Do we use social media — or do they use us?
That’s one of the fundamental questions artist Dave Cicirelli asks in a series of works produced in various media — including social media, in real time — over the past decade. He creates what he calls “experiential art” because the audience must interact with it, not passively contemplate it, in order to make sense of it. His works include:
Born in 1983 and raised in New Jersey, Cicirelli studied art at Rutgers University, where 60 years ago Allan Kaprow and other members of the Fluxus movement a pioneering artistic “happening” that forced audience members to participate in the creative process and produce their own meanings. Long time Reason A reader who is skeptical of government and corporate power, he is quite possibly the only living artist who counts comic book legend Jack Kirby and politician Barry Goldwater among his inspirations.
Cicirelli’s work makes us think: Why are there so many fakes in a world that values authenticity and transparency so much? How do we maintain our individuality when social media algorithms group us into simple categories and tribes? And has technology become a substitute for reality rather than something we use to express our true selves?
Music: “New World” by Ian Post
Produced by Nick Gillespie; Filmed and edited by Kevin Alexander; additional camera Daniel Schloss