16 May 2008
Wallpaper* has sent me word of a new interactive art piece / portfolio viewed exclusively at Wallpaper.com. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the opportunity to see their work in this venue, but after viewing, I’ve realized how exciting their work is when viewed in a gallery setting. Take their 2001 Air Routes of the World, for instance. In this work Langlands and Bell have digitally recreated the network of crossings from one city to another used by jets. The result is a pattern that at first appears random then slowly creates a structure as the hub cities are revealed. When shown in a dark room, Air Routes of the World becomes an all incompassing symphony of tracers not unlike the climax to the movie War Games. The work, in its live setting inspires but the online version, although wonderful as a digital reference point, leaves the viewer wanting so much more.
