John F. Simon, Jr.

SITE SANTA FE PRESENTS JOHN F. SIMON, JR. June 22 - September 8, 2002 Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA - SITE Santa Fe presents JOHN F. SIMON, JR., an exhibition of three-dimensional digital work and two-dimensional, computer generated drawings. There will be a free public opening reception to preview the exhibition on Friday, June 21, 2002, 6-7 pm and a gallery talk with John F. Simon, Jr. on Saturday, June 22 at 5 pm. John F. Simon, Jr. is interested in the way our culture is increasingly involved with software-driven products and machines. In his work he explores how the software age affects our creative processes, particularly how we manipulate the information we receive from a computer program and what we do when the option we want is not available. He uses computer programming language to create colorful patterns and images that move across wall-mounted LCD screens. By using computer-based tools, Simon broadens traditional art-making disciplines from finite sets of instructions to the infinite possibilities of algorithms. He creates programs that insure his compositions will never repeat. Not only can Simon alter these programs as they run, but, by writing certain instructions, he has also made it impossible for the programs to change themselves as they incorporate data from a computer's clock, internet sites, and other sources. In a self-published booklet Simon explains, "An image may appear with an entirely new structure and function. There is no fast forward - each image may depend on the results from the previous image." This phenomenon is commonly known as "emergent behavior." Like Simon, many scientists and theoreticians, including those at the Santa Fe Institute, are interested in emergent behavior and use it to study organic environments, economic trends, pedestrian thoroughfares, traffic intersections, and much more. When considered within the greater discipline that is involved, Simon's artwork is truly at the forefront of the recent digital art trend. John F. Simon, Jr. was selected to receive the Aldrich Museum Trustees Award for an Outstanding Emerging Artist in fall 2000. His software panel works have been exhibited in two important group shows at the Whitney Museum of American Art: the 2000 biennial and BitStreams in 2001. He has had four solo exhibitions at Sandra Gering Gallery, New York, and his work has been collected by the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Guggenheim Museum, New York; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, among others. Simon holds an MFA degree from the School of Visual Arts in New York, and an MA in Earth and Planetary Sciences from Washington University, St. Louis. He lives and works in New York City. This exhibition is made possible by Lannan Foundation. Concurrently with JOHN F. SIMON, JR., SITE Santa Fe presents Gary Simmons, an exhibition of large-scale and site-specific erasure drawings co-organized by the Studio Museum in Harlem and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, and Sarah Morris: Capital, a DVD projection. SITE Santa Fe is located at 1606 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Exhibition hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 pm; Friday, 10:00 am - 7:00 pm. Admission is $5.00 for adults and $2.50 for students, and seniors; members are free. Free admission is offered on Fridays, made possible by a grant from The Brown Foundation, Inc., Houston. Free guided tours are offered on Fridays at 6:00 pm and Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00 pm. Tours in Spanish are by appointment. SITE Santa Fe gift certificates are available. Call 505.989.1199 for more information. This press release is partially funded by the City of Santa Fe Arts Commission and the 1% Lodgers' Tax. VISUALS AVAILABLE Contact: Press Office Tel: 505.989.1199 Fax:505.989.1188 email: press@sitesantafe.org

PDA, 2001 Software, Apple Powerbook G3, plastic laminate, acrylic plastic 27 x 16 x 20 inches Courtesy Sandra Gering Gallery