Feb 02, 2007, 12:00 AM

Meet the New You

Meet the New You
Des Moines Art Center
February 2 – May 2, 2007
Organized by Laura Burkhalter, assistant curator

How will our everyday lives be different in 10, 20, or 50 years? The
four artists in Meet the New You offer challenging meditations on
this question, each presenting his or her unique version of a brave
new world. Some works refer to specific scientific advances, while
others deal more abstractly with the concepts of progress and
perfection. Society’s constant struggle for perfection, for better or
worse, is a major theme of the show.

Runaway body parts, perfect athletes struggling against unseen
forces, and the abstract notion of “paradise” can all be found in
Magnus Wallin’s dynamic and disconcerting videos. Photographer Ruud
van Empel uses cutting-edge photography and computer technology to
populate strangely flawless landscapes with even more strangely
flawless children. Another photographer, Sabrina Raaf, creates a
world almost exactly like ours—if it weren’t for those changes in
gravity. Finally, sculptor Bryan Crockett makes works of haunting
beauty that reference classical sculpture as well as scientific
advancements.

Artists: Bryan Crockett, Ruud van Empel, Sabrina Raaf, and Magnus Wallin