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Pratt Digital Arts, an exhibition organized with partners LG Electronics USA and Surface magazine, attracted lively crowds to a special reception for Pratt alumni and friends and an exclusive Surface magazine talk with musician FKA Twigs and artist Alex Israel during Art Basel Miami Beach on December 4 and 5.
Young creative leaders packed the new Miami Beach EDITION hotel to hear emerging British pop star Twigs and Los Angeles-based Israel discuss creative influences and the importance of fearlessness in popular art and culture with curator Hans Ulrich Obrist.
The event was attended by art and design notables, including Serpentine Galleries co-director Julia Peyton-Jones, Jeffrey Deitch, China Chow, Klaus Biesenbach, John Pawson, Gavin Brown, Almine Rech-Picasso, Norman and Norah Stone, Kesh, Bettina Korek, Dev Hynes (Blood Orange), and Samantha Urbani. Twigs’s partner, the actor Robert Pattinson, was also in the crowd.
The discussion ranged from the challenges that accompany innovation to the importance of simply letting go of self-criticism. Obrist challenged both artists to discuss what embracing technology means in the era of social media and comment culture. While Twigs felt it was liberating as an artist, Israel said that digital technology has given the general population a set of tools that allows for new levels of creative expression.
Before and after the talk, attendees viewed the exhibition, curated by Pratt's Department of Digital Arts Chair Peter Patchen, featuring digital artwork by Pratt students and recent graduates shown on state-of-the-art LG Ultra HD 4K TVs and OLED TVs.
On December 5, Pratt alumni and friends gathered for a festive reception to celebrate the cutting-edge digital art on display in Pratt Digital Arts, including 110 Fathoms by Pratt student Joseph Bui (B.F.A. Communications Design ’16), who won second place in LG’s acclaimed national “The Art of the Pixel” competition held earlier this year. Also on view was an art installation by Alvaro Uribe (B.I.D. ’10) that was presented by another of the event’s sponsors, Corzo Tequila. During the event, guests mingled and had the opportunity to join an exhibition tour led by Patchen. Those in attendance included Pratt Institute Trustee David Walentas, Jane Walentas, Assistant Chair of Digital Arts Carla Gannis, Bui, and many other alumni and friends of Pratt.
Pratt Digital Arts, part of the Pratt Presents public program series, was on view in the lobby of the Miami Beach EDITION hotel from December 4-6.
Main image: View of Pratt Digital Arts at the Miami Beach EDITION hotel (photo: Joseph Bui)