Normal Reality exposes the campus community to contemporary art in places they normally visit to shift the public’s perspective on how, where, and when they can view art. Milner Library and University Galleries have collaborated to explore inventive ways to provide sustainable and accessible art for diverse communities at Illinois State University. Because of its flexibility in presentation and familiarity in format, video-based artwork is the perfect medium to capture the attention of unsuspecting viewers, and to transform passive viewing into engagement and curiosity.
The videos selected for Milner Library are very accessible, with colorful, entrancing visuals and subjects. The continuously running video features twelve artists from North America and Europe, whose embrace of popular digital technologies raises questions about normalcy in the age of accessibility.
The themes running through these pieces focus on how the environments we navigate are accessed largely through a multilayered and ultra-fragmented media experience.
This project is organized by University Galleries’ Curator Jason Judd, and is supported in part by the Illinois Arts Council.