Album (News 8)
As part of the Here, Data exhibition, Mertz created a set of 8 works to be accessed directly online and received through a smartphone. Responding to data and visual feeds from current news sources each week of the exhibition, these works are part of the artist's larger, ongoing Album series, which creates and groups series of works designed to be viewed on a personal screen and delivered in sequence.

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Each week of the exhibition, Mertz chose a breaking news story and pulled the related data to strain and translate the information into essential color, light, and form. The process of distilling the data is performed on a phone, with the artist hijacking a series of applications to guide and force the data to reconstitute. The work thus exists entirely within the digital sphere and technology of a phone.

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In addition to being on view at the gallery, Album (News 8) was also available virtually to the public through a free sign-up service that delivered the works to individuals' phones in real time during the run of the exhibition.
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Week 1:
Government Reopens, Shutdown Cost $3 Billion
Reuters
Release Date 1.30.2019

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Week 2:
(This Is) State of The Union/(Here Is) Response
C-Span, Telemundo, BBC World
Release Date 2.6.2019
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Week 3:
Magnetic North Is Drifting
Visual data from Australia Broadcasting Company Asia Pacific, Yahoo Tech, RT Network, NASA
Release Date 2.13.2019
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Week 4:
Lawsuits Filed in Japan Seeking Recognition of Gay Marriage
Asahi Shimbun, Mainichi Shimbun, Channel NewsAsia
Release Date 2.20.2019

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Week 5:
How Artificial Intelligence Is Solving (And Creating) Problems for Music, CAPTCHA, And More
The Verge, Vox Media
Sound collaboration with Travis Joseph Wright
Release Date 2.27.2019
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Week 6:
Dangerous Weather
Visual data from The New York Times & Wired Magazine
Release Date: 3.7.2019
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Week 7:
The Times They Are Financial/It’s The Money, Honey
Visual data from Financial Times, Forbes, MarketWatch
Release Date 3.13.2019
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Week 8:
It's All There
Visual data from 50+ news sources
Sound collaboration with Travis Joseph Wright
Release Date 3.20.2019
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Copyright © 2019. All Rights Reserved. Artist retains all rights and ownership of works. Participants may view works for personal use only.