration of the burgeoning field of social media art and the relation of contemporary art with this populist tool as a medium, facilitator, and subject for art.

I am the curator of the project and I’ve pulled together a number of interesting artists, writers, social media mavens and others to share ideas and explore possibilities presented by the intersection of visual art and social media. Some of the art in #TheSocialGraph will be about social media, some will use social media as an integral component of the finished project, and some will be more of an experiment, so we’re not exactly sure what to call it.

#TheSocialGraph will be composed of three parts: an exhibition at Outpost, a catalogue that will be available online at Magcloud in a few weeks and a social space at Outpost that will include screenings, discussions, lectures, performances, and other randomness.

Starting Wednesday, November 10 and continuing until the end of #TheSocialGraph, Hyperallergic will move from its Williamsburg office to Outpost in Bushwick, where it will continue to publish and be part of the discussions that take place in the space. Hyperallergic has played an active role in the evolving discussion online about social media and art through the commissioning of work, its role as a community hub, and as a publication that was created with social media as an integral part of its identity.

While we’re camping out in Bushwick, artist Man Bartlett will be doing a residency at our Williamsburg HQ. During this period, Bartlett will be producing his site-specific work for #TheSocialGraph.

In the next few weeks we’ll be publishing more information about specific projects and a schedule for events, but we warned there is going to be a tons of awesome stuff… including a retrospective of YouTube from an art world perspective, a listening party for Paddy Johnson’s Sound of Art DJ battle record, a dance performance influenced by avatars, and a night of screenings and discussions of James Kalm’s art world videos!

The following is the evolving list of participants:

Blanco — Man Bartlett — Brent Burket — Kyle Chayka — Jennifer Dalton — Ben Davis — Jake Dobkin— Elbowtoe — Becky Fuller — Veken Gueyikian — James Gilbert — Nate Hill — Sam Horine — Alexis Hyde — Paddy Johnson — Benjamin Lotan — Loren Munk — Luna Park — Space Slave Trade — Lawrence Swan — Austin Thomas — William Powhida — Hrag Vartanian — An Xiao

A special thank you to Blanco, who designed the image for #TheSocialGraph. Evoking Cindy Sherman-esque (and Picture Generation) self-portraiture, Blanco takes it one step further to place the viewer in a more voyeuristic role as an observer of people’s efforts to represent themselves via the World Wide Web. Blanco says he wanted to capture the moment that someone takes a glamor shot of themselves before going out on the town. The dressed up figure is framed by a generic seeming bathroom, a place traditionally associated with privacy, which is another issue that #TheSocialGraph explores.

The event is sponsored by Social Printshop (formerly Printing Facebook) and it is made possible through support of Outpost Artists Resources and NY Culture.