Artist Statement

Exhibition Art & Computers

GOLUM – SECULAR ILLUMINATIONS FOR THE LATE 20th C. Rendered in the manner of an Illuminated Medieval Book of Hours, but created through digital means, “Golum-Secular Illuminations for the Late Twentieth Century” refers to the ancient Jewish myth of the Golem; a human figure of clay brought to life by its sorcerer creator. The Golem story served as inspiration for Shelley’s “Frankenstein” and Goethe’s “Sorcerer’s Apprentice”. It is a story that evokes the tragedy of human attempts to improve themselves or their world, functioning as a critique of utopian and interventionist views of existence and morality. In some ways it echoes the story of the Fall. The Golem also served in Jewish culture to extrapolate the Cabbalistic ruling against graven images — where to realistically represent was equivalent to remaking ‘God’s Creation’, and thus a corruption of that which was already perfect. As such, an allegory of human limitation in the face of perfection. In `Golum-Secular Illuminations for the Late Twentieth Century” these themes are related to the advent of new and exotic technologies. Computers, genetic engineering and television can be seen as further expressions of the human need to represent and reproduce themselves. The computer can be regarded as a contemporary Golem, whilst the television functions as a sophisticated mirror upon which surface we can manipulate images of ourselves to suit our fears and desires. The Medieval Illuminated manuscript, as a form of recording and disseminating information, was linked to an Hermetic philosophy and ideology which saw the centralisation of knowledge and power. Ironically, this cultural formula can be seen re-emerging today. As if the shift from Medieval Hermeticism to Rennaisance Humanism was occuring in reverse. The advent of such technologies and ‘means of knowing’ have seen the centralisation of information and the destruction of the vernacular (cultural specificity) and realism (contextualisation). Initial hopes that technology could democratise information have vanished, with the requirement of esoteric and specialised languages (literacy) for its address. Television compliments this process (best exemplified in the computer) through its homogenisation of the particular. It functions somewhat similarly to the Illuminations in old Bibles — where the images were often placed upside down so that the ‘illiterate flock’ could view the narrative whilst the Priest read it. The process of reading as an ‘active’ relationship with the ‘text’ is in direct contrast to the passivity of viewing. The video phosphor illuminates our contemporary mythologies — the interpretation of absent texts.

• Simon Biggs, Born 1957, Adelaide, Australia. 1987-88 Artist in Residence, Centre for Advanced Studies in Computer Aided Art and Design, London, England. Solo Exhibitions: 1979 Adelaide Fine Arts and Graphics, Adelaide, Australia. 1982 Roundspace Gallery, Adelaide, Australia. 1985 Roslyn Oxley 9 Gallery, Sydney, Australia. Selected Group Exhibitions and Events: 1984 Interface: A Survey of Art and Technology, Adelaide Festival of Arts, Australia. 1984 Ars Electronica, Austria. 1985 Open File: Artists and Computers, Baskerville and Watson Gallery, New York, USA. 1987 Against Invisibility, AIR Gallery, London, England. 1987 Ars Electronica, Austria. 1987 National Festival of Independent Video, South Hill Park, Bracknell, England.