Cory Arcangel, Spock, and the internet sewing machine: photos from the 2013 Armory art show

Every year, hundreds of art galleries move their wares to Piers 92 and 94 on the Hudson River to show off all the best stuff in one place. It's called the Armory Show, in tribute to the 1913 art show that introduced America to European avant-garde painters like Picasso and Matisse. 100 years later, the contemporary avant-garde is more wired, armed with neon tubes, algorithms, and engineering. There's a lot of beautiful and weird art on display at the show — in particular, a sewing machine printing out Google results, one pinhole at a time — but here's what caught our eye.

Photography by Dante D'Orazio

Captive Reflection by Leandro Erlich Behind the broken window, the screen shows overlapping scenes powered by a Mac mini.
Timeless Standards by Cory Arcangel Watermarking as art, courtesy of the art-world's most prominent Warhol acolyte.
Jim Campbell This cloud of lights creates shadow figures by turning off bulbs, working as a kind of makeshift monitor.
Jim Campbell This LED array was another monitor-hack, showing a figure walking, stumbling, and finally crawling from left to right.
You will kill/I forget by Jenny Holzer A conceptual piece projected onto the side of Rockefeller Center.
Meteor Lecture by Klaus Lutz This early film exhibit projects a silent film onto a hovering balloon.
Marika and Nino by Justin Lieberman A column of vintage cameras, held together by Miffy glue.
petpurrr by Tony Oursler HD projection-mapping onto a fiberglass form, and easily the creepiest thing we saw all day.
Alyson Shotz These mathematical curves are rendered entirely with pins and string.
Fireman's Glove with Photograph by Roman Signer The name says it all, really.
Singer by Dave Cole This 20s-era sewing machine pokes holes in a ribbon according to the Google results for the search, "I am a 1920s Singer Sewing Machine how do I work."
Untitled (The Meaning Of Life Is That It Stops) by Barbara Kruger The famous artist and designer weighed in with her usual combination of sans-serif aphorisms and collage.
Etc by Peter Liversidge These are not actually performance artists. They're just working.
Cell Division by James Clar In a show full of fluorescent lights, this was a highlight.
Sassaly by Keith Sonnier A less geometric take on fluorescent sculpture.
No. 368 by Rana Begum One of a series of sculptures based on optical illusions.
Triangle, Hexagon, and Monagon by Monir Farmafarmaian A series of manipulated mirrors.
The crowd was well-dressed.
Study for Leaving by Anthony McCall and Serie Concentrico by Hector Zamora This Sao Paolo gallery specializes in geometric studies.
Vulcan Leather (Ballhawk and Prosper) by Eric Yahnker Spock playing baseball; what more do you need?
Perimeter Studies by Conrad Shawcross Fun with geometry and metal.
Giant Teeth by James Capper Genuinely just a bunch of power tools sitting on concrete blocks.
The Contemporary side of the show holds the work of over 100 galleries.