Yucef Merhi: Poetic Engineering

Poetry and electronic media merge in the Orange Lounge with Poetic Engineering, an exhibition of works by new media artist Yucef Merhi. Born in Venezuela in 1977 and now living in New York and Caracas, Merhi was trained as both an artist and a poet. In his works, electronic devices, Internet projects, computer installations, and video game systems are transformed into artworks that incorporate the artist's written words.

Some of the works included in Poetic Engineering are from Merhi's Atari Poetry series, in which he programs and manufactures videogames for the classic Atari 2600 console as a means of exploring the creative connections between technology and language. The programs he develops turn a TV screen into a site for the presentation of his short poems. In Super Atari Poetry (2005), a new work being created for the exhibition, three Atari 2600 modules will allow visitors to play and create hundreds of poems. In another work entitled The Poetic Clock 2.0(2002), a digital clock converts time into poetry. With every hour, minute, and second corresponding to a verse that changes when the time changes, The Poetic Clock 2.0 generates 86,400 different poems every day.

In conjunction with Poetic Engineering, Merhi will be in residence during the month of August conducting a series of intensive teen workshops. Working with Orange County high-school students, he will engage participants in an exploration of poetry and new media and will involve the students in the art-making process. If you are a high school teacher and would like more information about this program please call Kristine Bowen, director of school and tour programs, at (949) 759-1122, ext. 218.

Organized by Irene Hofmann, curator of contemporary art.

Pressetext

Yucef Merhi: Poetic Engineering
Kurator: Irene Hofmann