Critical Writing Index

Immersion as Immanence

by Susie Major

Immersion Immersive, 2006, pp. 31-46

Susie Major reflects on the notion of the immersive art experience in contemporary art practice within the context of Articule Montreal's. 2006 show Immersion Immersive. Through examining the work of Carline Lathan-Stiefel, Michelle Gay, Demian Petryshyn and Luis Jacob, Major identifies the role of the artist, spectator, and body within each of the works:

Stiefel's Whorl makes the viewer aware of their own body and their body within a space, as well as the process of actualizing a 2d concept into a 3d plane. Michelle Gay's Stretchpoem allows (but does not depend upon) the viewer's impulses to create abstract poetry and collections of words using technology as a sort of conduit to immerse oneself in the work. Petryshyn' s Battle of Kashyyyk addresses the desire to embody oneself in the virtual world, and the sacrifices of the real that accompany such an immersion. Finally, Luis Jacob addresses immersion not as a sculptural or technological facet of art, but rather a communal one, featuring documentation of performances in which works were created entirely by large groups and staging pot-luck art openings.

ITEM 2006.116 – available for viewing in the Research Centre

Videos, Artworks and Artists Cited

WhorlCaroline Lathan-Stiefel

StretchpoemMichelle Gay

The Battle of KashyyykDemian Petryshyn

Open Your Mouth and Your Mind Will FollowLuis Jacob

Anarchist Sandwich Party; Bloor/Danforth Subways, Toronto #1-5Luis Jacob

Album IVLuis Jacob