A LOVING COPY

Works by Lucas Mascatello, Sonya Kozlova, Vince Patti, Elaine Jen, Emma Strebel, Jonathan Small, and Rachel Wark of New York University professor Meleko Mogoski’s senior seminar, Curating and Exhibition Systems explore the semiotic relationship between two kinds of faithfulness: that which is expressed towards people and that which is employed in the creation of an imitation or a copy.

Fidelity’s two significations are rarely considered to be related in any semiotic way beyond their shared root meaning of faithfulness, further clarifying the distinction between exactness and love. Ultimately exploring faithfulness as a constructed matrix of relationships, fidelity in romantic relationships allows for a space of ambiguity to investigate identity of the self and boundaries of the other.

Fidelity further examines relationships between media, people, and different artists’ practices by asking what it means to be faithful in the digital age with specific consideration of accuracy or loyalty to an original or a lover. These ideas feel particularly poignant as relationships are increasingly judged by their appearance through the lens of a camera phone or on meticulously curated platforms for public consumption.