Critics Sound Off: Ryoji Ikeda Pushes Boundaries Of Sight And Sound

Ikeda's work is snow joke. Via.

"A thing of hypnotic beauty and a gateway onto eternity."

"Extreme high and low frequencies; split-second variations in intensity, direction and duration; barely perceptible sounds; assaultive bursts of digital noise."

Sound like any concert you’ve been to recently? As previously posted, Japan Society and French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) hosted Japanese audiovisual artist, Ryoji Ikeda at FIAF’s Florence Guild Hall on September 10 and 11 for the New York-debut performance of datamatics [ver. 2.0].

Paris-based Ikeda combines raw binary numbers and extreme audio frequencies to create a sensational display as much modern art as musical performance. In addition to the quotes above, Steve Smith of The New York Times described Ikeda’s performance as "metaphysical, intricate and elegant", while Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim of The Wall Street Journal wrote that datamatics "blurs the line between nothingness and infinity". New York 1 technology correspondent Adam Balkin dedicated a full segment to the deceptively intricate, sensorial production.

Ikeda’s performances kicked off FIAF’s Crossing the Line festival which ends September 27. His site-specific installation transcendental runs until October 16th. Catch it before it bids adieu!

T.D.