A devotee of science fiction and the cyberpunk
novels of William Gibson and the surreal, often paranoid visions of
Philip K. Dick, Ross envisions a future where digital and scientific
developments have surprising, unpredictable, and occasionally dangerous
outcomes. Contemporary developments in nanotechnology and artificial
intelligence also influence the artist, who employs computer plotters
to cut the stencils used for some of his forms. For MCASD, Ross has
created a new, 90-foot panoramic work.
CERCA SERIES: ADAM ROSS
MCASD Downtown August 31 through October 12, 2003
 |
Photo: ADAM ROSS: THEN AND FOREVER NOW, DETAIL, 2003, GRAPHITE ON PAPER, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST. |
Los Angeles artist Adam Ross
paints and draws haunting technological landscapes. Spiky antennas, floating
blimplike vehicles, and dense agglomerations of highrise towers fill vast,
mysterious spaces. Densely horizontal and vertical cityscapes suggest
hyperadvanced, perhaps self-administering technologies, and acrid skies
and roiling clouds hint at menacing toxins and environmental meltdown.
The fact that no human presence is evident in Ross' images heightens a
post-apocalyptic, future-ghost-town sensibility.