Tony Oursler

  Tony Oursler received his Bachelor of Arts from the California Institute for Fine Arts.  His work is influenced greatly from his connections with his family, catholic upbringing, and his generation of television, MTV.  He uses projections of the human face onto non-living objects for example, sculptures and dolls. .  Mr Oursler is considered one of the top outstanding video creators of this decade. He also was one of the first recognized video installation of artist in 1977-1989.  This is when he created handmade video tapes of The Loner 1980 and EVOL-1984, also he has worked with LED lights as the main medium in other artistic installations exhibited for instance,The Watching.

My artist: Bill Viloa

       Bill is an accomplished artist and is considered a significant contributor in establishing video as a form of contemporary art. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Experimental Studios from Syracuse University in 1973; also, he studied electronic music and visual arts there, too. 
     Mr. Viola has an extensive background of traveling from Florence, Italy to Solomon Islands, Java, Bali,  Japan  and the Sahara desert. For example, he has studied and captured images of mirages in Sahara desert, studied animal consciousness at the San Diego Zoo, learned about  medical imaging technologies of the human body, and observed fire walking rituals among the Hindu communities of Fiji.  He also studied Buddhism in Japan for eighteen months. Additionally, he has many collections of taping and photographing nocturnal desert landscapes,for example nature shows, for television with the help of his wife, Kira Perov a photographer. His combined education and diversified experiences have shaped and guided his career.
       Bill's works focus on universal human experiences such as birth ,death and also the paths of our unconsciousness.  The works are influenced by eastern and western spiritualism and art. Understanding the realization of the mind, wisdom, tranquility and the enlightenment itself of one's self has shaped his artistic expression in his video installations.  He also occasionally works for musical performance artists by designing a visual background that emphasizes a focal point in a performance. Water and subdued colors are a focal point in a particular video for the musical entertaining group, Nine Inch Nails.
       Bill emphasizes a state of mind or emotion in his works. I noticed after viewing many of his pieces there exist a range of expressive emotions translating anguish, loneliness, and unhappiness. I have not viewed yet happiness or any sense of contentment.  
      Water seems to be the focus of cleansing his subjects of  life's impurities or maybe this is suppose to emulate being born only .After viewing many of his video installations and reading about his history I can see more clearly how he is influenced by Zen and Christian mysticism.  Moreover, the intense emotion translated to the viewer is very powerful.  What I see is a storm unfolding.  When I look at some of his installations I can definitely identify the anguish oozing from the person. It is more than birth and death, it is the experience of life itself.  Maybe just the fact of existing is difficult-however, the eternal pursuit and desire to communicate and connect with another being is a strong driving  force.  People yearn for a  human connection.


    I chose the video above because it covered a range of of Bill Viola's work that was displayed at a gallery.

Erwin Redl

     Erwin Redl is a Digital and New Media artist. He was born in 1963 in Austria
where he received most of his education. Erwin's education consisted of completing his BA in Composition and a Diploma in Electronic music and later  his Masters of Fine Arts in Computer Art in 1995. The artistic medium used is LED lights.
   These pictures capture my attention - the lighting and background color can by hypnotic. As I view a video, FADE I Lille-2004,  I feel that I've been transported to a dance club as I listen to the vibe of electronic music playing along with the video art display of purple and lavender lights pulsating rhythmically.

Digital Artist - Masaki Fujihata

       Masaki Fujihata began his career as a digital artist for a Computer Graphics and Animation company in the 80's.  He successfully completed, Beyond the Pages in 1995-1997, an interactive system that generated graphic designs and gained him recognition. This interactive system design / software became a permanent collection of the ZKM, Centre for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, Germany.
     When I view this short three minute video I am reminded of products that we, the consumer, purchase. Leap Frog, for example, is an interactive learning toy that is useful in helping children learn their phonics more effectively. Another example of this interactive animation would be Tomb Raider or Sims. Today's gaming systems tantalize the viewer with vivid imagery and sleek interactive design.  The player becomes an active participant by following directions and gaining incentive tokens for accelerating through a program quickly.  The games involve the player giving him or her the illusion of actively participating in the game, as if they are really there.
     Digital Art is another form of art that is recognized for its' installation art, virtual reality, paintings, drawings and sculpture. This kind of art is exciting because the viewer is more involved - we participate and select options in the software that guide our direction to a final destination.

Continued Post about Joan Jonas

She displays more about feminism in her video,Left Side Right Side.  She used a video camera and holds a mirror showing her reflection that is delayed when she is video taping. She observes close examination of a woman, herself, who is not masked by excess makeup- a natural image in black in white.

Joan Jonas

Walden Diaries - Notes and Sketches 1964-1968
Video / personal cinema work of New York City by Joan Jonas

Joan Jonas is a performer from most of the videos that I viewed on YouTube. It was difficult for me to grasp really what her message is all about other than what is written on the  internet biography.  I am really trying here to understand her. I like her narratives and the music she chooses for her videos. I can understand the  powerful, serene, dynamic, and emotional sounds resonating in the background of her videos. The depth and the impact of the music speaks intensity of feelings and thoughts that she injects into her video performance. She speaks about space regarding what her face looks like reflected in a mirror and videotaping herself simutaneously. I guess she uses herself and body mostly in her performances and that is about feminism sometimes and o

Four Yip

Four Yip paints reality portraits digitally with photoshop.  Her paintings encapsulate a personality of an avatar. ( to the left)   I am amazed how realistic this painting appears. The artist takes screen shots of a Second Life Avatar digitally and then recreates a mixed reality portrait with the aid of PhotoShop to design her painting  The image appears to be on a canvas painted with water colors.The emphasis of her mouth slightly open, wispy bangs gliding on her forehead, and her life like eyes appear to me to be dominating - demanding the viewers attention. Her chin is also more distinguished than the digital image. The focal point looks like her face and her pale wrist and hand exposed holding a lit cigarette. She is sexy, bold, strong, and attractive.This is a portrait of  Kean Kelly, an avatar. This virtual world feels somewhat real.  Like you can hide behind any kind of masked creation you so desire to create. Four Yip is successful in creating a human identity linked to the avatar.  Beautifully done!