Video still from Control Signals (2022). Image courtesy of the artist.1ON1 with James Connolly
Nicky Ni | August 20, 2022
Control Signals, a solo show by Chicago-based artist and educator James Connolly recently opened at The Latent Space, located in the Irving Park neighborhood of Chicago. Arriving at the gallery space, and even before entering, we can see through the gallery’s facade windows the protagonist of this exhibition, a commanding audio/video installation composed of 19 Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitors of various models and sizes. These monitors are arranged into four rows on a display shelf, transmitting synchronized visuals that undulate and transform on the screens as though a specter lives inside them. The images themselves are hypnotizing, ranging from video test cards (used in analog TV to calibrate colors), snippets of broadcasted news such as Trump giving a speech or a headshot of Elon Musk, to trippy liquidy colors that are like lighting gels melting into each other, emitting alarming luminosity. Inside the space, this stroboscopic experience is further enhanced by a noise that corresponds to the vibrations of the images. Audiovisual signals seem to be constantly on the brink of losing control.
From his earlier screenprints, glitch videos to more current real-time projects that involve hacking and altering digital and analog systems, James’s interests seem to always reside at undercovering and undermining power structures—both technological and political. Once a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, James has been teaching at its Department of Film, Video, New Media and Animation since 2013. Apart from teaching, he is also the Collection Manager at Roger Brown Study Collection and freelance database developer and archivist.
At the occasion of his solo exhibition, Nicky Ni from TNL has had the pleasure to talk with James to uncover some of the concepts and technicality behind his latest work, Control Signals.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
From his earlier screenprints, glitch videos to more current real-time projects that involve hacking and altering digital and analog systems, James’s interests seem to always reside at undercovering and undermining power structures—both technological and political. Once a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, James has been teaching at its Department of Film, Video, New Media and Animation since 2013. Apart from teaching, he is also the Collection Manager at Roger Brown Study Collection and freelance database developer and archivist.
At the occasion of his solo exhibition, Nicky Ni from TNL has had the pleasure to talk with James to uncover some of the concepts and technicality behind his latest work, Control Signals.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Nicky Ni: Congratulations on opening this incredible show. Perhaps first and foremost, we should get some of the technical terms out of the way. For people, like myself, who have never opened up the backside of a CRT monitor, can you elaborate on what is at work behind this incredible audiovisual installation? What is a CRT Flux Phaser? And what is RGB.VGA.VOLT video synthesis system?
James Connolly: Thank you! The large-scale installation in this show contains 19 prepared CRT monitors are being driven by DIY tools I’ve developed: RGB.VGA.VOLT, which I originally made in 2014, and the CRT Flux Phaser, which I just released in 2022. RGB.VGA.VOLT is a video synthesis tool. It creates bright visuals by bending audio into video through a hacked VGA (video graphics array—the pre-HDMI video cable standard for computers) using very specific frequencies that provoke interesting imagery.
The CRT Flux Phaser is a new system I finished in 2022 that electromagnetically manipulates the video of a CRT by sending separate low-frequency audio waveforms into 4 hand-wound electromagnets surrounding the electron guns of a cathode ray tube. It’s kind of like a DIY version of Nam June Park’s Wobbulator that can be digitally programmed in endless ways. For the exhibition Control Signals, I built Max software that randomly cycles through over 40 different pre-programmed “events” that range from colorful visuals, electromagnetically manipulated video test cards or live views of Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Events contain algorithmic and random elements, so unexpected and unique things can occur without exact repetition over time.
The CRT Flux Phaser is a new system I finished in 2022 that electromagnetically manipulates the video of a CRT by sending separate low-frequency audio waveforms into 4 hand-wound electromagnets surrounding the electron guns of a cathode ray tube. It’s kind of like a DIY version of Nam June Park’s Wobbulator that can be digitally programmed in endless ways. For the exhibition Control Signals, I built Max software that randomly cycles through over 40 different pre-programmed “events” that range from colorful visuals, electromagnetically manipulated video test cards or live views of Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Events contain algorithmic and random elements, so unexpected and unique things can occur without exact repetition over time.
