Joel Holmberg, still from CNN Names with Descriptions, 2014, 12:16 min, single-channel video with sound, courtesy the artist

On view: November 17-December 31, 2015
Opening: Tuesday, November 17, 7-9pm

Location:
Atlanta Contemporary
Gallery 2

ATLANTA—October 13, 2015– Atlanta Contemporary Art Center (Atlanta Contemporary) is pleased to announce You'll Never Know If You Don't Ask Yourself, a solo exhibition comprising seven single-channel videos by Joel Holmberg. Each video contains either tactfully culled CNN Footage or “observational films” made by the artist. Both modes of video similarly adapt immediacy with filming techniques. The camera is primarily concerned with documenting information than with creating an aesthetic object. In both instances, formal decisions are made on the fly with no time to second guess themselves.

In these “observational films,” Holmberg focuses the camera long enough to reach a level of satisfaction or for the camera to gather enough information for the viewer to bear witness. While some documentary-style filmmakers can be labeled “film-essayists,” Holmberg’s brief quips are more aligned with the storytelling of local news.

Joel Holmberg earned his BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University. He combines and manipulates existing material (the Michael Keaton film My Life and the text of A Thousand Plateaus by Deleuze and Guattari, for example) to make witty and evocative works in a variety of media. He also creates sculpture, video, books, and Web-based projects, including an archive of responses to questions on Yahoo! Answers (yahoo.answers.com). Holmberg is a founding member of the Internet surfing club Nasty Nets.


About Atlanta Contemporary

Atlanta Contemporary Art Center is a non-profit, non-collecting institution dedicated to the creation, presentation, and advancement of contemporary art by emerging and established artists. Atlanta Contemporary creates a diverse cultural landscape for artists, arts professionals, and the art-interested public through its exhibitions, educational programming, and studio artist program. Visit atlantacontemporary.org to learn more.

For more information, contact Daniel Fuller, curator: 404.688.1970, or daniel@atlantacontemporary.org

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