Tech inspired exhibition to open at BMAG
An exhibition exploring art and technology from 1995 to present day is set to open this weekend in Birmingham City Centre.
I Want! I Want! Exhibition is to take centre stage at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and explores the work of artists who have been influenced by technology as it has developed and evolved over the last 20 years. 27 artists will showcase their work at the venue, with each practicing their craft differently and presenting varying views of the world and culture around us.
The exhibition, which will take place at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery from April 1 – October 1, will present contemporary artists’ use of technology in the production by using various media including computer animation, videos, computer graphics, audio, photography and gaming technology. The artworks themselves tackle a range of themes including human relationships, surveillance and the habits of modern society.
The works in I Want! I Want! date from the mid-1990s to the present day and include significant contemporary artists, such as Rachel Maclean, Julian Opie, Ed Atkins and Daria Martin. The exhibition also includes works from Birmingham Museum, Fitzwilliam Museum, artists and private collectors.
Deborah Smith, curator at Arts Council Collection, said: “Technology is now an inescapable part of our everyday lives and it has made significant impact on the way many artists explore their practice and present their work. This exhibition presents art from the Arts Council Collection and other collections that are very relevant to the changes in contemporary society and it is a privilege to be sharing this with visitors at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery.”
Katie Paterson, Totality 2016, Installation view Somerset House, Photo © Flora Bartlett, Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London
The exhibition’s title is inspired by the etching I Want! I Want! by the artist William Blake, depicting a man aspiring to travel to the moon over two hundred years ago. It is a visionary work of imagination and ambition that is shared by the artists in the show that celebrates what they find compelling – turning an idea into reality.
Jill Constantine, head of the Arts Council Collection said: “‘I Want! I Want!’ brings together some of the most innovative and exciting works from the Arts Council Collection by a number of the most prominent names in British Art.
“The show explores the way artists working in Britain have approached and responded to new technologies in their practices over the past 20 years.”
The works featured in the exhibition have been principally selected from the Arts Council Collection, as part of the Collection’s National Partnership Programme. The four partners include the Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne; Birmingham Museums Trust; The Walker Art Gallery, National Museums Liverpool and Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Over the next two years the galleries will deliver a year-round programme of exhibitions and events enabling even more people to see and enjoy works from the Collection.
