Ryder Ripps

Conceived by Ryder Ripps, Alone Together is a site-specific exhibition for Red Bull Studios New York. As both sculpture and performance, Alone Together acts as a microcosm of the Internet, suggesting the following paradox – the more connected we are online, the more physically withdrawn we become.

Alone Together exaggerates the relationship between the content creator and content consumer, illuminating the physical solitude of virtual relationships. This dynamic is physically reinforced by the sculptures’ divided orientation between the upper and lower floors of the space. The upstairs replicates the solitary voyeurism found in the online viewing experience while the downstairs performance enacts the corporal aspects of a network. Viewers are confronted by six performers/users – whose collective digital output is harnessed and fed into a singular, frenzied tableau– a representation of the voracious social feed. Exhibition goers become voyeurs, surveilling the performative Internet experience encased below. Just steps away are six self-mediated video interviews that serve as introductions to each performer/user, drawing back the curtain of content and addressing the dichotomy between our representation and corporal self.

TAGS: corporate culture, institutionalized aesthetic, physical output mismatching digital input, typing, humanizing the feed, self-representation, physical farce, plywood, Duchamp, Étant donnés, follow for follow

To complement Alone Together, digital arts collaboratory, Powrplnt has partnered with alternative public high school, City As School, to provide free courses introducing the tools of digital art production such as 3D printing, plant-to-music sensors, coding, and Ableton Live. Classes will be held within Red Bull Studios New York throughout the six week exhibition.

This temporary classroom will be adjacent to the Technigarden, a digital and organic garden that will act as an interactive gallery space for students and the public alike. Weekly classes will aim to empower students by introducing the tools of digital art production to help grow the Technigarden in URL and IRL.

“How can we better interact, share information, and think critically about digital art and technology? Our goal is to provide access to tool sets that help create more young producers, instead of consumers,” said Angelina Dreem, founder of Powrplnt. “Alone Together is the question, and the Technigarden is one of many answers.”

Ryder Ripps is a 28-year-old conceptual artist living in New York City. His first solo exhibition opened at Postmasters Gallery earlier this year. He has participated in group shows at MoMA PS1, Long Island City, Eyebeam, New York, Carroll / Fletcher, London, and Royal College of Art, London, as well as given talks for ForYourArt, Rhizome, and Sotheby’s. Ripps received a BA from The New School. He is an alumni of City As School, class of 2004.

Powrplnt connects artists with teens or internet-driven digital art projects, introducing them to professional creative software. With the goal to inspire digital artists and creators, Powrplnt aims to foster an environment where people from all backgrounds may learn the skills necessary to express themselves creatively in today’s world.