Erwin Redl

Erwin Redl was born in the year 1963 in Austria. In Vienna, Austria, Redl studied to be a musician and also received his Bachelors of Art at the Music Academy. He then took his schooling over the United States, where he received his Masters of Fine Arts at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Redl now currently lives in New York. Erwin Redl is most famous for using LED(light emitting diode) lights in an artistic way. Redl takes his art both two dimensional as well as three dimensional. After looking at some of Redl's pieces, I never thought to consider this art. I just figured that it came with designing the building.

Redl is famously known not only in just the United States but also in other countries around the world. He became very well known after Matrix VI(first picture above) that is displayed on the front entrance to New York's Whitney Museum of American Art in 2002. Another work of Redl that came before Matrix VI was Matrix II(second picture above). This is one of Redl's most popular pieces of work and has a dimension of 36 ft x 26 ft x 12 ft. Matrix II has been displayed in many different countries including Germany, France, South Korea, and Austria. One other piece of work that has become famous within the United States is Redl's work called Nocturnal Flow(photo below). You can see Nocturnal Flow at the Paul G. Allen Center in Washington. The piece Nocturnal Flow is made up of 10,000 LED lights that cover a eighty-five foot floor to ceiling wall.

Scott Blake

Scott Blake, also known as "Bar-Code Picasso" as described by FHM Magazine. In Art Papers Magazine, they describe Blake's work as "Simultaneously pop and op, intellectual and personal, minimal and ocular, appropriated and original." Scott Blake is one of the first original artist to design art through bar codes. His first masterpiece was a portrait of Jesus, made up of 10,000 UPC bar codes. UPC standing for Universal Product Codes. Ten years has gone by since Blake has created in his first piece using bar codes. Over that time period he has created more than thirty masterpieces. All the bar codes that Blake uses to create his works are all bar codes that in some what relate to the portrait. 

All of the designs Blake produces are digital portraits of cultural icons using actual bar codes connected to some aspect of their lives. For example, Blake has created a portrait of Oprah made up entirely of ISBN bar codes from her book club. Blake states "Interact with my art. Move beyond form to function." I believe Blake wants us to see beyond the bar codes. It is not just a piece of paper that he took off a product. The bar code is now art that means something to him. And now that can mean something to the viewers of the art. 

Toni Dove (Video)

Toni Dove is a video artist who lives and works in New York since the early 1990s. While studying Dove's work, i noticed that she only casts women in her work. She wanted all the emphasis to be on female characters and the roles each of them play in the different times of their lives. In the video that I have displayed above, Dove describes how she creates her work in her videos. The work that she is describing is one of her most famous pieces, "Ghosts". The name came about due to the ghostly qualities that the characters displayed, in the way that the characters are somewhat see through and can walk through anything.

In the picture that I have displayed above is from Dove's piece Artificial Changelings, produced in 1998. The photo was composed of interactive laser disk and sound installation while using video motion sensing. Each of Dove's works tell a story and our ongoing from one piece of work to the next. In Artificial Changelings, Dove deals with the emergence of compulsive consumerism. Spectoria is the next video that Dove produces and this one deals with the capitalist society of the early 20th century. I feel that throughout Dove's work, she likes to create a series of images that creates one big narrative. Bunt in order to get the big picture which is the narrative, you must study the images and put them all together. It is like a math problem that needs to be solved.

Identity Art Project

For this art project, I actually found it kind of difficult in what to create to identify myself. I did not want to do a traditional poster board because that is simply not me. I like things to be more creative and colorful when it comes to my work. So I did what I always do, go ask my mom to help me think of something to identify myself because she is the one that knows me the best. After discussing some ideas, one finally popped into my head. I would make a flower pot of pictures! Finally something great and would also be fun to make.

Once the vision of my flower pot was complete, I headed to The Home Depot to purchase a plastic pot. I then went to Michael's to get the rest of the supplies. The rest of the materials included green and gold pipe cleaner, dowels, pom poms, Easter grass, and foam heart stickers. Once arriving back at home, I ripped open all the packages to begin my project.

I was so pleased with the final outcome. It was so bright and colorful, just like I had wanted. Even though it took a couple trial and errors for the dowels to stay in the Easter grass, it finally worked out.

The reason why I chose a flower pot is because I love flowers. Mainly every type of flower. When flowers are healthy and at their best, they are so beautiful and pretty that sometimes I can't take my eyes off them. That is why I enjoy getting flowers because it brings so much happiness to me. And plus I love color. So I made sure to purchase the bright and colorful pom poms for the petals of the flowers. The main symbol of the flower with the pictures is that since the ovule is the center of a flower, I made the picture the center of my flower instead. The loved ones in the pictures are the ones I place first in my life and that have a place in my heart. They are the center of my life. One of the reasons I placed hearts all around the pot was because I was born on Valentine's day and I love anything to do with hearts. The second reason being I wanted to show all the love I have for the ones I have chosen to display as my flowers.

