Friday, December 09, 2011

Another Experiment: Frida After Frida

As I've discussed and reflected on this site many times, over the last year or so I have been experimenting with the marriage of technology and drawing. In the first trials, I have begun to embed a video player into drawings and use that technology to expand my interest in narrative art.

In preparation for the recent Aqua Art Fair in Miami during Art Basel Week, I also began to experiment with tiny LCD screens and software that would allow a Powerpoint-like presentation.

Studio
Here we see a shot of my studio with the first stage of a drawing of Frida Kahlo. I envisioned a Kahlo portrait that (like the Kahlo portrait with a small portrait of Diego Rivera on her forehead) that would amplify her obsession (and mine) with her own image.

Frida Kahlo - Full prior to hole
And thus, here is the drawing - prior to the addition of the electronic component.


And here is the 1.5 inch LCD screen and the motherboard with rechargeable lithium battery.


Here is the drawing with the window cut into her forehead.

Detail
And here's a detail showing the embedded electronic component playing a continuous loop of all of Kahlo's self portraits.

This piece is now in the De La Torre Collection in Miami Beach. The Aqua Art Fair was a spectacular success for these new pieces.

What's next?

About a decade ago I did a huge drawing entitled "Last Supper for Dictators." The piece was exhibited at one of my solos at the old Fraser Gallery in Georgetown, and subsequently sold to a New York collector via Sotheby's auction. It depicted a last supper scene with the principals being Latin American dictators. Che Guevara was The Christ, Fidel Castro was Judas Iscariot, Evita Peron was The Magdalene, etc.

I am going to revisit that theme again, and this time the video or Powerpoint component will amplify the presence of the dictators.

The WPA 2012 Auction Jurors are...

Seth Adelsberger - Artist & Co-Founder, Nudashank (Baltimore, MD)

Molly Donovan - Associate Curator, National Gallery of Art

Sarah Newman - Curator, Corcoran Gallery of Art

Dennis O’Neil - Chair, Fine Arts Dept at Corcoran College of Art+Design, Director at Hand Print Workshop International

Stephen Phillips - Fine Arts Program Director, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Katy Murnane Reis - Curatorial Assistant, Wexner Art Center

Judy Sherman - Independent Curator, J Fine Art

Paul Thulin - Interim Chair, Dept. of Photography and Film at VCU