BRENNA MURPHY ~ EXPANDING LABYRINTH
RHIZOME COMMISSION PROPOSAL 2012

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

For the past two years, I have been steadily weaving a digital labyrinth for meditation and exploration. The labyrinth is carved into the shared netscape through a series of linked web pages that contain talismanic arrangements of images, videos and sounds. All of the work is generated from my daily creative experimentation with computer graphics programs. For me, graphics programs are spiritual tools that allow one to psychedelically engage with the fabric of reality. I'm deeply committed to pushing the innovative possibilities inherent in these contemporary folk art tools. My labyrinth of pages is an active public record of my explorations. I propose to direct a rhizome commission toward the expansion of this project over the course of the next year. I am requesting a monthly salary to support me in this full time endeavor.

I consider the project a labyrinth in the sense that it is a realm shaped for meditative navigation both for myself and for the general public. Visitors can scroll through rhythmic sequences of warped effigies that form ecstatic visual poems. The process of building an endless labyrinth of cosmic diagrams helps me to dial my lifestyle into a positive feedback loop between heightened sensory experience and meditative model-making. The pages form a mental exoskeleton, a web that is woven by the daily choreography of my aesthetic and spiritual investigations.

My approach has developed over the last two years as I've expanded my palette of programs. I began with simple looped snippets of raw video footage, slowly adding stills, gifs and digitally manipulated footage while complexifying my compositional techniques. Last year, I started working with 3d sculpting programs and found that building forms and textures from scratch exponentially multiplied the angles of my approach. The labyrinth has recently gained a new dimension as I've learned to build navigable virtual worlds using videogame development software. My pages are beginning to explore the virtual realm using the methods that I've developed with the web page format. I'm eager to synthesize these complementary forms of virtual architecture over the course of the next year.

As a frequent computer user, I've become increasingly aware of how my relationship with this tool affects the way that I interface with reality. The workflow of this project requires me to pour my mind fluidly into variously structured molds as I engage in a complex dance with an array of nested programs. An important part of my project is examining the increasingly dominant role of technology as prosthetic consciousness. How does the computer shape the way that I organize experience? Engaging in this process is a way of unfolding the intricate meshwork that attaches the mind to its powerful extended processor.

By regularly sharing my pages with anyone who has internet access, I am actively participating in a global conversation. Now that so many of us are connected through this light box, it is essential to exploit, expand and explore the medium as much as possible. Social networking sites provide us with an incredibly effective platform for communication, but the rigidity of those programmed structures greatly restricts the form and content of conversations. At this point, the internet is still a wide open expanse that is made up of whatever we put into it. I am compelled to pioneer temporary autonomous zones that playfully experiment with the poetic possibilities of computer graphics programs and the web page format.


 

TIMELINE & BUDGET

$400 monthly salary for 12 months = $4800

An average of one page per week = At least 52 new pages over the course of one year


At its core, this project is a lifestyle. It requires me to regularly enter into meditative computer mind work mode for large chunks of time. I usually spend a few hours every day and/or 2-4 full days each week learning new programs and sculpting and arranging content. The free public access nature of the medium is important to me and I have no interest in making it marketable. A salary of $400 per month would give me the necessary monetary support to continue expanding my labyrinth while publicly exploring the creative-spiritual uses of the personal computer.

I can happily and confidently commit to producing one page per week for the next year. In the past two years, I made 54 pages but I have been steadily increasing my rate of productivity and I am at a point where one page per week is very feasible. Producing pages with extreme frequency is important to both personal and social aspects of the project. It pushes me to increase the fluidity of my work flow and it also ensures that I actively participate in the networked community of digital artists. One of the best things about net art is that it can be shared and accessed constantly. I'm one of many artists working to exploit this situation with the goal of knitting ourselves into an undulating meta-mind shaped for spiritual attunement with the mesh of all planes of existence.

