Artists, Data and Digital Image Platforms in the Information Age

Location: Art Talks at Luxembourg Art Week
Language: English 
Guest speakers: Corinne Vionnet, Lucas LaRochelle   
Moderators: Françoise Poos, Vincent Crapon

The proliferation of visual on-line platforms and the democratisation of digital technologies have dramatically increased the possibilities of artistic creativity. On the one hand, this evolution has led to opening access to visual art and imagery for both artists and the public, creating new perspectives for inspiration, research, and cross-pollination of ideas. On the other hand, artists can now leverage vast datasets of images to inform their work, whether through generative AI, or sourcing reference material.

In collaboration with Luxembourg Art Week, Elektron, a new platform for art, digital technologies, science and society based in Esch-sur-Alzette, has invited artists Corinne Vionnet and Lucas LaRochelle to discuss their practices using digital technologies and datasets.

Corinne Vionnet is a Swiss-French photographer and visual artist known for her innovative work exploring the intersection of photography, digital media and collective memory. Her work investigates themes of mass tourism, shared visual culture, and how popular imagery shapes our perception of place. It questions the notion of originality in the age of mass media and digital photography.

Lucas LaRochelle is a Canadian artist whose work sits at the intersection of digital culture, queer theory, and cartography. Their projects Queering the Map and Q.T.bot exemplify how artists can use digital imagery to create meaningful, interactive experiences using data visualisation and community-generated content.

Biographical notes: 

Corinne Vionnet has been exploring web-based imagery since the early 2000s. Her work includes archival research, the creation of photographic images, collage, and the appropriation of crowdsourced material. Her work has been shown at the Museum of Fine Arts Bilbao, C|O Berlin, the Swiss Camera Museum, Galerie Danziger, Oslo 8 and East Wing. Her works are in the collections of SF MOMA, Photo Élysée, Musée Carnavalet, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bilbao, Musée d’Art du Valais, Musée d’Art de Pully and Musée français de la photographie. Her artist’s books are in the collections of the Fotomuseum Winterthur, MoMA, The Whitney Museum, the New York Public Library, MACBA, Reina Sofia and Bibliothèque d’art et d’archéologie.

Lucas LaRochelle is a designer and researcher whose work is concerned with queer and trans digital cultures, community-based archiving, and artificial intelligence. They are the founder of Queering The Map, a community generated counter-mapping platform for digitally archiving LGBTQ2IA+ experience in relation to physical space. Their project, QT.bot, was awarded an Honorary Mention for the 2023 Prix Ars Electronica in the Artificial Intelligence and Life Art category. Their project, Queering the Map, was awarded an Honorary Mention for the 2018 Prix Ars Electronica, nominated for the Lumen Prize for Digital Art and the Kantar Information is Beautiful, and is included in the Library of Congress LGBTQ+ Studies Web Archive.

Françoise Poos is artistic and scientific director at Elektron. She holds a PhD in Visual Culture, and she investigates the relations between media, memory, and identity. She was artistic director at Esch2022 European Capital of Culture. The programme comprised a vast array of events from all artistic disciplines with a specific thematic focus on the transition of the region from the industrial past to a contemporary society of knowledge. Media arts and immersive exhibitions organised in collaboration with renowned international institutions were cornerstones of the visual arts programme. They prompted the development of the follow-up programme and platform Elektron to continue stimulating the public debate on the impact of digital technologies on the way we live now.

Vincent Crapon is a curator and exhibition organiser. He is curator at Elektron, a new platform for digital art. Previously he held curatorial positions at European Capital of Culture Esch2022, Mudam Luxembourg and MAC Lyon. He collaborated with several institutions including ZKM | Center for Art and Media, HEK (House of Electronic Arts Basel), Ars Electronica, Museum Brandhorst, CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, Musée des arts et métiers. Vincent regularly contributes to research projects, publications, talks and conferences on contemporary art and digital culture.