Doug Aitken ─ 100 Yrs

One of the visionary multimedia artists of our time, Doug Aitken has worked in every medium: from architecture and photography, to sculpture and film, to installations and interventions.

While Aitken’s art varies in both theme and context, his installations encourage audience interaction and communal gathering, whether this is accomplished by staging a series of “happenings,” such as those that took place at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, during his Sleepwalkers exhibition in 2007, or by the creation of large-scale, outdoor installations such as 2009’s Sonic Pavilion in Brazil, where he amplified the sounds of the Earth. His film and photography often explore themes of displacement and travel, united by his keen awareness of motion, sound, and color that come together to create his signature, dreamlike landscapes and the futurist aesthetic for which he has become known. His projects defy convention, creating new perspectives by challenging traditional linear narratives.

Aitken has collaborated with talents from a broad range of disciplines, from Werner Herzog and Rem Koolhaas to Lou Reed. This beautifully designed book, made in close collaboration with the artist, is the first to examine Aitken’s artistic development and surveys his work in all mediums.

Doug Aitken is an award-winning American multimedia artist. Bice Curiger is curator of the Zurich Kunsthaus. Aaron Betsky is the director of the Cincinnati Art Museum. Kerry Brougher is chief curator at the Smithsonian Institution’s Hirshhorn Museum. Tim Griffin is director of the art collective The Kitchen.