Bored in Quarantine? Visit This Online Art Exhibit
In the wake of coronavirus, “Well Now WTF?” proves that even during a crisis, people still need art.
By Jessie Schiewe
Art: Erica Lapadat-Janzen
In the days and weeks since our lives have been upended by the coronavirus pandemic, confining most of us to our homes, you might have thought to yourself at one point or another, “Well now, WTF?”
With businesses closed, public gatherings banned, and social distancing highly encouraged, it can seem like there is nothing fun left to do. We’ve all felt this in one way or another.
Fortunately, it’s not entirely true. There is still fun to be had — you just have to head online for it these days. And if you’re an art lover, look no further than “Well Now, WTF.”
Launched on April 4th after three weeks of brainstorming and one week of coding, “Well Now WTF?” is an online art exhibit showcasing a bizarre and broad array of works created by a continuously growing cast of more than 90 artists.
In keeping with its virtual theme, the exhibit is composed solely of “net art,” which co-curator Wade Wallerstein described as “art that is made on the internet and that uses the internet itself to function.”
From hand washing GIFs to short videos of people enthusiastically jumping off a cliff, the works in “Well Now WTF?” don’t directly address the pandemic at-hand, but they were inspired by it.
Wallerstein, who curated the exhibit along with Lorna Mills and Faith Holland, described the art as “represent[ing] some kind of artistic response to the conditions of quarantine and the collective feeling of existential dread that we’re all currently experiencing.”
To view the exhibit — which is free, but asks for a suggested $5 or pay-what-you-will donation — head to wellnow.wtf, where you will be greeted by a moody black background and a prompt to click a neon green button that says “Enter.” Doing so will take you to the homepage where you’ll be presented with an assortment of “rooms” sporting unique names like “Pants Optional” or “Stay Home and Masturbate.” Each room contains groupings of art themed loosely around a particular feeling or vibe related to coronavirus.
Speaking of feelings, if those come up while viewing “Well Now WTF?”, you also have the opportunity to share them. Each room has a live chatroom — hosted through Twitch — embedded in the lower right hand corner to encourage visitors to comment on the art just as one would at a physical exhibition.
Like with most art, it’s easy to get lost in this online art exhibit. In fact, it’s almost inevitable. If you find yourself feeling hypnotized by the looped and repetitive moving images in “Well Now WTF?”, you’re definitely not alone.
To learn more about the unique virtual art portal and what comes next for it, OK Whatever spoke with Wallerstein over email. Here’s what he had to say:
OK Whatever: How did the idea to start “Well Now WTF?” come about?
Wade Wallerstein: The show came about from our collective feeling of, well, “WTF!!!” We all felt out of sorts, disconnected, and unsure as to how to adapt to present conditions of global crisis. We felt that this feeling was a really interesting one to tap into on a curatorial level. Rather than answering the question, we wanted to let it sink in and find a way to deal with it together. Our show provides no answers whatsoever. What it does instead is provide a glimpse into the creative tinkering of multiple generations of net artists.
What's the goal with it?
Our goal with “Well Now WTF?” was to instill a sense of online community. Net art is unique in that it was born out of social interaction online. While everyone is stuck at home, we wanted to create a meeting place for folks interested in the digital arts to connect and feel not so alone. Rather than philosophize blandly about the effects of quarantine, we wanted to communicate an emotional release of sorts. The show should be felt, deep in the gut, rather than pondered deeply or analyzed rigorously.
Is this the first time you, your digital art gallery Silicon Valet, or the other two co-curators have done something like this?
Yes! This is the first big exhibition that Silicon Valet has hosted. I’ve curated a number of online shows in the past in other places, as have my co-curators Faith and Lorna. However, I don’t think any of us had never done something at this scale this quickly.
Excitingly, this is just the beginning! I have a whole slate of online programming that will be coming out over the coming months. You’ll have to stay tuned and watch our page to find out what.
Since it happened post-quarantine, how did you celebrate launching the exhibit?
We held a big, virtual opening party, where we invited all 92 artists to participate in a Zoom discussion that we live streamed to Twitch. It was kind of chaotic, but also super cool to see so many different creatives from around the world come together at the same time.
What kinds of conversations have the exhibit’s visitors been having in the chatroom?
Nothing too crazy has been going on, but overall the chats have been really lovely. Strangers have been having short discussions about the show and some of the work, and some have even gone on to connect via other platforms as well. It’s been pretty rewarding to see folks making new friends in our show.
How long will “Well Now WTF?” remain “open?”
“Well Now WTF?” will be up until the pandemic is over and quarantine is lifted. That could be six months, or two years — we really have no idea at this point. Not that I want to tear the show down, but I hope we can take it down sooner rather than later...
Art: Rita Jiménez
JESSIE SCHIEWE IS THE EDITOR OF OK WHATEVER. SHE BELIEVES IN MERMAIDS AND THRIFT SHOPS FOR EXERCISE.
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