CRT Flux Phaser. Video courtesy of the artist.
NN: The way you install and arrange these CRT monitors has a lot of historical references: from Fluxus artist Nam June Paik—as you have already mentioned—to the Pictures Generation artist Gretchen Bender. Just to name a couple. For an era where CRT TV was a household item, serving as a mouthpiece of mass-produced images, the inclusion of CRT monitors in an artwork can be perceived as a critique to consumerism and the invasiveness of mass media. You mentioned that you thrifted a lot of your CRT monitors around the 2010s, when flatscreens predominantly replaced their predecessors. Nowadays, CRT monitors can be seen at museums to display older video works more-or-less in their original formats; other times, they are treated as nostalgic objects. What are CRT monitors to you, and why do you think it is relevant to study, hack, and repurpose them in contemporary times?
JC: To me, cathode ray tubes are the antithesis of the contemporary electronic devices we use daily in 2022. My use of them is purposeful, and for both political and aesthetic reasons. As we merge more closely with the consumer technologies we carry in our bags, pockets, or on our wrists, their functionalities and surveillance systems can become further out of view. Our smartphones, tablets, watches and the apps and software they run on are mysterious black boxes that give us access to unprecedented information, but contain hidden functionalities that track, surveil, control, and monetize us in ways we can’t comprehend. Information and data are the new capital, and these devices dictate what we receive as inputs and communicate as outputs. They convert us into data commodities that can be sold for further commercial gain. As artists, these devices even dictate our creative outputs—controlling what tools, protocols, formats, and encodings we can generate within a market that is increasingly centralized across a few corporations.
The cathode ray tube is a very dumb device. When you send it a dirty or unstable video signal, it won’t show the “NO SIGNAL” screen that today’s televisions and projectors have built in. They won’t track the imagery you’re displaying on them or use algorithms to identify and generate metadata on the content you’re showing. They don’t require a specific proprietary file format that a given company has a financial stake in. They take raw signals and display them through electrons—the same particles that partially make up our bodies, so there is something very unalienating about them compared to digital displays. They feel different. They are also open boxes. They can be prepared, hacked, cracked, modified, and repurposed for aesthetic or conceptual reasons, and there is no user agreement you are violating by jailbreaking them to behave in new ways. I like the freedom they offer aesthetically and what they signify politically in the era of data capitalism and the surveillance state.
For me, it’s important to be influenced by but not just repeat what artists have done with CRTs in the past. I try to extend their potential by using new tools and systems. For instance, all of my CRT work hybridizes analog and digital tools. I still work more in the digital realm than I do analog—most of my studio time is spent coding software that can generate imagery that feels completely new and unexpected, and then converting those moments into audio/video compositions. Once I get to know a system, I add complexity to it so that I’m still engaged when using it to create live performances or edited videos. But CRTs do have downsides. They are a huge pain to move and install. They are also dangerous to work with and can kill you if you handle them improperly, even if they are unplugged (don’t open or modify a CRT unless you know how to safely discharge it). Something about this also makes them exciting for me.
The cathode ray tube is a very dumb device. When you send it a dirty or unstable video signal, it won’t show the “NO SIGNAL” screen that today’s televisions and projectors have built in. They won’t track the imagery you’re displaying on them or use algorithms to identify and generate metadata on the content you’re showing. They don’t require a specific proprietary file format that a given company has a financial stake in. They take raw signals and display them through electrons—the same particles that partially make up our bodies, so there is something very unalienating about them compared to digital displays. They feel different. They are also open boxes. They can be prepared, hacked, cracked, modified, and repurposed for aesthetic or conceptual reasons, and there is no user agreement you are violating by jailbreaking them to behave in new ways. I like the freedom they offer aesthetically and what they signify politically in the era of data capitalism and the surveillance state.
