Steina

MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge

MIT List Visual Arts Center

A black-and-white photograph printed mural-size on a wall shows a woman wearing headphones. She is located in a studio full of technical equipment: tripods, video monitors, wiring. The photograph is overlaid with text indicating the exhibition title: “Steina: Playback.” The gallery space also includes a boxy video monitor and wooden seating. In the background on the right, posters and other documents are pasted on the wall.

A gallery with several video works. At left is a sculptural apparatus with two cameras on the ends of a single rotating arm, each pointed inwards at a central mirrored sphere. At right is a grid of nine monitors, all showing the same abstract black-and-white image. In the middle, three boxy video monitors on metal stands are visible in the background.

A grid of nine cathode-ray-tube monitors sits on a low pedestal. They all show the same abstract black-and-white image: a central shape, its bottom portion split into two segments, a bit like a tooth or a pair of pants. The background of each image is a dense, moire-like pattern of black and white lines.

In the center, a sculptural apparatus comprises two cameras on the ends of a single rotating arm, each pointed inwards at a central mirrored sphere. Feeds from the cameras are routed to two monitors in the space. On the walls nearly, strips of a photograph of a studio are pasted on the wall at large scale. On either edge of the image, video monitors display other works; the one on the right shows a body distorted around a circle, recalling the feed of the orb.

A mirrored sphere sits on top of a rotating central arm with cameras at each end. In this close-up view, we see the details of the room within the orb: video monitors, lights, the tripod taking the photo. In the corner behind the sculpture, a monitor shows a feed of the orb, within which details of the room are also faintly visible. On the wall is a narrow strip of a photograph of a studio space filled with technical equipment.

In the foreground, a sculptural apparatus comprises two cameras on the ends of a single rotating arm, each pointed inwards at a central mirrored sphere. A feed from the cameras are routed to a nearby monitor. In the background, other video monitors are visible, including a grid of nine showing the same abstract black-and-white pattern,along with exhibition wall text.

Boxy video monitors fill a gallery space. In the foreground at right, the monitor shows a gallery space as captured in the reflection of a mirrored orb. At left, a grid of nine showing the same abstract image: a white diagonal line against a dark gray background. On the monitor in the background, a red circle is shown against a background that fades from red to black.

Three videos are shown in a gallery space. At center, a distorted image of a person playing the violin is projected on the wall: the bow is curved and the person indistinct, hinting at its electronic manipulation. At right, a flat monitor shows an image of an older woman against a yellow background; portions of the background show through the face. At right, a boxy video monitor sits on a stand.

A gallery contains two boxy video monitors on metal stands, each with an accompanying pair of headphones. The monitor on the left shows a color image that could be the outline of trees against the sky. The right monitor shows a black-and-white image of boxy shapes, possibly electronic equipment. A narrow slice of an image is printed on the wall in the background, showing a woman in a studio space. Further back, through a doorway, we glimpse a darker gallery that contains large-scale video projections across multiple standing screens.

Two large-scale video installations occupy a darkened gallery. At left, a double-stacked arc of boxy video monitors sits on a curved pedestal. The images are indistinct from this distance, but are shown in an alternating checkerboard pattern. At right, large vertically-oriented screens display video projections of water, captured in a state of frozen turbulence and in saturated shades of blue and yellow.

Two large-scale video installations occupy a darkened gallery. At left, a double-stacked arc of boxy video monitors sits on a curved pedestal. In an alternating pattern, the monitors show images of giant satellite dishes. At right, large vertically-oriented screens display video projections of watery textures. One of the screens shows a misty abstract surface with the shadow of a person’s head and torso jutting in from the right.

A double-stacked arc of boxy video monitors sits on a pedestal in a darkened gallery; there are 22 in all. The monitors show similar but not identical images: in each, a central mirrored orb reflects and distorts the surrounding environment, which includes a stone wall and blue sky. Behind the video installation is a large window, through which trees and another building can be seen.

Four large vertically oriented video screens fill a dark gallery space. Two of them (front left and back right) show a body of water seen from above, webbed with whitecaps. The other two (front right and back left) show a misty abstract surface with the shadow of a person’s head and torso jutting in from the left.

Four large vertically oriented video screens fill a dark gallery space. Each of them shows a close-up image of water, captured in a state of frozen turbulence and in saturated shades of blue and yellow. In the foreground, a person in the gallery is silhouetted against the video projections.

A continuous surface of projected video fills a wall and wraps around a corner in a dark gallery. The images are liquid-like semi-abstractions of blue-green, white, and black, recalling the surface of moving water. A person sits on one of two wooden benches that are faintly visible in the foreground.

A continuous surface of projected video fills a wall and wraps around a corner in a dark gallery. The images are liquid-like semi-abstractions of blue, green, and black, resembling whitecaps in the ocean or the dispersal of dark dye in a glass of water. Two wooden benches are faintly visible in the foreground.

A continuous surface of projected video fills an entire wall, and on either side of the image, starts to wrap around the corners. The images are abstract textures and sinuous lines of blue-green and black, sometimes recalling the surface of a body of water.

A pyramid of boxy monitors sits on a low pedestal in a dark space. The monitors display images of rocks against blue sky. Closer inspection reveals the images have been electronically manipulated, overlaying multiple landscapes or sections of sky.

The wall of a dark gallery is illuminated by three video projections. Each shows the close-up texture of a natural substance: the left shows ice; the middle shows dark lava rocks; the right shows a lumpy surface of moss.

Three video projections fill the wall of a dark gallery space: each shows a textural yet topographical pattern that might be a close shot of earth or stone. Two benches are faintly visible in the left foreground; a person sits on one and watches the video.

Three video projections fill the wall of a dark gallery space: each shows the close-up texture of green moss. The close-up view subtly creates a kind of scalar confusion: the strands of moss resemble a forest or landscape unto themselves. Two benches are faintly visible in the left foreground.

SteinaPlayback‬ ‭MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge

Exhibition Images

SteinaPlayback‬ ‭
MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge