BLOG PROMPT SIX: Discuss an Artist
Identify one digital artist that you most enjoy or relate to from among the many we have looked at for class this semester through prompts, class discussions, or project "inspiration" lists. Explain what you find engaging about her/his project or body of work. You must include the artist's name.
Artists we've viewed include (but are not limited to) ...
Owen Mundy, I Know Where Your Cat Lives
Natalie Bookchin, Now He's Out in Public and Everyone Can See
Free Art and Technology (FAT) Lab: The Universal Construction Kit
Olafur Eliasson, Little Sun
Daan Roosegarde, Smog Free Tower, Smog Free Bicycle, Sustainable Dance Floor
Emily Allchurch, Towers of Babel
Olia Lialini, The Most Fragile GIF on the WWWW
Alexei Shulgin, See Free
Michael Mandiberg, Buy Michael Mandiberg
Milos Rajkovic, http://sholim.com/
Stephen Haley, One Second More
I enjoyed Stephen Haley's work in the One Second More collection. I like how he visually depicts the mass amounts of human consumption all in one image. It truly shows the impact we are putting onto the world and emphasizes his point of view on climate change/pollution while also creating really stunning and beautiful imagery. My favorite image of this collection is "Water Bottles (5982)". I like how at first glance, the water bottles can look like fish in the sea. Upon a closer look the viewer sees the bottles in their entirety and be able to fully grasp the heartache of what is happening to the Earth, every second.
ReplyDeleteI think the artist that resonated the most with me, from many artists we looked at, is Andy Deck. I appreciate the simplicity foremost or more specifically minimalistic bit style. In Glyphiti the idea could have been implemented with full painting or black and white drawing. Yet it is done with limited bits, which is why it is so simplistically enticing for me. I think that complexity in any kind of arts is a tribute that is valuable but it is the simplicity which is when delivered by an artist who can make complexity is much more enticing. Works that make you think are the works delivered by the complex artist in simple art. The first thing I thought when browsing through Glyphiti was, imagining coming to a prestigious art show somewhere deep in New York and before stepping a foot into the show, being offered a brush. And being told I can paint on any paintings displayed. Which is terrifying and exciting, but that is what art should be about.
ReplyDeleteThe artist I admired the most this semester was Olafur Eliasson and his project Little Sun. It's something that works to fix a much bigger problem in a very simple and affordable way. I love art, but I love it more when either its message or its function pushes for a better world. The product has already helped a lot of people who don't have access to electricity and it's working to help even more as we speak. Not to mention, I think the design is also very cute and simple.
ReplyDeleteAmong all the artists we've looked at, Olia Lialini's "The Most Fragile GIF on the WWW" stood out due to its unique method of collaboration. It is interesting how the actual artwork is done by Lialini herself, but the distribution of it to viewers is entrusted to other people. I have seen other sites that use similar rapid-fire changes in URLs (there was a relatively recent off-shoot to "My Boyfriend Came Back from the War" where every frame of a GIF shifted the top-level domain), but the swinging motion of "The Most Fragile GIF" makes for a uniquely intriguing viewing experience. It's a simple and amusing animation on its own merits, too.
ReplyDeleteI think Andy Deck's Glyphiti was the most fun. I can make my own art if I wanted that the whole world can see while also destroying someone else's. And then, someone will eventually destroy mine and everything will keep moving forward. It's pretty simple, but I think if it were any more complex then some charm would be lost. I think also the knowledge that whatever is there will eventually go away makes the stuff you see more memorable. In a way I think Deck offers a service to people, not necessarily a work of art, but that service produces art which makes it enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteI really liked Olia Lialini's The Most Fragile GIF on the WWWW. The fact that each frame of the gif was hosted on a different server is such a cool idea. It's really creative and I would have never thought of doing something like that.
ReplyDeleteI really liked Owen Mundy and his project I Know Where Your Cat Lives.
ReplyDeletehis work is interesting because it looks at privacy and how technology affects us. He uses public information from social media to track where people’s cats live and makes a map of their locations.
it makes us really think about how much we share online without realizing it.