Jacolby Satterwhite’s process of combining technology, art, and live action truly make his works a one of a kind experience. The artist was born in Columbia, South Carolina and started working with computers at a very early age. In addition, after arriving home from school, he would watch music videos of various singers of the time such as Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, and Madonna. These music videos would influence his art exhibitions in the future. Subsequently, from 2008 to 2010, Satterwhite studied painting at the University of Pennsylvania as well as the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. He would later combine his painting skills with 3D animation tools.
Reifying Desire 6: Island of Treasure, which was exhibited at the Solo show at Mallorca Landings Gallery in 2013, is a perfect example of Satterwhite’s use of technology, philosophy, sex, and astrology in his works. The art piece included a video series, image stills, and live performance. In addition, the piece represents a collaboration between Satterwhite and his mother by incorporating texts and drawings that she created, most of which were proposed home shopping network products such as items from eBay and Amazon. The piece’s 3D space is filled with her drawings and all-together create linked metanarratives of Satterwhite’s personal history, pop culture, utopia, and queer culture. He also shares in the virtual environment by doing various dance performances with a green screen background.
As explained by Satterwhite, “Art became a form of escapism for me to reroute my personal traumas. And now I think I’m trying to pursue something more present.” I find this piece to be quite compelling because of the many different components that make up the entire work. The drawings incorporated from the artist’s mother as well as the incorporation of his personal history and dance performance create an intimate connection to the piece. When I see this piece, I feel that I am looking at someone’s life in complex connected graphic scenes. Each scene I feel has a deep meaning to the artist and the overall meaning is left to the audience’s interpretation. Also, the addition of bright neon colors, nude bodies in different sexual positions, commercial items, and large 3-dimensional objects suspended in space make the piece feel extremely erotic, futuristic yet familiar, and larger than life.
https://www.eai.org/titles/reifying-desire-6-island-of-treasure/ordering-fees
http://jacolby.com/artwork/3677473.html
The works of artist Carla Gannis are masterful combinations of iconography, technology, art, interfaces, and social issues. Gannis was born in Oxford, North Carolina and art was always involved in her early education. She studied painting at the University of North Carolina Greensboro as well as Boston University where she received her MFA degree. She started incorporating digital aspects into her works in the 1990s going into the early 2000s. Gannis is very well known for incorporating elements of storytelling, sensuality, and power in her work. She is currently a professor and assistant chairperson at The Department of Digital Arts at the Pratt Institute.
Gannis’ digital collage titled The Garden of Emoji Delights was exhibited in the Kasia Kay Gallery during 2013 to 2014 and incorporates digital pigment prints, videos, and 3D elements. In this piece, she reconstructs Hieronymus Bosch’s famous triptych, The Garden of Earthly Delights, for the digital era. The religious symbols in the painting are replaced with popular contemporary iconography, signs, and digital symbols, otherwise known as emojis, which explore modern society. Thus, instead of using religious symbols which were very popular when the painting was created, she chose prevalent emojis widely used today.
I find this piece to be compelling because of the familiarity of the subject matter combined with modern day iconography. The religious background of the original painting which focused on the corruption of the Garden of Eden, the purity of paradise, and the torture of hell, almost feels like it’s being retold through the lens of modern society in the 21rst century. Looking at this piece makes me feel more connected to the work because I have used so many of its emojis in my personal life such as the money bag, the moon, the cat, and the smiley face. However, the nonsensical nature of painting is not lost. It’s still difficult to understand the symbolism behind most of the different scenes in the panels even with the addition of emojis. Ultimately, I believe the piece’s eye catching iconography, bright colors, large scale, and familiar subject matter bring this classic painting to life for a new generation in the modern day. As summed up by Gannis, “My work has often been full of art historical references. I mix works from the “Canon” with contemporary imagery, sometimes as parody, sometimes as a reflection of human tendencies, ideologies, or societal constructions that have ultimately not changed for centuries. And then again, sometimes my mashups speak to what has changed culturally as a result of our Digital Revolution.”
http://transfergallery.com/carla-gannis/
http://digicult.it/news/the-emojification-of-reality-interview-with-carla-gannis/
