Ian Cheng

Ian Cheng
Born (1984-03-29) March 29, 1984
Los Angeles
Nationality American
Education BA, University of California, Berkeley
MFA, Columbia University
Occupation Artist
Notable work Emissary Trilogy
BOB (Bag of Beliefs)

Ian Cheng (born March 29, 1984) is an American artist known for his live simulations that explore the nature of mutation and human behavior.[1][2] His simulations, commonly understood as "virtual ecosystems"[3][4] are less about the wonders of new technologies than about the potential for these tools to realize ways of relating to a chaotic existence.[5] His work has been widely exhibited internationally, including MoMA PS1, Whitney Museum of American Art, Hirshhorn Museum, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Migros Museum, and other institutions.[6][7][8]

Early life and education

Cheng was born in Los Angeles, CA, in 1984. Cheng attended Van Nuys High School. Cheng graduated from University of California, Berkeley in 2006 with a dual degree in cognitive science and art practice. Cheng worked at Industrial Light & Magic, George Lucas's visual effects company.[5][9] Cheng attended Columbia University, where he earned his MFA in 2009.[9]

Cheng worked in the studio of artist Pierre Huyghe from 2010 to 2012.

Cheng worked as co-director at Paul Chan's independent New York based publishing company, Badlands Unlimited, founded in 2010.[10]

Work

Cheng coined the art form “live simulations” and popularized the use of simulation as a medium available to artistic practice. Unlike other media-based art forms, live simulations are infinite in duration and composed of both man-made and algorithmically generated content that together produce emergent behavior. Live simulations are a distinct subset of simulations in that they have no purpose of study and are presented in public in real-time as exhibitions, without regard to a fixed outcome or meaning or utility value. Cheng incorporates AI characters into these simulations with goal-oriented behavior, using simulation as a foil to interrogate narrative norms.[5][1]

In an interview with Gianni Jetzer, Curator-at-large at the Hirshhorn Museum, Cheng said of his work, “To be human is to simulate little micro-slices of reality before jumping to the next simulation. Giving this a form and a name within the context of art is a way to deliberately appreciate and play with this natural fact of filtering reality.” [2]

Ben Vickers, curator of Digital at the Serpentine Galleries wrote of Cheng's work: "Simulations were supposedly engineered into existence with the intention of making sense of the world or seeking some as-yet undiscovered truth, in order to study in confined quarters various systems and their contingencies. But Cheng’s live simulations seem to take on an entirely different intentionality, one that is mindful of the potential for “a sudden pattern of feelings [to] grow inside you, with or without you,” a recognition of interspecies dependence, and a vocabulary of cognitive gestures for coping with an all pervasive global weirding. They conjure a crack through which various thought forms may be capable of escape, infection, or symbiotic grafting with one’s own perception of reality."[11]

In his earlier simulations, such as Entropy Wrangler, figures and inanimate objects were programmed each with their own set of behaviors, and when those behaviors were unleashed onto each other, the results were often unpredictable and chaotic.[12]

At Frieze London in 2013, Cheng premiered Entropy Wrangler Cloud, one of the first artworks made for virtual reality, using first generation Oculus Rift headsets.[13]

In 2016, for the Serpentine Digital Commission, Cheng developed an iOS app entitled Bad Corgi, which has been called a "shadowy mindfulness app for contemplating chaos."[14][15][16]

From 2015 to 2017, Cheng completed the Emissary Trilogy, three episodic live simulations that “explore the history of cognitive evolution, past and future.”[17] Unlike previous simulations, the Emissary Trilogy features narrative agents who attempt to enact a story within the simulation, an analogy to the narrative nature of consciousness described by Julian Jaynes in The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. Cheng describes treating stories as having the status of an influencing force that can shape and be shaped by other forces in a simulation like gravity, time, and energy.

As part of a solo exhibition at the Migros Museum and the Liverpool Biennial, Cheng forked the simulation "Emissary Forks At Perfection" to create a Google Tango tablet-based, augmented reality work called Emissary Forks for You, in which visitors can directly interact with and follow the Shiba Emissary AI character.[18]

Other activities

Cheng directed the music video Brats, by Liars.[19]

Exhibitions

Collections

Cheng's work is collected by institutions including Museum of Modern Art, New York;[55] Whitney Museum of American Art, New York;[56] Migros Museum, Zurich;[57] Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris; Astrup Fearnley Museum, Oslo; Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin; Julia Stoschek Collection,[58] Dusseldorf; Yuz Museum, Shanghai.

