Dreamlands: Immersive Cinema and Art, 1905–2016

Oct 28, 2016–Feb 5, 2017

Exhibition artists

76 total
Hito Steyerl
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Hito Steyerl

A work by Hito Steyerl. Visitors sit and recline in lawn chairs viewing a screen
A work by Hito Steyerl. Visitors sit and recline in lawn chairs viewing a screen

Hito Steyerl (b. 1966), installation view of Factory of the Sun, 2015 (German Pavilion, 56th Venice Biennale, 2015). Video, color, sound; 21 min., looped; with environment, dimensions variable. Collection of the artist; courtesy Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York. Photograph by Manuel Reinartz; image courtesy the artist and Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York

Hito Steyerl

Hito Steyerl’s immersive three-dimensional grid is modeled on motion-capture studios, where body movements are recorded and translated for use in computer-generated imagery. The video on view within also features a motion-capture studio. In that one, workers are forced to dance in order to generate sunlight—though they also dance as a form of resistance to their data-mined servitude. The video shifts between mock newscasts, drone footage, and personal narratives, moving between different levels of reality like a video game. Simultaneously playful and critical, the work hints at the utopian potential of the Internet while also critiquing its use for surveillance and economic exploitation.

Hito Steyerl (b. 1966), Factory of the Sun, 2015. Video, color, sound; 21 min., looped; with environment, dimensions variable. Collection of the artist; courtesy Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York

Hito Steyerl (b. 1966), Factory of the Sun, 2015

Hito Steyerl (b. 1966), Factory of the Sun, 2015. High-definition video, color, sound; 22:56 min., looped; with environment, dimensions variable. Installation view: Invisible Adversaries, Hessel Museum of Art, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, 2016. Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York; Marieluise Hessel Collection. Image courtesy of the artist and Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York. Photograph by Sarah Wilmer

Hito Steyerl (b. 1966), Factory of the Sun, 2015

Hito Steyerl (b. 1966), Factory of the Sun, 2015. High-definition video, color, sound; 22:56 min., looped; with environment, dimensions variable. Installation view: Invisible Adversaries, Hessel Museum of Art, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, 2016. Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York; Marieluise Hessel Collection. Image courtesy of the artist and Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York. Photograph by Sarah Wilmer

Hito Steyerl (b. 1966), Factory of the Sun, 2015

Explore works from this exhibition
in the Whitney's collection

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On the Hour

A 30-second online art project:
Frank WANG Yefeng, The Levitating Perils #2

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Learn more at whitney.org/artport

On the Hour projects can contain motion and sound. To respect your accessibility settings autoplay is disabled.