By day, Mr. Conte makes artificial limbs for amputees. He also considers himself a “hobbyist” in robotic engineering. The Last Rites gallery bills itself as a venue for artists who “explore the darker side of their imagination”. Appropriately, they are a New York exhibitor for the work of world renowned Swiss artist, H.R. Giger (also known for the creature, Alien). Giger and Conte are both represented by Les Barany.
The Last Rites Gallery is open:
Tuesday-Friday: 2:00pm to 9:00pm
Saturday: 1:00pm to 9:00pm
Sunday: 2:00pm to 6:00pm
Monday: Closed
Have I mentioned, WIRED somehow still manages to be the most consistently great magazine published? When I pick it up, I can barely put it down. Issue 16.06 is particularly great.
I’ve been meaning to make it over to Lehmann Maupin to see the current Sergio Prego exhibit for weeks. In fact, it’s been running for so long, that I didn’t bother posting it, because I thought it was too late to bother. Now I will promote it in it’s closing week! Go figure.
The exhibit includes both kinetic sculpture, and two video pieces, one said to be inspired by the car ride sequence from Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1972 cult classic Solyaris.
The Lehmann Maupin Gallery is located at 540 West 26th Street. They are open to the public Tuesday - Saturday, 10:00 am - 6:00 pm. The Sergio Prego exhibit runs through February 10th.
REVIEW: On Feb. 3rd, my friend James and I caught several exhibits in the West Chelsea gallery district, including this Sergio Prego exhibit. Tragically, the kinetic sculpture, “Sunoise,” had technical difficulties that left it unable to… perform (eh-hem). In its stationary position, it looked like, well, a cross between an outrageously oversized sleek designer tasklap, and some sort of factory assembly robot. What a shame. We were told that it had performed fabulously for many continuous weeks, but about two weeks before our visit it broke down due to a technical malfunction. We asked if we’d be able to see it in full form at a later date, but were informed by museum staff that it would remain out of commission for the duration of the exhibit. There was a second piece in the front room— a large stainless steel wall errected on a sort of stylized scaffolding. Like a badly keyed DeLorean, it had a major gash running the length of the wall, that finally pierced the metal sheet, just a few inches from the edge. While somewhat visually intriguing, this piece stood up less on it’s own merits (actually it was assisted by sand bags), and performed more as a set-piece or backdrop for “Sunoise,” the mechanical arm.
This left the second room with the two videos. The Tarkovsky inspired “10 to 0 Degrees,” though interesting, did not live up to its antecessor. However, shown on the adjacent wall, it played a good wing-man to the more inspired “Black Monday”. By staging an explosion in a large open studio within a ring of synchronized cameras, Prego achieved an effect similar in its essence to digital photogrammetry, though accomplished by more mechanical methods. Various stages of the blast and subsequent plume were captured at fixed moments in time, through a full 360° rotation. Unlike a movie special effect where we’re invited to suspend disbelief, Prego left the methodology naked for the viewer to see— At any point in the film one can observe the cameras on their tripods on the opposite side of the ring. Furthermore, a zoom in and zoom out occurs through each rotation that appears incorporated to compensate for some obtrusively located structural columns in the studio space, yet has the consequence of amplifying the visual impact of the rotation. The film is fantastic and beautifully fixating. What I found, both by my own actions and observing others, was that to overcome the dizzying sensation, people were inclined to move their gaze for a moment over to “10 to 0 Degrees,” just to get their bearing. To think, a driver’s POV film traveling japanese tunnels and highways was the stabilizing vantage point. Leaving the room brought on a moment of vertigo, and you wish to balance yourself against the wall.
Both literally and figuratively, “Black Monday” was the bomb! With the parallax effect from the multiple adjacent camera views, I would suggest that the film could even have been heightened by viewing it in duplicate, one frame out of sequence, in stereoscopic projection… but now I’m noodling.
In short, the show was comprised of four works, of which two were main attractions, and two were support pieces. Of those, one of the main attractions was disabled, which put the front exhibit space out of commission. The presence of “Sunoise” in the room and the video clip from the exhibit’s promotional on the website teased at what it could have been, which only added to the disappointment. Fortunately, in the movie room, things were running on all cylinders, and it was a great success. If you’re in the neighborhood during the show’s final run, you should make the effort to see it. If you’re not, don’t make a special trip. The star of the show is not performing. Should “Sunoise” be repaired, and live to dance another day, I’d make the special trip, maybe even twice.
Lehmann Maupin is among my favorite galleries in the city. Regularly supporting artists of merit in the realm of contemporary installation work, with a penchant for the high-tech. I regret that they had a technical malfunction cripple this otherwise exceptional exhibit.
IN ADDITION: If you do find yourself in the Chelsea gallery district before this show closes on February 10th, you should also take the time to cross the street to 511 West 25th, and visit the Margaret Thatcher gallery on the fourth floor, and the final days of the Joie Rosen, Heidi Van Wieren two artist show.
The Korean made UBOT, by Microrobot, is about to hit American shores, kicking Roomba ass- the American iRobot company who built the robotic vacuum market here in the US, better act fast if it doesn’t want the foreign competition to eat its lunch. The UBOT cleaning robot sweeps, then vacuums, then mops, all in one robotic apparatus (Estimated cost, $700US).
The UBOT is quite a bit larger than a Roomba, as well. Though iRobot calls the Roomba a vacuuming robot, technically it only sweeps- it does not produce suction, the UBOT does. iRobot’s new Scooba is a mopper. The top end Roomba model sells for $350, while the top of the line Scooba is $400.
Look to see more house chore robot competitors hit the market in the next year, including laundry folding robots.
Monday, May 26, 2008 at 1:52AM 
By day, Mr. Conte makes artificial limbs for amputees. He also considers himself a “hobbyist” in robotic engineering. The Last Rites gallery bills itself as a venue for artists who “explore the darker side of their imagination”. Appropriately, they are a New York exhibitor for the work of world renowned Swiss artist, H.R. Giger (also known for the creature, Alien). Giger and Conte are both represented by Les Barany.
