Hurdy Gurdy Man (Chrysanthemums)

Hurdy Gurdy Man is an utterly contemporary update to the classic still life, and a signature example of the artist’s work. Steinkamp is at the forefront of artists dealing with digital projection and manipulation. Like most of the artist’s other video installations, Hurdy Gurdy Man explores ideas of motion and perception, testing our responses to forms that are simultaneously familiar and impossible. The contrast between the naturalistic appearance of the flower blossoms in the piece and the artificiality of their movement is an example of the disorienting experiences we construct in our digitized world.