Michael Stipe recently launched a new exhibition called NEW SIGHTS, NEW NOISE at New York University’s 80 WSE Gallery. The project will allow Stipe “to be in residence as both an artist and teacher, repurposing the gallery’s 3500 square foot space as a studio, classroom, and laboratory that will exist in a constant state of flux for the duration of the exhibition.” There will be three components to Stipe’s exhibition: it will be a fully functioning studio that he’ll work in while the gallery is closed to the public, he will teach an undergraduate studio art course in the gallery, and he will help curate 15 independent projections that will change throughout the day with different student-made images and GIFs. According to the press release, the aim of the exhibition is to collapse “the boundary between process and product.” Read some more explanation from Stipe about the meaning behind his exhibition below.

The title NEW SIGHTS, NEW NOISE refers directly to the glut and onslaught of information made available by the internet, often without context or authorship; the disproportionate and impulsive reactions that it provokes, and the reckless cynicism of a 24hour news cycle…, my desire would be to question how we can process all this and then employ, alter, or move beyond it altogether. I see our work in class as an extended exercise in cutting through the muck and getting to the real thing: the students themselves, their passions, interests, and most importantly, how they process all of this, and create a contributing voice that is unique to them and to these times. I want to encourage individualism within a group context; and more than anything encourage trusting in and acting upon one’s instinct.

NEW SIGHTS, NEW NOISE will run from 9/30 – 11/8. For more information, see here.

[Photo via Facebook.]