For the sake of clarity, this project focuses on two modes of presentation of art online, which we’re calling The Hustler and The Carer.* The Hustler refers to the form of reciprocity in which a product or service is being presented (for sale) to a potential user (based upon analytics culled from taste-expressing consumers). A great example of this kind of reciprocity is the virtual context—the ad spaces—in which Add-Art operates (i.e. The Banner Ad Surrogate). In contrast, The Carer refers to a form of reciprocity in which personal requests for intimate communication are offered as a form of support. These requests are typically not associated with economic transactions but rather a reciprocity of attention.

However you decide to relate these artists works to The Hustler and The Carer, please reconsider the way in which you reciprocate their presentation. Instead of discarding their work as additional requests for your monetary support, act out your ability to extend your attention. Contribute to their request for conversation. This form of support is vital to the current development of our language of seeing and our vocabulary for caring.

Now is undeniably a good moment to consider the behaviors we adopt from the Internet, to think about the seeming discordance of visual art and the Internet (in opposition to the Internet’s assimilation of music or film), and to question the function of art’s conceptual doubles, it’s Double Act.
Artists: Graham Coreil-Allen, Sybille Hotz, Michael Ruglio-Misurell, Thomas Martin, Cynthia Mason, Bradley Wester, WITH (withyou.co.uk)
*To make contact with the artists and/or read the extended statement about the show please go to http://tobeyalbrightandfriends.com/curated_DoubleAct.html