Asymptote Architecture

(New York City, New York, Established 1987)

Lise Anne Couture

American (1959)

Hani Rashid

American (1958)

I-Scapes 1.0

1999
digital media | mini DV player, digital videotape, Plexiglas, and wood
Not currently on view in the museum
I-Scapes 1.0

I-Scapes 1.0 is not a conventional object, but an immaterial collection of data points floating in electronic ether.

New York architects Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture (Asymptote Architecture) created this artifact by first collecting a sampling of common images: sneakers, buildings, cars, and advertisements. They then used software to stretch one form into another (or morph them, a term derived from the Greek word for form), fusing the disparate images into a continually changing digital picture. The result is a condensation and transformation of everyday things.

The architects playfully underscore the problem of exhibiting a design work that has no physical presence by displaying it on a digital video player encased in Plexiglas.


16 5/8 in. x 12 in. x 12 in. (42.23 cm x 30.48 cm x 30.48 cm)
Acquired 1999
Collection SFMOMA
Accessions Committee Fund purchase
© Asymptote: Hani Rashid - Lise Anne Couture
99.255.A-D
Keywords

Sony, computers, handheld, display cases


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