School of Visual Arts presents “See no/Hear no/Speak no,” an exhibition of works by SVA students selected by a jury of their peers. Organized by SVA Galleries, “See no/Hear no/Speak no” is on view Tuesday, May 26, through Saturday, June 13, at the SVA Flatiron Gallery, 133/141 West 21st Street, New York City.

“See no/Hear no/Speak no” features works that borrow from popular culture and found images to explore modes of communication and historical memory in contemporary society. The exhibition includes photography, illustration and video works that address the connection and tensions between individual experience and forms of visual communication spanning from “selfie” culture to the creative capacity of photographic documentation.

Participating artists include Diego Acosta Lopez, William Chan, Wednesday Kim, Joomin Oh, FeiFei Ruan, Pedro Sanches, Melissa Taub and Quinn Tivey.

The photographs of Acosta Lopez (MPS Digital Photography) explore New York City through the perspective of his two-year-old son Ignacio’s view from his stroller.

“The Show,” a series by William Chan (MFA Photography, Video and Related Media) uses fashion shows as a setting to explore the growing compulsion to document one’s daily existence through social media, and asserts that the urge for the perfect social media picture has superseded the ability to enjoy an event “IRL.”

Wednesday Kim (BFA Fine Arts) presents Oh, Pareidolia, a digital collage video inspired by pareidolia, a type of illusion or misperception involving a vague or obscure stimulus being perceived as something clear and distinct.

Joomin Oh (BFA Photography), influenced by the aesthetic of billboards posted around New York City, explores messages beautiful and positive, violent and negative, as she pairs black-and-white photographs with subtitle-like text.

FeiFei Ruan (MFA Visual Narrative) examines the ways in which New York City has been destroyed in popular films through black and white illustrations.

Pedro Sanches (BFA Design) captures the beauty of his light-refraction experiments in a series of looping GIFs composed in a 3D program.

Melissa Taub (BFA Photography) presents a series of photographs paired with text telling the complex story of her grandmother’s life, from her survival of the Holocaust to her mind’s slow deterioration due to Alzheimer’s disease.

Quinn Tivey (MFA Photography, Video and Related Media) explores humanity’s relationship to the digital realm, focusing on Tumblr blogs as a resource for found images. His light boxes display pictures from “pet my hair and tell me im pretty,” which operates with a web-based computer program that automatically abstracts and re-blogs strangers’ “selfies,” approximately 100 times per day. The pixels within each affected “selfie” are isolated and then reshuffled.

Juried exhibitions are a way for SVA’s student body to recognize the achievements of their classmates. Artists are selected from a large pool of applicants through a rigorous examination of presented materials, including documentation of work and artist statements.

Exhibition

See no/Hear no/Speak no

SVA Flatiron Gallery

Reception