Doug Aitken dials in with the American engineer who made the first cell phone call
For Doug Aitken’s most recent work, New Era, the artist elevates his signature film installations into a totally immersive experience at 303 Gallery in New York. The 10-minute-long video loop centres on the cell phone, featuring interview clips with American engineer Martin Cooper – the man who made the first handheld cell phone call.
Aitken worked on the piece for about two years after having an epiphany in a coffee shop that literally everyone around him was on their phones. His research led him to Cooper, and the men ultimately spent two days filming an interview discussing the cell phone and the ultimate impact it had on the world.
‘I had an enormous amount of content, but I wasn’t interested in making a documentary or even a document. I decided to use just a few fragments of the conversation– almost like music notes – and embed them in the film,’ said Aitken. ‘The video is not so much about Martin Cooper, even though he is the only human in the work. He takes you to a different place; he rehumanises this moment of radical technology and reframes it within a person’s life.’
New Era (still), 2018, by Doug Aitken.
Aitken reconfigured the standard white cube space to best display the film. ‘We were really disruptive in how we took the architecture from a four-sided-room to a six-sided-one with mirrors that reflect [the screens] and speakers that project sound from different parts of the room,’ Aitken says. The result transports the viewer into a kaleidoscopic world, amplified through the video itself, with fragmented images of circuitry grids and boards and Motorola cell phones that spin and distort, juxtaposed with soothing, landscape panoramas and Cooper’s interview.
‘I am trying to articulate these views of the world and show the inherent tension and juxtaposition of the landscapes and the grids, repeating and repeating,’ explains Aitken. The artist worked with composer Terry Riley, who drafted a few piano pieces for the images, to create a soundtrack that wavers between soundscape and song.
A curtained hallway branches off from the room and leads to Jungle, a sign that spells out ‘jungle’ three times in myriad coloured lights. Jungle, which also appears New Era (Aitken often references pieces of his work in other works), refocuses the viewer on a single concept after the cacophony of the film experience. The total effect is contemplative, rather than chaotic, a meditation on technology and the human experience.
Installation view of ‘Doug Aitken: New Era’ at 303 Gallery, New York, video installation with three channels of video (colour, sound), three projections, freestanding room, PVC projection screens, mirrors.
New Era (still), 2018, by Doug Aitken.
Installation view of ‘Doug Aitken: New Era’ at 303 Gallery, New York, video installation with three channels of video (colour, sound), three projections, freestanding room, PVC projection screens, mirrors.
New Era (still), 2018, by Doug Aitken.
New Era (still), 2018, by Doug Aitken.
New Era (still), 2018, by Doug Aitken.
Installation view of ‘Doug Aitken: New Era’ at 303 Gallery, New York, video installation with three channels of video (colour, sound), three projections, freestanding room, PVC projection screens, mirrors.
Jungle, 2018, by Doug Aitken.
INFORMATION
‘New Era’ is on view at 303 Gallery until 25 May. The exhibition will then travel to Galerie Eva Presenhuber in Zurich where it will run from 9 June – 21 July. For more information, visit the 303 Gallery website and Galerie Eva Presenhuber website
ADDRESS
303 Gallery
555 W 21st Street
New York
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Explore Hiroshima through the eyes of those who rebuilt itJapan’s architectural phoenix continues to rise. ‘The Hiroshima Architecture Exhibition 2025’ explores a legacy of memory and modernism across 23 architects and artist groups
-
At Design Miami Paris, an artful menagerie tells a story of scent and natureVikram Goyal and Sissel Tolaas present ‘The Soul Garden’ at Design Miami Paris (until 26 October 2025), ‘a contemporary fable where the animals take new forms, reimagined for the world we live in today’
-
Check in at Aman Rosa Alpina, a modern Alpine cocoonSan Cassiano’s historic hotel has been reborn as a pared-back Aman refuge in the heart of the Dolomites
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekAs we approach Frieze, our editors have been trawling the capital's galleries. Elsewhere: a 'Wineglass' marathon, a must-see film, and a visit to a science museum
-
June Leaf’s New York survey captures a life in motionJune Leaf made art in many forms for over seven decades, with an unstoppable energy and fierce appetite leading her to rationalise life in her own terms.
-
Jamel Shabazz’s photographs are a love letter to Prospect ParkIn a new book, ‘Prospect Park: Photographs of a Brooklyn Oasis, 1980 to 2025’, Jamel Shabazz discovers a warmer side of human nature
-
The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles launches the seventh iteration of its highly anticipated artist biennialOne of the gallery's flagship exhibitions, Made in LA showcases the breadth and depth of the city's contemporary art scene
-
Inside a Courtney Love-inspired art exhibition in New YorkLiza Jo Eilers looks to the glory days of Hole at an exhibition at Grimm New York
-
Thomas Prior’s photography captures the uncanny fragility of American lifeA new book unites two decades of the photographer’s piercing, uneasy work
-
Apple unveils its next-gen camera in a powerful new photography exhibitionThe new iPhone 17 Pro Max takes centre stage in a New York exhibition where artists Inez & Vinoodh, Mickalene Thomas, and Trunk Xu explore the theme of joy
-
Central Park’s revitalised Delacorte Theater gears up for a new futureEnnead Architects helmed an ambitious renovation process that has given the New York City cultural landmark a vibrant and more accessible future