UIS Visual Arts Gallery presents "Object Code"

Object Code, an exhibition of new works relating to digital culture by artist Mike Miller, opens at the University of Illinois Springfield Visual Arts Gallery on November 4 and continues through December 1, 2010. The gallery will hold a reception for the artist on Thursday, November 4 from 5:30 – 8 p.m. Miller will also give a lecture about the exhibit and other work completed during his 2009 sabbatical leave on Wednesday, November 10, from 12-1 p.m. at the UIS campus, Public Affairs Center, Conference Room C/D. Both events are free and open to the public.

With references to programming, search engines, social media, and the human genome, Object Code questions the operations and products of the digital revolution. The exhibition brings together a variety of elements from the current digital culture in an effort to question what human beings want and need from technology. Miller investigates computer language in a number of works, pointing out the transformative yet subliminal role it plays in our lives. Genetic research and social media are also considered in a large installation that includes a re-creation of a Facebook page measuring sixteen feet. The exhibition employs a hybrid mixture of analog and electronic processes including painting, etching, laser-cutting, CNC modeling, and screen printing to question notions of utopia, progress, and the infallibility of science in contemporary culture.

“In Computer Science, the object code is the deepest level of computer code, that which is read by the computer’s processor and actually performs the desired calculation or function,” said Miller. “The purpose of this exhibit is to encourage personal reflection about the impact of digitization on our culture, and to consider the changes that have occurred in our patterns of living.”

Miller is associate professor of Visual Arts at the University of Illinois Springfield. He received his M.F.A from the University of Michigan, and B.F.A. from Texas Christian University. Recent exhibitions include the Illinois State Museum, Chicago, IL; Zentral Bibliothek, Zurich, Switzerland; and the White Stag Block Building, Portland, OR. He is a Fulbright Scholar and the recipient of numerous residencies and grants.

The Visual Arts Gallery is located in the Health and Science Building (HSB 201). Gallery hours are Monday-Thursday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information contact Ken Pease, UIS Visual Arts Gallery Preparator at 217/206-6506 or email gallery@uis.edu.