Progress...

As an artist I communicate the struggle of opposing forces of environment and technology.  Urban sprawl and the subsequent eradication of ecosystems, is a consequence of the rise of urban centers, over population and the constant drain of natural resources. In today’s modern world, there is a growing friction between the man-made world and the natural world.  Even with advancements in technology that aim to preserve the environment, the pollution and destruction that technology and industry has created cannot bring back the pureness in nature that we once had.

My video project focuses on the pollution of water, a necessity for all life forms.  With contamination levels rising and the world’s supply of freshwater diminishing, this is a disturbing and imperative issue our society faces.  I represent this through the use of clashing colors and sound. The change from calm ocean waves, cool blue tones and beautiful water landscapes to an unnerving clash of white noise, rampant city sounds, and sharp bangs combined with toxic hues of green and brown emphasize the severity of the issue our community faces.  My intention is to stir up unsettling emotions in the viewer and prompt dialogue around the issue my work brings to the forefront of the viewer’s mind.

The Work of Cao Fei

In my Contemporary Art and Theory class I took a few semesters ago I came across the work of Cao Fei, a Chinese artist based in Bejing known for her multimedia installations and videos.  She mixes social commentary, popular aesthetics, references to Surrealism, and documentary conventions in her films and installations.  One of the most interesting and famous works of Cao Fei is entitled RMB City.  RMB City (2007) is a part of her online works built in Second Life, a vast 3D online world that has operated since 2003.  Users can purchase real estate, set up businesses, and engage in all manner of virtual interactions.

"Named after Chinese money, RMB City shows a perverse view of Beijing- a blend of communism, socialism, and capitalism.  Like Beijing itself, it is constantly under construction, candy-striped smoke stacks suggest continuous industrial production and ships move good swiftly in and out of port.  A giant shopping cart, filled with skyscrapers and religious monuments, floats nearby; and Tiananmen Square has been converted into a swimming pool"

Her work comments on the rapid urbanization and economic development of China and its effect of social interactions.  Her work is unusual but nonetheless interesting and powerful.  The use of an online virtual world, that have become so popular for teens and young adults in past years, to create artwork allows viewers to interact with her work on a whole other level.  While her digital prints of her virtual world can be found in galleries around the world, viewers can login to Second Life and not only view but play in her computer made world.  Her work is another addition to the vast world of digital media art.  I hope you all enjoy her work as much as I do and for more information click on the link to her website below! :)

http://caofei.com

Kimsooja

Kimsooja

Kimsooja is a Korean born artist, who lives and works in New York, Paris, and Seoul, and specializes in video, performance, photography, and installation art. Kimsooja addresses the issues of the displaced self and questioning conditions of humanity.  One of her most famous works, A Needle Woman (2005), is a six channel video projection on a 10:40 loop that shows the artist standing still. with her back to the viewer,  "in the middle of main thoroughfares in various cities throughout the world" (http://www.gf.org/fellows/17420-kimsooja).  This piece brings up questions of issues dealing with identity, gender, culture, and migration.  This piece is very interesting in the way it draws the viewer into the piece, almost as if there are standing with or in place of the artist herself.  The lack of sound and anonymity of the still figure are intriguing and make for an unsettling atmosphere.  The subtleness of Kimsooja's work invites the viewer think about the message being given and its implications. 

A Needle Woman (2005)

6 channel video projection, 10:40 loop, silent

Intersection Zine

For my Zine project I wanted to pay homage to my artwork I have made this year and use it as a reflection of my Senior Exhibition project.  I've worked with this concept on other projects but my Zine actually shows work i've made, artists' works that inspire me, and inspirational or meaningful quotes.  Never having made a Zine before I am quite pleased with the final project :).  This will be a great addition to my art portfolio and a keepsake of my senior year work.  Hope you all enjoy!

The Work of Nancy Burson

Nancy Burson is an American artist and photographer who lives and works in New York.  She is accredited as being one of the first artists to combine digital media technology with photographic portraiture.  Burson’s career soared in the late 1960’s after her collaboration project with MIT engineers to develop an aging machine.  This technology, later used by the F.B.I. to search for missing children and adults years after their disappearance, allows one to age enhance and alter the human appearance by warping and stretching digital portraits.  Burson applied this technology to the development of composite photographs that are showcased in her book, Composites: Computer-Generated Portraits, published in 1982, that includes her famous work First Beauty Composite (1982).  Burson expanded her work in 2000 with the creation of The Human Race Machine, a computerized console that allows participants to resemble other races.  Nancy Burson’s work combines “art and innovation in a way that [challenges] photographic truth at the birth of digital manipulation”. 

Both The Human Race Machine (2000) and First Beauty Composite (1982) aim to challenge photographic truths and act as globally uniting works to rid gender and racial stereotypes.  Burson’s work takes unusual and varying forms that draw the viewer in with their ‘perfection’ or ‘stereotypes’ and invites the viewer to confront these social stigmas and breakdown how we perceive ourselves and others in society.  The far-reaching implications of Burson’s work make her not only a powerful artist but also an important activist for social change and individual and communal acceptance.

First and Second Beauty Composites (Left: Bette Davis, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Sophia Loren, Marilyn Monroe. Right: Jane Fonda, Jacqueline Bisset, Diane Keaton, Brooke Shields, Meryl Streep), 1982

 The Human Race Machine, 2000

This assignment required one to create a parody or pastiche of an artist or art movement.  For this assignment I decided to create a pastiche of the work of Bansky. After completing my study abroad experience in London last semester, I have been very intrigued and inspired by the work of famous graffiti and street artist, Banksy.  Banksy uses stencils to create graffiti works that pop up overnight on buildings, streets, or really anything that can be painted on.  For this project I chose to create my own stencil and graffiti art that comments on the rising level of water pollution, especially in highly populated city centers.  The first image is my stencil and graffiti work while the image below is how I see this image being applied in a city environment like Bansky would display his art.

I had a lot of trouble using Illustrator in the beginning but finally got the hang of it after awhile.  Considering that this is the first time I have ever used the program I am happy with the final product and hope to continue learning how to use Illustrator more and creating stronger images :).

Photo Montage- Fantastical & Realistic

For this project I chose to use photographs I took on my recent semester study abroad trip.  I visited many countries (England, Scotland, Italy, Holland, and Wales) and wanted to create a photo montage of the different landscapes and monuments I encountered.  In many of the cities I visited I was surrounded by historical architecture, ruins of past civilizations, and beautiful landscapes that I wanted to emphasize in my works.

For my fantastical images I emphasized this history through the use of famous historical sites and monuments in combination with elements of whimsy such as fairies, an "Alice in Wonderland"-like landscape, and high texture with a saturated and colorful color palette.  I found the image a Scottish landscape and castle with fairies in the foreground to be my favorite and best montage work. I took advantage of masking layers, blurring tool, dodge and burn tools, and various adjustment layers to make various photos blend to create a believable singular image.

For my realistic images I used notable historical monuments and landscapes to create natural and believable landscapes.  I used the same techniques for these images as I did in my fantastical images to make the various photos blend and fit together to look like one image. The photo with the image of the castle is a combination of photos from Scotland and Wales while the image of the fountain are photos from Rome, Italy. While I find the Italy photo montage to be more interesting aesthetically, I believe the castle photo looks more realistic.

Overall, I found this project to be challenging not only conceptually but also technically by using my photoshop skills to make the photo montages realistic/fantastical.  I feel that I gave a good attempt at both issues and hope you all enjoy my works. I would appreciate and comments or advice you all have on the works :) Thanks!

Fantastical:

Realistic: