DebStep — Geodes, Caves, Topography
Reviewed by Leah Davis

Sometimes art is just fun. At least, that was my first impression of DebStep’s Geodes, Caves, Topography. This “modular video synthesis and video feedback work” incorporates audio from J. Bagist’s Decomposition 1 to create a playful meditation on sound and color. I didn’t feel compelled to look for a deeper meaning in Geodes, Caves, Topography. As “an interdisciplinary artist in Boston, MA whose work explores video synthesis, video animation, photography, and the internet,” DebStep creates work that’s outrageous, bright, and of-the-moment in a memey sort of way. You’re just as likely to find her work ambiently lighting up the dance floor at a festival as you are to find it hanging on a gallery wall. Because of this, I felt like DepStep was inviting me to take this experience at face value. But I lied about first impressions. Technically, my very first reaction to Geodes was to mentally yell “FINAL FORM MUSIC VISUALIZER!” while restraining myself from pumping both fists in the air. Immersive art runs the gamut from subtle to overt; intimate to outsized. Navigating a wide array of adjacent immersive experiences can cost an audience energy, even if they’re enjoying the immersion. As the fifth entry in a varied series of immersive video projects, Geodes, Caves, Topography was the riotous sea of kaleidoscoping 90s neon mental break we needed.