References

  1. 1 2 Mellin, Haley (Fall–Winter 2016). "Creatures of Narrative". Garage. 11: 186–191.
  2. 1 2 Jetzer, Gianni (April 2016). "Training in the Neuro-Gym". Spike Art Quarterly: 94–107.
  3. ↑ Obrist, Hans Ulrich (April 2016). "Future Without Humans". Numero: 239–243, 327–331.
  4. ↑ "Ian Cheng". Interview Magazine. December 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 Kerr, Dylan. "Artificial Ecology: Ian Cheng on the Strange Art of Simulating Life, and the Conceptual Merits of Pokemon Go". Artspace. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  6. ↑ Rosenmeyer, Aoife. "Critic's Guide: Zurich". Frieze. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  7. ↑ Gratza, Agnieska. "Critics Picks: Ian Cheng". Artforum. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  8. ↑ Bier, Arielle (November–December 2015). "Review: Ian Cheng at Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo". Frieze Magazine: 156.
  9. 1 2 Greenberger, Alex. "THE CYBORG ANTHROPOLOGIST: IAN CHENG ON HIS SENTIENT ARTWORKS". Artnews. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  10. ↑ LATITUDES. "Expanding the Book: An Interview with Badlands Unlimited". Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  11. ↑ Vickers, Ben (March 2016). "HERMETIC ENGINEERING". Artforum: 235–240.
  12. ↑ Kerr, Dylan (October 10, 2013). "Ian Cheng". BOMB Magazine. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  13. ↑ Luke, Ben (January 2016). "WELCOME TO THE VIRTUAL WORLD". Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  14. ↑ Khan, Nora N. "Trust Issues". Rhizome.org. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  15. ↑ "Ian Cheng Digital Commission". Serpentine Galleries. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  16. ↑ Holmes, Kevin (March 1, 2016). "A 'Bad Corgi' Misbehaves in Video Art Game about Anxiety". The Creators Project. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  17. ↑ "IAN CHENG: EMISSARY FORKS AT PERFECTION 13 OCT 15-14 NOV 15". Pilar Corrias Gallery. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  18. ↑ Wilk, Elvia (October 2016). "IAN CHENG IN CONVERSATION WITH ELVIA WILK". CURA. 23.
  19. ↑ Amidi, Amid. ""Brats" By Ian Cheng". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  20. ↑ FOUNDATION, JULIA STOSCHEK. "JSC BERLIN - IAN CHENG: EMISSARIES". www.jsc.berlin (in German). Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  21. ↑ ""In Tune with the World"". www.fondationlouisvuitton.fr. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  22. ↑ "EXHIBITION IAN CHENG - EMISSARY FORKS AT PERFECTION - SELECTED WORK FROM THE COLLECTION". www.fondationlouisvuitton.fr. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  23. ↑ "Ian Cheng: BOB". Serpentine Galleries. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  24. ↑ e.V., JULIA STOSCHEK FOUNDATION. "Generation Loss". www.julia-stoschek-collection.net. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  25. ↑ "Exhibition Take Me (I'm Yours) - Obrist & Boltanski - Pirelli HangarBicocca". Pirelli HangarBicocca. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  26. ↑ "Exhibition Being Modern: MoMA in Paris". www.fondationlouisvuitton.fr. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  27. ↑ "BEING THERE". Louisiana. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  28. ↑ "(in relation to a Spectator) : STUDIO FOR PROPOSITIONAL CINEMA". studioforpropositionalcinema.com. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  29. ↑ "Ian Cheng". Carnegie Museum of Art. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  30. ↑ "Ian Cheng April 9 – September 24, 2017". Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  31. ↑ "K11 Art Foundation and New Museum NY present 'After Us' K11 art museum, Shanghai". randian-online. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  32. ↑ Harris, Gareth. "Tate Modern launches ten-day live art exhibition in the Tanks". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  33. ↑ "Ian Cheng Forking At Perfection February 20 – May 16, 2016". E flux. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  34. ↑ Hale, Mike (October 16, 2016). "A Retort to Shrinking Screens, in an Ultra-Immersive Show at the Whitney". Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  35. ↑ Delson, Susan (October 25, 2016). "At the Whitney, a Different Take on the Moving Image". Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  36. ↑ "Take Me (I'm Yours)". New Yorker. New Yorker. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  37. ↑ Arnold, Frances (September 9, 2016). "Three Exhibitions to See, Plus Everything Else Art This Weekend". Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  38. ↑ "Overpop". Yuz Museum Shanghai. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  39. ↑ Westall, Mark. "Artist Ian Cheng has created a VR 'Pokemon Go like' installation for The Liverpool Biennial". Fad magazine. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  40. ↑ "Liverpool Biennial". Liverpool Biennial. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  41. ↑ ""WELT AM DRAHT" at JULIA STOSCHEK COLLECTION, Berlin". Mousse Magazine. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  42. ↑ "JSC Berlin – Welt Am Draht". Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  43. ↑ "Suspended Animation – Hirshhorn Museum". hirshhorn museum. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  44. ↑ Droitcour, Brian. "Bodies in the Expanded Field: Animation at the Hirshhorn". Art in America. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  45. ↑ Chen, Holly (February 5, 2016). "Head Uptown for spring art exhibitions". Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  46. ↑ "Stranger at MOCA Cleveland". MOCA Cleveland. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  47. ↑ Mclean, Matthew. "Ian Cheng's "Emissary Forks at Perfection"". Art Agenda. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  48. ↑ "Ian Cheng: Emissary Forks at Perfection". Pilar Corrias. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  49. ↑ SCHWENDENER, MARTHA; JOHNSON, KEN (May 14, 2015). "Frieze Art Fair at Randalls Island Park Offers a Bit of Everything". NY Times. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  50. ↑ "Exhibitions – STANDARD (OSLO)". Standard (Oslo). Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  51. ↑ "Ian Cheng. Emissary in the Squat of Gods". fsrr.org. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  52. ↑ ""Real Humans" at Kunsthalle, Düsseldorf". mousse magazine. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  53. ↑ "Michael E. Smith e Ian Cheng". triennale.org. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  54. ↑ "South likes: Michael Smith and Ian Cheng at La Triennale di Milano, Milan". south as a state of mind. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  55. ↑ "From the Collection – Ian Cheng". MoMA. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  56. ↑ "COLLECTION – IAN CHENG". Whitney Museum of American Art.
  57. ↑ "Works in the Collection – Ian Cheng". Migros Museum fur Gegenwartskunst. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  58. ↑ "Artists in the Collection". Julia Stoschek Collection. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
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