The ones that I have shown in the pictures above consist of my two brothers Ian and Allen. My mom, (couldn't find a picture of me and my dad :( ) my grandpa, my cocker spaniel named French Fry, my best friends Alyssa and Tara, and my boyfriend Marc.

I enjoyed creating this project because I am a shy person so it's hard for me to say how I feel. So by creating this project, it was fun because I like to show what I am feeling, rather than by saying it. I also like to create things that show people the kind of person I am. The identity project was definitely a fun one! :)

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

I visited the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Sunday March 6^th. It was a more pleasant than my last museum that I visited which was the Norton Simon. Upon arriving, it kind of sucked that I had to pay for parking and admission! Since at the Norton Simon Museum, parking and admission was free for me. Unfortunately I did not have time to visit every single building since I had to hurry home and go to work. For the time I was there I definitely enjoyed myself! Very peaceful atmosphere.

The first building I visited was the Pavilion for Japanese Art. I enjoyed looking at all the works of art and figures in this building because of how big and spread out the paintings were. While walking through the Japanese Art, I noticed a lot of the printings of Utagawa Hiroshige. Hiroshige was one of the artists that one of my group members was assigned to write about for module one. I enjoyed looking at more of printings in person. The first painting that caught my attention in the Japanese Art building was a piece by Imanaka Soyu titled Birds and Flowers. I enjoyed this painting because it was so large and colorful to look at. I walked up to the painting the first time to look at it and saw so many different elements. Then on the way back down through the collection, I stopped and looked at it again, finding so many other elements that I did not notice before. I felt like I could identify to this painting because I wish I could be free with as little care as possible like the birds in the picture. They have their own paradise that they call home and I wish I could be apart of that.

The next building I made my way towards was the Bing Center, only to find out that it is only an auditorium and not a building with any actual collections. After being mistaken, I head over to the Art of the Americas Building. I knew I would enjoy this building because I find American art to be more relate-able to me. I immediately took the elevator to the third floor which displayed the American art and right away I saw clothes! Ha and I love clothes!

While looking at the collection, I noticed that most of items that appeared behind the glass were beach or summer types of clothing. Starting from the left is swimsuit entitled Catalina Sportswear. The middle piece was designed by Margit Fellegi and it is a playsuit. The last piece is also a swimsuit made by Rose Marie Reid. One of the things I noticed about the articles of clothing was that they were very form fitting and meant to show off a woman's curves and body. They were also very small and dainty. I feel this identified me because it reminded me of the old pictures my grandma used to show me back when she was in her early 20's on the beach at Coney Island. She wore similar outfits as the ones shown above. It brought back good memories because she would always enjoy sharing her good times with me.

While continuing to look through the American Art because I enjoyed it so much, I saw another painting that caught my attention. It was Paul Cadmus' Coney Island. It is an oil on canvas painting that I felt I could relate to after talking about beauty in class last week. In the painting, all the women are painted as heavier set and over weight with obnoxious looks on their faces. But yet there are all different times of men in this picture. Some thin, some big, and about three with decent bodies. I find this picture so confusing that it was hard to even imagine what the artist was thinking when he created this painting. Here is a better picture of the painting so that you are able to see the color and detail that artist has created.

The next building I traveled to was the Hammer Building to where I noticed Korean Art. The only item that seemed to catch my attention in this building was box entitled Box with Birds, Plum Blossoms, and Floral Scrolls, which was made during the 18th century. The somewhat large box was so detailed with beautiful flowers that must have took someone so many days, weeks, or even months to complete. I feel like this box could identify me because I like anything that is detailed and with flowers. Also anything that looks like it took a great amount of time to make or create. 

The last building that I had time to visit was Ahmanson Building, where I took a look at Modern Art. This was my second favorite building to look through after the Art of the Americas Building. While walking through the collections, I saw two pieces of Jackon Polluck side by side. It felt good to actually know one artist out of the thousands of artists that have work at the museum. The one painting I felt identified me was a painting by Georges Rouault called Head of Christ. Even though I felt that the painting was not all that detailed, I liked it because it wasn't all that detailed. I felt it was simple and to the point. I felt this painting could identify me because in a way, I feel as though it is a little blurry when you look at the picture. I feel as though that is the way I see my faith. My faith is there and I believe, but just do not fully understand everything that is going on.

