Join artist Kevin Siwoff for the launch of The Basix Operating Manual, published by Drip Pitcher Press. Siwoff will be joined for a discussion on unboxing culture by artists Tom Galle and Clynton Lowry.

The Basix Operating Manual is a printed component and an extension of Basix, a mock e-commerce platform and installation artwork first installed at 9To5.tv in Atlanta, Georgia in September 2017. The book presents installation views, photographs of various objects from within the Basix world, as well as an artist interview providing further context for the themes of ubiquitous e-commerce, YouTube unboxing culture, and heterotopia within the work.

During the event, Siwoff will screen some of the unboxing videos from Basix, as well as lead a panel discussion on unboxing culture and its parallels in the art world. Join on Facebook here

The unboxing videos take inspiration from the widely popular genre of YouTube videos, in which YouTube creators record themselves, opening the hottest new consumer items. Advertisers often sponsor YouTubers to unbox their products— thus transforming the creators into arbiters of consumerism. In Basix, unboxing agents are instructed to observe and question whether an object is “destined for the pedestal”, in other words, to re-examine the definition of the art object within the ready-made consumer experience.

Kevin Siwoff’s works have been shown in numerous galleries, festivals, and arts institutions including the US Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale, New Museum’s IDEAS City Festival, Museum of the City of New York, Red Bull Studios NY, and DUMBO Arts Festival. His work has been cited in Artnet, Flavorpill, The Creators Project, and Paper Magazine. In 2014, Siwoff was an inaugural member of the New Museum’s New Inc. arts and technology incubator. He is currently an adjunct professor at NYU.