little boxes on the hillsides, mother
custom software (black and white, silent), computer, screen
dimensions variable, landscape orientation
2021
edition of 1, 1 AP
acquired by .NEWART { foundation;}
Text
little boxes on the hillsides, mother is an animated abstract suburban cityscape powered by a program of LIA’s own design and development. Over the 25 years of her artistic career, LIA’s working process has typically involved as much intuition as it does engineering skill, and this piece is no exception. Growing from an initial Processing sketch by way of the artist’s careful selection of angles, transparencies, and line weights, alongside deliberate retention of accidents and bugs, a virtually infinite sequence of house-like forms appears and disappears, sliding over each other in hypnotic rhythms as they make their way slowly down the screen. Taking inspiration from the song “Little Boxes” by Malvina Reynolds, little boxes on the hillsides, mother is a contemplation of houses and cities. The cyclical relationship between the construction of homes, the lands and environments they have replaced, and the ecosystems that will eventually replace them is echoed through an infinite production of geometric compositions. The installation of this work invites user interaction, allowing visitors to reset parameters or pause the application and view the artwork in stillness, much like a print or painting.
LIA has been partnering with Art Blocks to present little boxes on the hillsides, child as a series of NFTs minted on the Art Blocks website, produced with a more recent version of the program: colourful children of this animated piece. Available works have been offered as still images (and a hidden animation) produced by the output of the artwork’s generative process.
Exhibitions
Hyperobjects
Círculo de Bellas Artes, Madrid, Spain – 2024/09/10 – 2024/11/21
A Generative Movement
list of artists: Refik Anadol, Daniel Canogar, LIA, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Manfred Mohr, Casey Reas, Siebren Versteeg, Marina Zurkow.
bitforms gallery, San Francisco, USA – 2021/10/02 – 2022/02/05
photos by Robert Divers Herrick (@robertdiversherrick)