CV

Brenna Murphy

http://www.bmruernpnhay.com/menu
http://www.oregonpaintingsociety.org
http://www.mshr.info
bmruernpnhay at gmail dot com

b. 1986, Edmonds, WA , USA
Lives and works in Portland, OR, USA

Education
2010-Present
North Indian Classical Vocal Music, Michael Stirling, Portland, Oregon.
2009

BFA, General Fine Arts, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, Oregon.

Selected Solo Exhibitions
2012
“inwardconch~upwardspiral”, Klaus von Nichtsaagend Gallery, NY.
“~hieromesh~trance`scribr~~>”, Gloria Maria Gallery, Milan.
“~self~nesting~sensr~>”, The Future Gallery, Berlin.
2011
“New Fashion Therapy”, in collaboration w/ Morgan Ritter, PNCA, Portland, OR.
2010
“Mindfold”, Red White Yellow Gallery, Houston, Texas
2009
“Psychometry (III)” Right Window Gallery. San Fransisco, California. Curated by DL Alvarez.
“Foldy Codes ;-)” BFA Gallery, PNCA. Portland, Oregon.
“Loom Room” Half and Half. Portland, Oregon.

Selected Group Exhibitions
2012
"Apocalyptic Shift: Flock House Benefit", Eyebeam, NY.
"Big Reality", Curated by Brian Droitcour, 319 Scholes, Brooklyn, NY.

2011

“Face Time Continuum”, The Future Gallery, Berlin.
“Stone Sky Over Thing World”, Curated by Claudia Hart, Bitforms, New York, NY.
“MDW Fair”, American Fantasy Classics, The Green Gallery, Chicago, IL.
“The New Psychedelica”, Curated by Francesca Gavin, MU Eindhoven, Netherlands.
“VPAP FOR PIFA”, Ben Franklin Sculpture Parkway, Philadelphia Art Museum.
“Video Village”, Index Art Center, Newark, New Jersey.
“Info-Bomb”, Festival Nrmal, Monterrey, Mexico.
2010
“BYOB Portland”, Co-Organizer, New American Art Union, Portland, OR.
“Labyrinths”, LIES/ISLE, http://liesisle.com/issue04/index1.html
Sen-Oren “Trance”, Galleri Box. Gothenburg, Sweden.
“An Immaterial Survey of Our Peers” Sullivan Galleries. Chicago, Illinois.
“Avatar 4D”, Noma gallery, San Francisco, California.
2009
"No Hay Banda" Reference Gallery. Richmond, Virginia.
“Time” Valentines. Portland, Oregon.
“BFA Thesis Exhibition” PNCA. Portland, Oregon.
"Rhizome's The Long Gallery" 7 x 7 Series. Why + Wherefore. whyandwherefore.com.
“Pyschometry (II)” Arratia Beer. Berlin, Germany.
“Pyschometry (I)” Exile, Berlin. Germany.

Selected Press
"Superare il meccanicismo," Marco Tagliafierro, Flash Art, March 2012.
"Brenna Murphy and The Future," Ali Fitzgerald, Art 21 Blog, March 2012.
"Artist Profile," Ian Glover, Rhizome, Sept 2011.
"Gifs Gone Wild," Francesca Gavin. Oyster Magazine. May, 2011.
“HyperJunk- NetArt out of the Past,” Nicholas Obrien. Bad At Sports. April, 2011.
“The New Stream Culture” Dean Kissick. Dazed and Confused Magazine. April, 2011.
“Scrambled: Brenna Murphy,” Vivian Hua. Redefine Annex Magazine, Seattle. Jan/Feb, 2010.
“Psychometry II,” Daniel Miller. Frieze Magazine. Aug, 2009
“Diskreter Blick in die Kristallkugel,” Dominikus Müller. Artnet.de. April, 2009.

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Member of 2 Person Art Collective "MSHR" 2011-Present

MSHR Solo Exhibition
"New World", Le Dictateur, Milan, Oct 2011.