I enjoyed my time at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. I would one day like to go back to visit the other buildings that I had missed my first time around. I also saw other museums around the area that looked like would also be a good ones to visit.

Nikki S. Lee

 The artist I chose was Nikki S. Lee. Mostly everyone should know a little bit of information about her because Glenn discussed her and also her work during class on February 23rd. Lee was would be considered an identity artist and some of the work we saw that day in class came from her "Projects" during the years of 1997 to 2001.

Nikki S. Lee was born in Kye-Chang, which is a Republic of Korea in the year of 1970 to the parents of Hyun Sook Lee and Minwoo Lee. After graduating from high school, Lee attended Chung-Ang University. In 1993 Nikki Lee graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts. She then decided to travel to the United States where she would then earn her MA in photography from New York University in 1998. During the time that Lee was studying for her master's, was when she began her most famous work, Projects.


In an interview that Nikki Lee had with The Creator's Project, they asked her the question "Has your academic education influenced your work?" She responded by saying that she likes to feel free when she works. While at New York University, she felt the atmosphere was not competitive and ambitious like some may think the university may be like. After reading Lee's response, I would assume that most of her work came through her own ideas but also with the help of studying at NYU.

As I mentioned before, Nikki Lee began her most famous pieces of work in 1997 called Projects. Her first consisted of The Punk Project. 

 

Then came The Tourist Project, 1997

 

 The Young Japanese (East Village) Project, 1997

 
 The Lesbian Project, 1997

 Fast forward to 1999, when Lee did The Seniors Project. This was the first time in all her projects where Lee had to see the help of a makeup artist.

The Schoolgirls Project, 2001

 

The last piece of work that Nikki Lee completed for her album of Projects was The Hip Hop Project in 2001.

When Lee began to start her portfolio of photographs for what she now calls Projects, she had very little money since she was a student. So there was a very low budget when it came to producing these photos. Nikki Lee made it happen just using her friends and a simple point and shoot camera. The outcome was simply a masterpiece. Some may think that the projects are about the people and the different lifestyles that they live. In Lee's interview with The Creators Project, she was asked "Were the projects more about you or the people?" The projects were no doubt about Lee herself. Her response to the question was "the questions is about me, but to show me with other people in the project becomes every much significant. The identity question of myself requires me to look at the relationships with myself and other people."

After finishing up the Projects, Lee started on her next piece of work entitled Parts, during the years of 2002 to 2005. This part of her work focused on Lee posing in different settings with a male partner. Before, Lee was changing herself to fit into a certain crowd. But now she changes over and over to fit into one single character, guys. When looking at these photos, you might seem a bit confused because the picture is mainly of Lee. If you look closer, the once male character in the photo does not really exist anymore. He is cut out of the picture, like it would be after a breakup. The point Nikki Lee is trying to make that women are being defined through their partners. Since all of Lee's photos deal with identity, she is trying make the photo appear that the women do not need the men in order to identify themselves.

Above are just a few photos that Nikki Lee used in her Parts portfolio. During the time Lee spent working on Parts, she never once owned a digital camera. Just a simple old manual snapshot camera. Lee believed that a digital camera would take too long to start up and take a photo. If something were to happen in an instant, Lee wanted to be able to snap a photo when that action had taken place. Lee's goal was not to make her projects as low budget as possible, it just turned out to be that way. Lee believes that it is not how much money you spend to make a work of art look good. The more important thing is how good or bad the outcome is. Lee mentioned that "i also like projects that involve many layers; at first glance they might seem like very simple projects, but as you dig deeper you discover many stories and layers within." With that being said, it leads into my next important work of art that Lee has made.

 Layers, Rome 3

This is just one of the drawings that Nikki Lee had done of herself while traveling through different countries to see how they would interpret her in charcoal drawings. Lee stacked and photographed the images on a light table resulting in a dusty luminosity that transforms pictures into visually rich images. Lee's "Layers" came at a time when she felt her surroundings changed between New York and Seoul. "Where I am, precedes who I am." 

In more recent news with Nikki S. Lee, a documentary was released in 2006 about the artist. The documentary displayed Lee as two distinct personalities. The first one being a reserved academic and the second one being an outgoing socialite. You are able to find some of her work in museums such as Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Yerba Buena Center for Arts in San Fransisco, the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. 

