BARON LANTEIGNE

Metronom: Orb (2016) is the second intervention in the context of Digital Video Wall. It is a seamless loop created by morphing different cloud footage together using datamosh, a glitch technique that uses the motion of a clip to distort the texture of the previous one. What is your Digital Deviation, the theme of this edition of the Digital Video Wall project?

Baron Lanteigne: Digital imagery is one of the most common medium now. It’s certainly the one I consume the most. By being exposed to so much of it, we are getting used to some of its flaws such as overexposure, out-of-focus subject, motion blur, chromatic aberration, etc. Those flaws now guide us in assessing if a digital image documents something real or not. Without paying too much attention to it, we know each medium leaves some kind of fingerprint that associates the subject to its container. In my work, this fingerprint is a starting point and the medium becomes the subject. I am constantly trying to identify how we experience a medium and then stretch those technicalities into a practice of its own.

M: Orb is indeed closer to an animated digital painting than a video piece and, as you mentioned, Orb is thus a reflection on the creation of digital images and their inner mechanisms. Can you tell us about your research and practice through your multifaceted approach?

BL: I’ve always enjoyed how the textures created by datamosh remind me of painting strokes as they blend different image sources together. My datamoshing process breaks reality and reveals how the pixels are driven by algorithms. Everything we see in this process is related to time in some way. In the animation, each frame is dependent on the previous as I manipulate the video compression algorithms. In contrast, when we look at the final result, this constant motion is balanced by the scene’s simplicity. I don’t use this time-based medium to create a narrative. I’m interested in presenting the video medium as a malleable matter.

M: In your latest works, the LCD screens you choose as displays are conceived as portals that bridge a virtual and a physical dimension, and the images you create set real environments. How do you perceive these two dimensions and where does technology stand)? Are virtuality and physicality so opposite?

BL: Based on how we compare them, I think we consider virtuality and physicality to be opposite. We often present one to be an alternative or a compromise to the other. That said, I am mostly interested in the physical infrastructure required to support the virtual. I think this technology integrated our lives faster than we could design it to adapt it to our needs. The experience feels incomplete. An example of this is how our sense of touch is required to interact with our portable screens and yet they are flat and rigid. I now extend my virtual creations to the physical world by considering how they are presented with an emphasis on this hardware.

M: Tangible Data is a many-sided and immersive project, with a strongly sculptural setting. Can you tell us a bit about your creative process for virtually immersive artworks?

BL: One of my concerns for Tangible Data was to use the project as a gateway to explaining the influence of NFT on digital artists. In this sense, the project was never tied to a specific medium other than NFT. That said, the project was always intended to be presented in a physical setting at some point. The pandemic also enticed a lot of people to explore how we can present art in different contexts. I’m inspired by the absurdity of creating a virtual white cube just to associate an artwork to the contemporary art setting even though the artwork would be more easily enjoyable as a digital image on a minimalistic website. For me, the virtual rooms had a dual purpose. The virtual creations are artwork on their own but they also double as prototypes of how I want to present my work in real life.

M: What is your relationship with social media? Are you interested in them as both creative opportunities and archive tools?

BL: Social media are extremely time-consuming but the payoff is too good to pass up. I believe this subgoal of getting more visibility is a distraction that makes artists less creative. That said, I’m very inspired by the upcoming internet-native cultures that emerge from it. This interest functions as a workaround for me as my participation in this phenomenon has always been integral to my practice. Social media is an extremely poor archiving tool because it forces us to hand over our work to a larger entity on which we have no control.

M: Your involvement with some online fringe communities represents a great source of inspiration for your artistic practice. Could you explain how these relationships were born and how they inform your practice?

BL: Everyone can find their niche online. It’s liberating to find so many alternatives to mainstream culture. It enables cultural trends that would otherwise never flourish. I appreciate how people can unite over something very precise. The pseudo-anonymity of some platforms lets us forget the individual for a minute so we can witness the collective effort to “sort” everything and reveal the essence of their common interest. I’m a fan of Brian Eno’s scenius (communal genius) concept and I think the Internet and its communities are empowering that.

M: Can you talk about your education and if and how it informed your practice? Are there any professional experiences that left a particular mark on you and your art?

BL: I studied Intermedia Cyberarts at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. The program introduced us to a bit of everything and encouraged us to combine those techniques. I’m mostly self-taught but I appreciate this approach as an artist as I remain free to jump from a medium to another as long as it serves my motive. In my practice, I’m stimulated as long as I’m learning something new.

M: What are you working on at the moment?

BL: I have various projects going on, some are solo, some are collaboratives. The works focus on the materiality of the digital image and the different form factors of screens and how they integrate our lives on a daily basis. Those projects will be presented together in the same exhibition later this year.

Baron Lanteigne (b. 1987) depicts our relationship with technology and its infrastructure through installations combining modified displays and various electronics that behave as portals opening to his virtual worlds. Baron lives and works in Quebec City, Canada, however, the core of his work comes from his involvement with many online fringe communities and virtual collaborations. Stemming from the internet, his work is now presented internationally at digital art events such as: The Wrong Biennale, real-fake.org, ISEA 2020, Les Garages Numériques (BE), Mapping Festival (CH), Mirage Festival (FR), Vector Festival (CA), Dutch Design Week (NL), Sónar+D (ES), CuVo Video Art Festival (ES), Electrofringe (AU), CPH:DOX (DK) and at the Budapest’s Ludwig Museum (HU). Baron Lanteigne also specializes as a technological consultant for artists and artist-run centers.

©Baron Lanteigne and METRONOM

10/05/2021