MSHR Group Exhibition
"baumarktmusik," qujOchÖ, Linz, Austria, Oct 2011.

MSHR Press
"MSHR 'bio-tech',” Maurizio Catelan, Muse Magazine, Milan, Dec 2011.
"New World," Paola Manfrin, Vogue Italia, Milan, Oct 2011.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Member of 5 Person Art Collective “Oregon Painting Society” 2007-Present

Oregon Painting Society Selected Solo Exhibitions
2011

“Angelo’s Game”, bubblebyte.org
“Angelo’s Game”, Ditch Projects, Springfield, OR.
“now you C me, now you don’t/ joker N the deck”, AB Gallery, PSU, Portland, OR.
2010
“OPS” Hedreen Gallery, Seattle University, Seattle, WA.
“Nightwave Catalog” Nationale, Portland, OR.
“Cruis'n” Appendix Project Space, Portland, OR.
“ShadowGut” Manuel Izquierdo Gallery, PNCA, Portland, OR.
2009
“Radiant Dream Face” Autzen Gallery, Portland State University, Portland, OR.
“Ancient Teenager” 48 Hr. Residency, Pancake Clubhouse, Portland, OR.
“Oregon Painting Society Redux” Fontanelle Gallery, Portland, OR.
2008
“Oregon Painting Society” Fontanelle Gallery, Portland, OR.

Oregon Painting Society Selected Group Exhibitions
2012
“Big Reality” 319 Scholes, NY.
2011
“PWR” The Future Gallery, Berlin.
2010
“No Soul For Sale” Tate Modern, London, UK.
“HexenHouse” Portland 2010: Biennial of Contemporary Art, Disjecta, Portland, OR.
“Reed Arts Week” Reed College, Portland, OR.

Oregon Painting Society Selected Press
“Big Reality,” Ceci Moss, Art Forum, March 2012.
“Umbrella Action: Oregon Painting Society,” Seth Nehil, Intransitive Recordings, April 2012.
“Oregon Painting Society,” Cesare Alemanni, L'Uomo Vogue, December 2010.
“Mystical Esoterica: Oregon Painting Society at Nationale,” John Motley, The Oregonian, Aug 2010.
“Oregon Painting Society at Tate Modern,” Ceci Moss, Rhizome, May 2010.
“Portland 2010,” Bob Hicks, The Oregonian, April 2010.
“Oregon Painting Society at PNCA,” John Motley, Artslant Worldwide, Feb 2010.
“Radiant Dream Face,” Lisa Radon, Culturephile, Portland Monthly, Dec 2009.
“Spooky Spirituality of the Oregon Painting Society,” Sarah Mirk, Portland Mercury, Sept 2009.

To the left is a chronological key to all 54 pages of my site, starting with Spring 2010 at the bottom right.
Please choose any random pages to visit,
or visit the example pages that I've chosen below:


 

cavrncode april 2012
This is my most recent page. It records the construction and navigation of a virtual realm. The realm can be downloaded from the page and is an integral element. The page synthesizes media from various stages of the process into a hyper-quilt that weaves a goopy organism and its blueprint into the same vibrating dimension.

inward conch~upward spiral march 2012
This is my first downloadable virtual realm. This new dimension of virtual architecture offers a vastly expanded format for creation and navigation. I experimented with stretching 3d models and textures from my previous work into spatial organisms with an interactive presence.

sunset yantra march 2011
This page records the beginning of my use of 3d sculpting programs. I was experimenting with the combined application of collaged cgi and rendered objects to build rhythmic hierogrlyphs.
WORK SAMPLES
muush nov 2010
An earlier page that shows my video footage phase. I was developing a gridded compositional style influenced by gardens, newspapers and mayan codices, experimenting with visual glyphic communication styles. It is also a personal record of experience, as it draws video snippets from my activities into a poetic spreadsheet.