Project / Process / Progress -The Ultimate Metaphor

Project / Process / Progress - The Ultimate Metaphor

Kristin Worrall

It is not difficult to believe that in this technological age that such a hard, dead object as a CD-ROM disc is able to project an organic landscape and bring forth a kind of life. This particular life, however, carries no foreseeable end. Conversely, it acts as a kind of cyber-womb, multiplying its own dimensions along with the visitor's comprehension. Entering the world of Muntadas' "Media Architecture Installations" is akin to being thrown into a centrifugal sense of the present, separating yet preserving its themes of the hybridization of media structures. Antonio Muntadas maintains that his artistic vision is never finished, just as new technologies' scopes are never finite. It is through "Media Architecture Installations" that he is able to translate this, quite literally, to a new level. While he explores the compartmentalization of space, he is also able to invent the transcendence of a medium.

The virtual space of Muntadas' CD appropriates that of a building. The visitor is invited to enter any of its four formal levels - The Airport (the first and bottom level), The Library (second), The Auditorium (third), and at the top of the page, The Observatory, which springs forth entrance to a web-site. This virtual building houses Muntadas' art projects, and its floors are each designed to carry its own elucidating purpose.

The Airport grounds and situates twelve of Muntadas' art projects, and upon "choosing" one of the works, the visitor is introduced to its overview and in what city it was exhibited. When roaming the mouse over the floor, one is accompanied by a din of random, human white noise, - the clatter of a crowded place - both familiar and anonymous. So it is within an ultimate hybrid media space (one that holds transportation, consumer culture, and multi- lingual and cultural exchange) where the visitor contextualizes both himself and Muntadas' works.

The Library acts as a kind of virtual card catalog. Offering central themes of Muntadas' works, one is able to dissect and learn what "subject" applies to what work. Subjects like "Project", "Context", "Media", "Archive", and "Archetypes" allow the visitor to further situate his works into some sort of categorical meaning. His intentions are fully laid out; should there be any confusion as to his word choices, he defines the concepts further. He breaks down "Project", for instance into three sub-categories - "process", "in-situ" and "multi-site" and proceeds to define those as well. The screen illuminates icons of his works that best illustrate each theme. Both the visuals and nomenclature form a kind of archive that is ever-morphing, as the themes strive to portray. Muntadas' installation of "Stadium", for instance, falls into "Media", "Archetypes" and "In/Visible". Within "In/Visible", however, one finds 'manipulation' and 'memory'. Depending upon perspective, then, their meanings then drastically change.

The Auditorium -- probably the most playful level of the building, with graphics of slide projectors, computer screens and billboards flashing some more of Muntadas' works -- provides the space to project and illuminate his work. Sketches and plans of his projects are displayed on screen. The ceremonial, corporate setting of the Auditorium not only creates spectacle of the work as it was in-process, but also makes the visitor feel as if he were partner to the execution of the approval of design. Muntadas' collaborative efforts are at once displayed and enhanced.

Though there is no formal directions as to where to go first, the visitor soon learns that there is an inherent chronology to fully comprehend the building's blueprint. One is free to choose, of course, his or her own trajectory, but true enlightenment follows post-situating oneself in Muntadas' artistic history.

This sense of a real, geographical place being able to hold real time extends the metaphor of his installation even further. It dispels any notion that his work will end. How many more new exhibitions will he hold? How many more places will they visit? How many more meanings can they carry with the passage of time? When do "current" events end?

Compounded with this capacity for constant multiplication on the CD-ROM is the addition/installation of the web-site "On Translation". The Observatory is described by Muntadas as a "hybrid space", linking to a "constellation of related sites". He invites the visitor to post his or her own site that carries parallels to his project. And while Muntadas does not relegate himself to any one particular medium or language, he also does not restrict his potential collaborator in any way. The artist does not impose meaning, but rather the viewer, or the translator does.

Through translation, there is necessary transformation, but it is a transformation that struggles for maintenance while attempting to enlighten. This process is embraced by "Media Architecture Installations"; Antonio Muntadas recognizes the need for objectivity in our fully mediated society, but always throughout celebrates subjectivity. Transcend our media, transcend our selves.