The work was filmed in roadside motel rooms across the United States, including those in and around Pittsburgh, symbolizing human mobility, progress, and westward expansion. The transitory spaces are interchangeable and do not provide a clear sense of place. The viewer, transported into alien but recognizable surroundings, is subtly asked to reflect upon our own species’ infringement of the natural environment.
Carnegie Museum of Art’s online exhibition series is dedicated to the museum’s film and video collection, which began in May 2020 with Rachel Rose: Lake Valley. This extension of the museum’s curatorial program into the digital sphere offers a new channel for local and global audiences to experience time-based media works previously only accessible in person.
Doug Aitken: migration (empire) is organized by curatorial assistant Ashley McNelis.