The Archaeology of Being, a collaborative multimedia installation by

Ruth Eckland
Kent Manske
Nanette Wylde

at WORKS/San José
June 30 - July 23, 1999

Three interdisciplinary artists have collaborated to explore the vast subject of existence by creating an interactive environment using image, object, projection, sound and computers. The installation reflects the process of the collaboration itself-- a conscious dialogue from the artists' unique perspectives of their explorations of being in a multi-dimensional world.

In a darkened gallery, the visitor navigates through floating objects and projected images in an environment flush with evidence of human experience.

Kent Manske's work is about being from an internal perspective. He creates visual symbols as instruments to understand and communicate feelings and perceptions. His works are visual narratives, both a dialogue within himself and with the world in which he exists. Mixed media constructions function as conscious maps, providing visual routes for interpreting ideas and making meaning.

Nanette Wylde's work is about being from an external perspective. She explores issues of humanity and socialization: attitudes, belief systems, ways of being in the external world. She samples the realities of people she encounters, recontextualizes the evidence, and presents the residue. Her works often give voice to her audience by asking them to participate in the art experience.

Ruth Eckland's work is about being from a spiritual perspective, engaging the audience on a different plane of being: otherwordly, ephemeral, spacious. Her multimedia projection and sound installations invite viewers to be present in the moment, noticing subtle changes as images dissolve into each other, understanding both the interdependence and the impermanence of existence.

The Archaeology of Being integrates these artists' work into a microcosm of existence. The gallery visitor embarks on a journey of discovery, encountering layer upon layer of evidence at different sites of exploration. The accumulated experiences will offer viewers the opportunity to mine their own interpretations of the nature of Being.


Artists' Contact

Ruth Eckland
Kent Manske
Nanette Wylde