Dayton Visual Arts Center Newsletter, Sketches, Volume 15, Number 4, Summer 2008

photo by Andy Snow
www.andysnow.com

How do you like my new glasses?

No, they aren’t one of my art projects (like the pink triangle hat in my office). I donned these specs during a recent visit to daytaOhio, part of Ohio’s Third Frontier. I joined a few artists (Tess Cortes, Andy Snow, Terry Welker, and Jud Yalkut) who were invited to explore how new technologies might be used to create and present art. We took turns wearing these light-up glasses, which allowed us to enter a “cave” and cyber-fly over and through the Pantheon. I don’t watch much sci-fi or play many video games, so becoming part of this pancaked past and future was a fairly novel experience. I won’t pretend I understand how these things work, but it was fun, even if they wouldn't let me take the glasses home.

We are about to take DVAC further into the future, too. The Dayton Visual Arts Center turns 17 years old on June 1, 2008. It's a nice long time for an organization to be around, but it also means we’ve grown big enough to have outlived some of our processes. Many of you gave our future a test drive with online auction reservations – as unqualified success. There were about 100 more people at the auction this year, and we didn't even need to furnish special glasses.

Some of you who are reading this are undoubtedly thinking, "It's about time!" But, I would guess some of you might feel a bit left out, with all this emphasis on the Web site and online features. As we are embracing new ways to ensure our organization does not lose its history or become irrelevant in the future, please know the touch you are used to – a friendly face in the office, original art in the gallery and the invitation to come be a part of our “real world” of programs and events – isn’t going away.