Month: December 2020
"Perish is about the belief that the future will embody the inevitable result of the human touch being minimized in many aspects of life and overtaken by technology. This decrease in materiality and physicalness is already seen current day because of how consumed and dependent humans are to technology. Technology-referenced by the static image of electronic imagery in the background- represents an ever-growing scientific innovation that seemingly encompasses the entire person in frame, alluding to what the future may hold. The human figure is created using charcoal with an emphasis on making the fingerprints prominent. This juxtaposition of the human touch of the fingers creating the figure, alongside the circuit visuals and glitchy movements is meant to convey the growing dominance of technology. The person in Perish symbolizes humanity and its possibility of being trapped into the grasp of being controlled by the science we created to better understand ourselves and the world we live in."
Clio Bravo
Clio Bravo
This project/ inquiry reflects my current situation during a period of crisis: repeating and re- repeating, a constant state of confusion, mourning, and uncertainty. “The Blah Library”, as its name states, is a cloud-library assembled by photographs, screenshots, videos, sounds, and objects. It tells the stories that had/are shaping and permeating my experience. What intersects me. It is not a linear or chronological tale. Nor is it about the political/social History of the US and / or Ecuador. Most of the time, it enunciates my nonconformities with social/political/personal life. Other times it narrates my saudades and what urges me to do. All of this is materialized through the figure of the library “a curated collection of sources of information and similar resources, selected by experts and made accessible to a defined community for reference or borrowing” (Wikipedia) In this case, my role as an artist is that of a collector and archaeologist of my own narrative. The drive behind all of this is the fight against oblivion, an urge to preserve the remnants of life beyond (whatever happens next).
Chuang Liu
Chuang Liu
"Block is a cuboid that was painted on three faces with different gray scales. When the light source shines on the block at a certain angle, the three surfaces become the same shade and blend into a two-dimensional shape. Photography wouldn’t exist without light. The block emphasizes the importance of light and how a simple shade can influence the way we observe objects. The correct method of seeing through eyes became ambiguous."
Block, digital photograph, 18x26, 2020
Christian Hincapie
Alexa Williamson
Alexa Williamson
"The goal of this piece was to directly confront the idea of what can be visible compared to what is considered accessible. The moon can be seen by anyone, but very few are able to get close to it or even interact with it. As a result, the moon becomes less of goal and more of a commodity or status symbol. This work represents how the moon is closer to us (Earth) than it appears to be. At the same time, the concept of it seems so far away and hard to interact with. By placing the moon as a bright light, it showcases something as approachable and yet untouchable to the viewer. Replicating that space of the moon helps to drive that idea of awareness forward."
Unnamed Moon, digital photograph, 2020
Shannon Heylin
Shannon Heylin
"I have been striving to elevate the female form as a subject matter from the art historical and voyeuristic male gaze that objectifies women. In The Protector, I am empowering the female form through this towering fox spirit in a surreal landscape. Foxes are represented in many cultures as tricksters or thieves. Commonly the fox is viewed in a negative light, but diving deeper into folklore reveals that many stories of the fox associate them with wisdom and helping humans as shapeshifters. For example, a female spirit would transform into a fox to protect women from evil men. Thus, the two-faced association, but reveals how the fox spirit is used as a wise guardian and protector for women. In The Protector, the female is not being belittled or objectified by men, but towering above the landscape and walking proudly. The color palette furthers this surreal atmosphere and is intentionally ambiguous with the race of the female figure so that anyone can identify with her and find protection and empowerment from it."
The Protector, acrylic on canvas, 16x18, 2020
anya alinea
anya alinea
SIMS_2020. 2020. HD Video.
A disquieting take on existence that begins with a seemingly absurd connection between the Mayan calendar and a Gotye song and ends but ends with a confusion of selfhood and a disguised empathy for others. Questioning the world as a series of simulations, alinea ultimately targets the siloed world-building that algorithmically builds fortresses around our own take on reality while keeping others’ versions at bay. -RW
Video transcript:
The world as we know it is fake. I know it is hard to believe but just hear me out. The year 2012 is the year civilization ended according to the Mayan’s highly detailed calendar. The prediction of such has been disputed but there is proof right in front of us that the year 2012 was the beginning of the end of times. 2012 was a very big year for music. “Somebody that I used to know” by Gotye featuring Kimbra was on the top of the billboard charts for 2012. Remove all of the vowels in the title and you get 13 individual letters. 13 is the number of main dieties in the Maya pantheon. Remove all of the consonants instead and you’re left with 9 individual letters. The Mayans believed that beneath the earth lay a realm consisting of nine layers called Xibalba. This is not a coincidence. This is the universe repeating significant numbers because that is what simulations do. They repeat the information put in them. Take a moment to self evaluate. Are you even here in this space, consuming this content? Are you truly here or are you just going through the motions as you have before. Executing each task with strangely average efficiency- not truly feeling like you’re living in the moment?…feeling robotic and mechanical…I know I am. I lay awake at night thinking about it. How has my life come to this? I’m simply a vessel for actions to be channeled into. I’m not here. I’m not real. I’m just a cog in the machine. I’ve accepted the fact that I’m not real. The world as we know it is not real. What proof is there that anything is? I can feel myself sitting, staring at this computer screen, the light drawing into the back of my eyes- but does that make it real? How can I trust my senses. My senses are just directives executed through programming. Are you real? Am I real? Are you god? Or am I? Am I you or are we one in the same? Who and what am I? Who, and what, are you? I’m not real to you but I am real to me. Are you real? I don’t know. But what I do know is that the world as you know it is fake.
Elizabeth Calderone
Elizabeth Calderone
Breadmen. 2020. Digital Images. Machine Learning.
I thought it would be interesting to merge images of bread and businessmen. When you google search bread, only white images are found. When you google search businessmen, the majority of them are also white. Could these two boring forces say something about race?- EC
Image descriptions: Headshots and other medium closeups of men in suits in which their skin appears to be consumed by bread. Some artifacts from the machine learning process on Playform.io add a layer of pattern interference and give way to largely desaturated morphs of humans and bread.
Alexis DiRese
Alexis DiRese
Garbage Gurrrl. 2020. Depop Intervention.
Project link (external site): https://www.depop.com/trashytalk/
Garbage Gurrrl is an online shop selling trash from my own home. Garbage Gurrrl is about the current vintage/thrifting resale market (sepcifically through the platform depop), what gives an item value, and what can be marketed to the consumer. – AD
image descriptions:
image 1: Comments: biggestdawg writes “Seems like a good deal”
image 2: Comments: blairbenosky writes “Edgy”
image 3: Comments: israaao writes “Would you take ten” followed by four expressive emogis.
Ahyoung Kim
Ahyoung Kim
Food Fight. 2020. Food Competition Blog.
Project Link: https://ak164298.wixsite.com/foodfight
Kim’s Food Fight is a playful take on consumer review and reality competition culture. Made-up restaurants are given a mix of angry reviews on a Wix site taking itself very seriously while dinosaur-shaped chicken nugget photos flash on the screen. Kim’s blog and its fantastical restaurants speak to the hegemonic review practices that restaurants and other establishments are beholden to. -RW
Image description: A screenshot of the artist website with a banner up top that reads WELCOME, THE 5 FOODS, and The Winner!!!!(Spoiler Alert). A digital diptych sits below, on the left side is an overhead image of a tray of dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets. On the right is a blurry image of a pasta with a red sauce spread over it and onto the plate below.
