TRANSMEDIA :29:59
+media art in public urban space+
http://www.year01.com/transmedia2959

June 1 - 31, 2006:
29th minute: Luke Painter 'Babel'
59th minute: Maris Mezulis 'Fast Sale'
Yonge-Dundas Square, Toronto

Year Zero One is pleased to present TRANSMEDIA :29:59, a year long
exhibition on the pedestrian level video billboard at Yonge-Dundas
Square in downtown Toronto. Launched August 1st 2005, TRANSMEDIA :
29:59 features one minute video works 24/7 every half hour on the
29th and 59th minutes. Featured for the month of June is Luke
Painter's 'Babel' and Maris Mezulis's 'FAST SALE'.

In Luke Painter's Babel The Tower of Babel is represented as a
vertical form of architectural time periods resulting in a collapse
of stylistic concerns under their own weight. The Tower presents the
current use of a synthetic aesthetic prevalent in manufactured spaces
(condos for one example). This is mixed with the last few hundred
years of popular architecture including neo- classicism, the
international style of modernism and the more recent use of the
mixture of styles culminating in what is labeled postmodernism. The
erection of the Tower is propelled by a utilitarian looking
industrial revolution style of architecture that underlines some of
basic underpinnings of western architectural development. As in the
tale of Babel, these different voices (styles) collapse and separate
only to be rebuilt again in a continual loop that historically
implodes on itself.

For FAST SALE, Maris Mezulis methodically photographed hundreds of
generic vending machines all over Tokyo. Condensing the pictures at
an overwhelming speed, the piece draws out subtle variations in
lighting, machine design and product selection. The result is a
composite image of the homogeneous, copy-paste tendencies of global
consumer culture in a snack-sized, one minute package. The typology
of the Tokyo vending machine has been extensively documented by
photobloggers, tourists and urban enthusiasts. Contrary to
expectation, however, the quirky machines selling dirty underwear,
blow-up dolls and comics are rare finds. Instead, there exists
millions of identical white boxes selling identical goods, quietly
sucking electricity and generating mountains of garbage. The
incredible density of human-operated, 24-hour convenience stores
leaves one to wonder why such an immense number of automated machines
is even necessary.



TRANSMEDIA :29:59 is curated by Michael Alstad + Michelle Kasprzak

Year Zero One gratefully acknowledges the Ontario Arts Council,Yonge-
Dundas Square and Clearchannel for their support of Transmedia :29:59

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YEAR ZERO ONE is an artist run site which operates as a network for
the dissemination of digital culture and new media through web based
exhibitions, site-specific public art projects, an extensive media
arts directory and blog.
http://www.year01.com
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