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Addie Wagenknecht

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Selected Works Overview
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Addie Wagenknecht's artistic practice blends conceptual art with forms of
hacking and gestural abstraction. 

Wagenknecht is known for pioneering the use of drones in painting and other
mechanized forms of art in the early 2000s while based in New York. 

Her works are often recognized for their experimental co-creative aspects,
exploring the relationship between technology and the vulnerabilities of being
alive. Previous exhibitions and works held in permanent collections include the
Centre Pompidou, Istanbul Modern, Whitechapel Gallery, Whitney Museum of
American Art, and the New Museum in New York, among others. She has collaborated
with CERN, Chanel, Coinbase, and Google's Art Machine Intelligence (AMI) Group.
Her work has been featured in publications such as TIME, The Wall Street
Journal, Vanity Fair, Art in America, and The New York Times. Wagenknecht has
held fellowships at Eyebeam Art + Technology Center in New York City, Culture
Lab UK, Institute HyperWerk for Postindustrial Design in Basel (CH), and The
Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry at Carnegie Mellon University.


Neutralized Memories, 2023-2024In "Neutralized Memories" Wagenknecht created a
series of painting uses security ink from banknote neutralization systems to
symbolize the erosion of memory and identity as a medium. By drawing on the
Rorschach inkblot test and AI, these paintings invite viewers to explore the
subjective nature of memory, capturing the fleeting clarity amidst the disease's
fog.


all I know and then some, 2014Wagenknecht explores the complexities of digital
consumption and self-censorship through a bold, repetitive text painted in
acrylic. Spanning 14.7 by 4 meters, the work contrasts the phrases "I will not
download things that get me into trouble" and "I will download things that get
me into trouble."

This duality reflects the tension between the desire for knowledge and the risks
of information access in a surveilled digital landscape. The repetition invites
viewers to examine their own relationships with technology, privacy, and the
consequences of their choices, challenging us to confront our digital actions
and the allure of the forbidden.


Black Hawk Paint 2007-Black Hawk Paint is a groundbreaking movement founded by
Wagenknecht in 2007, centered around the innovative use of drones in action
painting. She pioneered the concept of creating dynamic art through drones,
employing simple flight commands like "barrel roll," "take off," and "land." Her
latest creations, on vellum and canvas, feature heat- and UV-sensitive pigments
that enhance the interactive experience in analog form. 
Wagenknecht allows the pieces to respond organically to changes in temperature
and light within the exhibition space. This interplay with chromic elements
ensures that each artwork is in a constant state of transformation, making every
viewing a unique experience—no piece will ever be the same twice. 


There are no girls on the internet, 2020
 *      Wagenknecht recorded her search through hundreds of video chat rooms
   looking for another woman, moving on as soon as her next potential
   conversation partner was revealed as anyone but. Within a few seconds, each
   of the works reinforces the disturbing gender imbalance and fundamental
   weirdness of the online experience, as the artist is served up a steady
   stream of dudes lying in bed, dudes wearing only a towel, serving active
   military duty—and nothing else except the occasional empty room. Commissioned
   by the Museum of Moving Image, New York City 



Alone Together 2016-2018
 *      To create this series of paintings. Wagenknecht modified a Roomba to
   paint on canvas as it enacts custom algorithms. As the Roomba maneuvers
   around the canvas, Wagenknecht reclines nude. The Roomba relentlessly
   attempts to navigate around her body because it is designed to continue on a
   trajectory until the entire area has been mapped by its algorithm. The result
   is a void in the shape of a female form surrounded by the blue strokes of the
   robot. The paintings reference Yves Klein’s Anthropométries in which he
   directs nude female models, who he referred to as “living paintbrushes,” to
   press their pigment-covered bodies against canvases in front of an audience.
   In contrast, Wagenknecht abandons the spectacle of the objectified female
   nude in favor of drawing attention to what is absent. There is no performance
   or process documentation on display and the female form is only acknowledged
   in the negative space of the paintings.
   
   



Fighting Windmills, 2023For the durational video work, "Fighting Windmills,"
Wagenknecht explores the themes of self-critique and societal pressure through a
compelling visual narrative. The artist as a deepfake confronts a deepfaked
doppelgänger in a boxing ring, symbolizing the internal battle against
self-sabotage and the weight of imposed standards. This work invites viewers to
reflect on their own struggles with identity and expectation, embodying the
universal challenge of confronting one's inner critic.

American Flag 1–3, 2021
 *      America Flag is sterile installation of three pedestals mounted with
   archival paper. Above each plinth, ink slowly drips from IVs. Over time, this
   performance reveals an abstracted image as red ink pools and cascades into
   blue puddles. Negative space completes the configuration, an inky rendering
   of the American flag. Jasper Johns’ seminal flag paintings, in particular
   Three Flags (1958), served as great inspiration to Wagenknecht during this
   period of study. Nested inside one another, Johns’ composition highlights the
   structure of the flag as an object as well as a national emblem. Wagenknecht
   echoes this approach by favouring process over end result, refiguring America
   drop by drop.



Glass Ceiling, 2014- 
 *      Originally coined in the early 1980s, the glass ceiling metaphor
   describes the invisible barriers preventing women from reaching elite
   positions. Today, these barriers are measurable and quantifiable, yet they
   remain subtle and ingrained, echoing the idea that "those who do not move do
   not feel their chains."
   
   In her documentation and final works, the artist incorporates bulletproof
   glass panes, using various methods to break them that reflect the modern
   female experience. In "The Kiss," she engages with femininity and the notion
   of the 'female artist,' using her appearance to leave marks without causing
   damage. This piece critiques the pressure on women in the post-internet
   movement to rely on their physical looks.
   
   "Throwing Rocks" addresses the paradox of women critiquing the very culture
   they depend on, ultimately leading to a sense of loss. In "Cracked," she
   employs a cement block to break the glass while injuring herself in the
   process. Ironically, the visible crack—representing 'success'—is absent from
   the footage, highlighting the secretive and competitive nature of successful
   women and the often unseen costs of their achievements.



Liberator Vases, 2016- 
 *     The Liberator vases are a series of vases composed of 3D prints of the
   open source Liberator gun, the first 3D modeled, open source handgun made
   available utilizing torrent sites. The Liberator gun is multiplied and
   parametrically modeled to form a recognizable classic vase. The guns are thus
   deformed, clustered and turned useless, in a way that points to the
   subversive power of appropriation and creativity but also attempts to morph
   the gun into an artifact of the network itself. Made in collaboration with
   Martin Zangerl and Stefan Hechenberger in commission from MU Eindhoven, NL
   and HeK Basel, CH.