Here is a link below that shows an interview with Nikki S. Lee from the people at The Creator's Project. It was one of the first things I saw and listened to when researching Lee. It made me more interested in the type of person that she is and why she chose to just focus on identity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI8xpJItPVI

3/2/11

First class of March! It seems like time is going by fast, but it really isn't ha. The main focus in today's class was beauty. With that being said, Glenn then presented some new information on freemind. One of the first thing Glenn mentioned about beauty is that it is a subject that constantly brought up. We then discussed the key beauty questions. There were several of them but two key questions that Glenn talked about out loud. The one question that stood out to me was from Plato stating "Does beauty exist objectively in things?" I would have to say yes to Plato's question because some things only catch our eye because they are beautiful.

After the key beauty questions, Glenn went on to say that he prefers none of us to say "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" because that is true in almost any person. I think he would like us to see something further then just the beauty in someone. We then moved back to freemind and started discussing more about Plato. Plato feels beauty is goodness and objective which I totally agree with. I also agree with the statement Plato made that said "initially you're drawn to the beauty of a single person". I can definitely say that is true for myself because the beauty that someone displays might be the first thing that catches your eye about that person. After talking about Plato, we then moved onto Aristotle. Aristotle believed in the world we actually live in and the world of real objects. One other interesting thing Aristotle said was that "beauty is about things having the appropriate form and order". I don't necessarily agree with this because beauty can be anything you want it to be. It does not need to have a form or order to be beauty or to be something perfect.

From freemind, we went onto to watching two small clips from the movie "Hamlet". I was not necessarily interested in Hamlet because I already had read the book and saw the movie in my senior year of high school and I did not understand it. Just not my thing. But I did enjoy when Glenn showed the class about Jason and deMarco. I think it is horrible that people say hurtful things about them just because they are gay. People will argue whether it goes against the Catholic or Christian religion, but I feel people should be who they are.

That is all for today. I need to get started on my identity project so see ya!

2/28/11

Next week is already midterms! It's so weird. I feel like we are moving soooo fast. I'm in group B so I have to hurry up and get everything done by Sunday night or Monday morning on top of all my other homework :( but oh well. At least I will be done early!

As soon as class started, Glenn had asked the class if anyone had watched the Oscar's Sunday night. I had not watched it since I worked til nine. Along with the questions about watching the Oscar's, Glenn also asked what we had thought about the fashion that was worn for the night. In a way, it is kind of like art on a body. Designers are kind of like artists in a way. They are creating pieces in which they want other people to see and also to give their opinions on. I wish I would have see the Oscar's so that I could have commented on Glenn's question but I will just have to watch the fashion police instead on the E! network ha.

Our next discussion in class that Glenn brought up was the question "what is fake?" Or how do we know something is fake. An example that was brought up was a plastic rose. Of course it is not as special, or as real as a naturally grown rose would be. After asking the questions "what is fake?", the next question that was asked was "what is real?" I believe that something real is something you can touch or you believe in. I feel it does not matter what everyone else thinks is real, it is what you believe because everyone will always have their own opinions.

After briefly discussing those questions, we moved on to our freemind presentation where Glenn talked about realism and romanticism. I feel that I would enjoy romanticism more because it is art that emphasizes inspiration and who the individual is. Next we went onto watch some short clips of Lela Lee's Angry Little Asian Girl, which was very interesting. I am not one for foul language. So I did not really find the clips that funny as some of the rest of the class did. And since the pictures were not that great, it was also hard to enjoy it. I know it might a little harsh to say I did not enjoy the Angry Little Asian Girl but I didn't so end of story ha.

2/23/11

Class is back! Ha it felt like forever since I had been to class. I'm excited to start a new module. Today Glenn talked about the new museum that we would be visiting, the Los Angeles Museum of Art. I'm hoping this museum is a little more exciting than the Norton Simon Museum because I did not enjoy that one very much. But oh well. I like the idea of the identity collage, that is definitely my thing! When Glenn mentioned the collage, alot of ideas started flowing through my head, but I couldn't narrow it down to one thing. For my artist to research, I got a woman artist and last time I had a male artist, Revok. I'm curious to see how my new artist was different or the same from the last.

After going over what to expect for module two, Glenn went to freemind to discuss what identity is.  Glenn mentioned that identity is something we choose. Identity is also something we don't normally grab, but is put upon us through culture. After discussing what identity is, Glenn briefly touched on some artists that deal with identity. One of the artists that stood out to me was Lela Lee and her work, Angry Little Asian Girl. Definitely an interesting "cartoon". An artist Glenn showed more picture of than any other artist was Nikki S. Lee. She is the artist I chose out of the hat for my artist research project. To see some of her work in class got me interested in researching why she chooses to take the pictures that she does. I can't wait to see some of her other impressive transformations! One of the last things Glenn mentioned during class was "identity is a choice!" I definitely agree with that because everyone can choose who they ultimately want to be.