a high-frequency alternating current
Matthew Schrader Metropolitan Structures, Baltimore
July 8-26, 2016 ------
The city begins with a transport of information through the air.1
Metropolitan Structures is pleased to present a high-frequency alternating current, featuring new work by Matthew Schrader. Central to this exhibition is a relationship between Highfield House, a residential apartment building designed by Mies van der Rohe (the site of Metropolitan Structures) and four large metal broadcast towers that are located west of the building. One can view the towers through the two horizontal windows in the exhibition space. These massive armatures were built to elevate a number of high powered antennas. The antennas convert electrical power into radio waves and vice versa.
Antennas are essential components of all equipment that uses radio. They are used in systems such as radio broadcasting, broadcast television, two-way radio, communications receivers, radar, cell phones, and satellite communications, as well as other devices such as garage door openers, wireless microphones, Bluetooth-enabled devices, wireless computer networks, baby monitors, and RFID tags on merchandise.2
Three of the visible broadcast towers are dedicated to commercial television and radio while the fourth is operated by the Baltimore police and fire departments to dispatch radio communication. These objects then emit a constant feed of information for the entertainment and control of the city. At night, they blink.
1 Maria Nordman 2 Wikipedia
Matthew Schrader is an artist based in New York City. He received an MFA in Sculpture from the Milton Avery Graduate School of Arts at Bard College. Schrader’s work has recently been exhibited at U.S. Blues, P!, Regina Rex, Cleopatra’s Greenpoint, and Silvershed, all in NY, as well as The Richmond Center for the Visual Arts at the University of Western Michigan. Schrader has collaborated with the artist Hayley Silverman on performances at MoMA PS1 and MINI/Goethe-Institut Curatorial Residencies Ludlow 38.
Located in Baltimore, Metropolitan Structures provides a framework for dialogue on the intersecting realms of art, architecture, and contemporary culture. Invited artists are extended opportunities to present recent work and/or to utilize the confines of the space to develop a new project.
