GH Hovagimyan

PLAZAVILLE

USA, 2009 – 2018 in continuo

PLAZAVILLE
HD video remake of Godard’s Alphaville shot in New York City. The scenes are individually presented in a random order. A computer program shuffles the scenes to create a deconstructed narrative. The viewer assembles the narrative in their mind. The work is made to run continuously but it is not a loop. Plazaville is a new media video artwork based on the classic 1965 movie Alphaville by Jean Luc Godard. It is a noir/sci-fi, “no budget” movie set in 21st Century New York City. Scenes from the original Alphaville are re-enacted, interpreted and improvised by artists,actors and videographers, directed by G.H. Hovagimyan, and shot in HD video. Videoartist Christina McPhee films the ambient POPS (publicly-owned private plazas) of Wall Street– then remixes with retro punk sounds plus “Alpha60” computer voice-overs.
Plazaville is also a variable media artwork and can be viewed in a number of different ways. Separate short scenes that function as mini-movies were created by Hovagimyan to be downloaded from the web and can be viewed on YouTube, iTunes, iPhones and HDTV using AppleTV. For Pace Digital Gallery, Plazaville is presented as a projection/ installation piece, and the scenes have been loaded onto a computer that continually reassembles the movie in a random order.

G H Hovagimyan
An experimental artist working in a variety of forms. He was one of the first artists in New York to start working with the Internet in the early nineties. His work ranges from new media and hypertext works to digital performance art, video art, photography and interactive installations.
His works have been exhibited at MoMA, Mass MoCA, The Whitney Museum, The New Museum, The Walker Art Center, Jeu De Paume, MAC Marseille, MAC Lyon, Pompidou Center, Lincoln Center, ICA The Clocktower, The Kitchen, The Alternative Museum, Eyebeam Art & Technology, List Visual Arts Center, La Gaite Du Lyrique, StuttgartKunstverein, Steim Institute, the Moscow Center for Contemporary Art, Postmasters Gallery, Pace Digital Gallery He has also exhibited works in major festivals and art fairs including; 2º Encuentro de Cultura Digital, Art Basel Miami, Pulse Miami, Art Cologne, Split Film Festival, Conflux Festival, Video Dumbo, Scope Art Fair, Frieze Art Fair, Avignon Numerique, The Documenta, Interferences 2nd International Festival of Urban Multimedia Arts, Les Musiques, Marseille and Prix Ars Electronica 98 where he won an award for his collaborative work with Peter Sinclair. His works are in the collections of The Walker Art Center, The Whitney Museum, The Alternative Museum, Computer Fine Arts Collection and Perpetual Art MachineRecent awards include: 2015-Flint Public Art Project commission, 2014 -Visiting Artist, Puerto de Ideas, Chile, AIR – ISIS Arts Newcastle, UK – 2013, AIR – Pixel Palace Newcastle, UK – 2012, AIR – School of Visual Arts MFA Computer Arts Dept. 2011-2012, LMCC Governor’s Island Residency – 2010.