For me, it’s important to be influenced by but not just repeat what artists have done with CRTs in the past. I try to extend their potential by using new tools and systems. For instance, all of my CRT work hybridizes analog and digital tools. I still work more in the digital realm than I do analog—most of my studio time is spent coding software that can generate imagery that feels completely new and unexpected, and then converting those moments into audio/video compositions. Once I get to know a system, I add complexity to it so that I’m still engaged when using it to create live performances or edited videos. But CRTs do have downsides. They are a huge pain to move and install. They are also dangerous to work with and can kill you if you handle them improperly, even if they are unplugged (don’t open or modify a CRT unless you know how to safely discharge it). Something about this also makes them exciting for me.
Installation view of Control Signals at The Latent Space. Image courtesy of the artist.
NN: To follow up—and more particularly—with your installation at The Latent Space: how did you arrive at the decision of presenting these monitors as such? Were other forms of installation considered? What were some of the concerns and challenges?
JC: For this show I decided to just go big and essentially bring my whole studio into the gallery. I was interested in creating a monolith of monitors that viewers could lose themselves in. Every monitor looks and feels a little different in the way they react to the colors and electromagnetic manipulations I’m sending them, so they can be captivating to watch over time. I spent the past two years modifying all of these monitors, and it felt like a proper first public showing. My challenges included safely powering and wiring 4 separate audio signals through audio amplifiers to 76 different electromagnets in 19 different monitors—a truly absurd set up. 4 of the monitors had a tendency to turn off when they received low frequency audio signals around 7 Hz, so I disconnected their magnets, which created a nice clear display of the imagery being “wobbulated” in other monitors.
NN: I’m intrigued by the Cracked Ray Tube performance that you co-performed with your collaborator Kyle Evans. Could you talk a little bit about how you and Kyle planned for the performance? And more broadly, how do collaborations and the model of resource-sharing work for you?
JC: Now that I’ve built the CRT Flux Phaser, I plan on creating new performances and studio videos with it, which I will be showing and releasing soon. I’ll also be heading to Austin, Texas to organize a show with Kyle Evans in January 2023. Additionally, I also hope to program new Chicago events and exhibitions that showcase the amazing artists working in the realtime audio/video/new media/performance realm. My favorite part of the Control Signals exhibition has been the live performances. It’s amazing to show work alongside Angelina Almukhametova, Maryam Faridani, Nick Briz, and Sky Goodman—some of my favorite Chicago artists. This city is full of brilliant people who create work that crosses genres and mediums as these artists do, and I’d like to organize more events that showcase and support them.
Cracked Ray Tube (Kyle Evans and James Connolly) performing at The Laten Space on Saturday, August 13, 2022. Video courtesy of the artists.
NN: Last but not least, could you share a little more about what your next project will be, or anything that you are excited about in the upcoming months?
JC: Now that I’ve built the CRT Flux Phaser, I plan on creating new performances and studio videos with it, which I
will be showing and releasing soon. I’ll also be heading to Austin, Texas to organize a show with Kyle Evans in January 2023. Additionally, I also hope to program new Chicago events and exhibitions that showcase the amazing artists working in the realtime audio/video/new media/performance realm. My favorite part of the Control Signals exhibition has been the live performances. It’s amazing to show work alongside Angelina Almukhametova, Maryam Faridani, Nick Briz, and Sky Goodman—some of my favorite Chicago artists. This city is full of brilliant people who create work that crosses genres and mediums as these artists do, and I’d like to organize more events that showcase and support them.
will be showing and releasing soon. I’ll also be heading to Austin, Texas to organize a show with Kyle Evans in January 2023. Additionally, I also hope to program new Chicago events and exhibitions that showcase the amazing artists working in the realtime audio/video/new media/performance realm. My favorite part of the Control Signals exhibition has been the live performances. It’s amazing to show work alongside Angelina Almukhametova, Maryam Faridani, Nick Briz, and Sky Goodman—some of my favorite Chicago artists. This city is full of brilliant people who create work that crosses genres and mediums as these artists do, and I’d like to organize more events that showcase and support them.
NN: Incredible! I am really looking forward to more programs to come.
Control Signals by James Connolly at The Latent Space until September 10, 2022. A DIY audio/video synthesis workshop will take place on Sunday, August 21 at 2:00 pm. Control Signals Performances #2 will take place on the closing day, Saturday, September 10, 2022, at 8:30pm.