Graffiti Art: The Wynwood Walls

Extending and expanding on themes I've written about in the past is always a pleasure, so I was very excited when artist and blog reader, Karen Polin, contacted me about a graffiti art exhibit she recently saw in Miami.

The Wynwood Walls is a public graffiti art exhibition that was featured as part of Art Basel in Miami. The idea was conceived by community revitalizer Tony Goldman in 2009. He wanted to transform the Wynwood warehouse district in Miami by making the walls giant canvases for street art. Goldman wanted to activate the community by making a centralized location where pedestrians could gravitate to, explore and be inspired. Certainly, the colors, designs and consideration of space & place (and people) into these pieces are mesmerizing.

As a pedestrian and commuter, I'm always delighted to see public works of art while walking or taking the train. I remember seeing The Gates in Central Park in 2005, and I always feel an exciting sense of discovery when I see public art (sculptures, graffiti art, light art) now. Thanks to Karen for photographing and telling me about this great work of public art. 

Video Sassoon Featured in Lost At E Minor

I was so excited to see my piece Video Sassoon featured in the amazing and fun publication Lost At E Minor, an online pop culture/art magazine that I've been a fan of for years. Check it out! 

And please show your love for the curious and always fascinating stories that Lost at E Minor covers by following them on twitter (@lostateminor) and liking them on Facebook. 

VIDEO SASSOON Premieres at UMB Film Series

This past Thursday, March 7, 2013,  the video for Video Sassoon, my new media installation, premiered on the big screen at the UMB Film Series, playing before the feature film Lemon (Laura Brownson & Beth Levison, 2012).

It was an energizing experience to see our work projected onto the big screen and enjoyed by the large audience! Special thanks to Chico Colvard, filmmaker and curator of the UMB Film Series! If you missed it, you can see it here:

The UMB Film Series features thought-provoking and innovative films, which are often followed by a Q&A with the director(s) and/or subject. Past invitees include Frederick Wiseman, Steve James, Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady, David Redmon & Ashley Sabine, and Terence Nance.

Like their page on facebook and you could win their raffle at a screening (no kidding...I won an autographed copy of Hoop Dreams). And remember! It's free and open to the public! See the trailer for the film series below:

The UMB Film Series is a great program, organized and executed by visionary, hard-working people. Don't miss the screening of Where Heaven Meets Hell (Sasha Friedlander, 2011) on Thursday, March 28th @ 7 PM. Click here for more info. 

How to Talk Experimental Film: A User's Guide

My article "How to Talk Experimental Film: A User's Guide" was recently published in The Independent. If you're itching to learn more about experimental film, looking for film suggestions, or just want a fun and informative read, be sure to check it out. Read the article here.

A very special thank you goes out to my editor (and an excellent writer in her own right), Erin Trahan! Make sure you support The Independent by subscribing to the free e-newsletter and reading, reading, reading the great variety of articles. They are also taking on a very important "archive preservation project." Make sure to read about their plan and goals for the project here.

Papergirl Belfast

Papergirl Belfast is an awesome organization based in Northern Ireland that truly embraces the spirits of community and participation through art. Their mission is simple: to spread art to the public. And their distribution is streamline: via bicycles. 

Artists, writers and designers can submit their work to Papergirl Belfast. Then, the organizers exhibit the work in an "anti-curated exhibition." Finally, the team takes the art out to the streets and distributes it to the general public. 

 

The organization prides itself on its commitment to accessibility and inclusion: 

"Creativity, cycling, generosity and our city all rule. Papergirl is a non-commercial, guerrilla initiative that brings art to the streets in an alternative and dynamic way by distributing unique rolls of artwork freely and at random to lucky strangers via bicycle. Drawings, paintings, photographs, illustrations, prints, textiles, stickers, T-shirts, poems, prose and zines – basically anything that can be rolled up – will be collected and showcased in an anti-curated exhibition before being shared with the local community."

I love Papergirl Belfast's can-do attitude, love of art, and friendliness. Not to mention, their own printmaking-inspired designs are quite beautiful and catching.

My short story, "The Bride and the Groom," will be included in this year's collection. If you don't get a chance to go to Ireland to read the story, you can also read it here. 

Support this awesome organization's mission! Visit their website, and make sure to like them on facebook and follow them on twitter. 

VIDEO SASSOON: a new media installation by Minhae Shim

I am so excited to release the video for my new media installation, Video Sassoon. Thanks to Daniel Roth of Roshi Productions, who produced and edited the video. 

Artist Statement: 

Video Sassoon is a phantasmagorical meditation on media, remediation, and the editing process. Discarded strips of videotape are repurposed to create a screen through which a digital video is projected. In the video, newly severed pieces of hair float across the screen to the tune of a familiar funeral ballad that has been rendered unrecognizable by the editing process. The work uses the inescapably human material of hair to comment on the omnipresence of media and its evolution, and to connect video editing to a familiar, tactile experience. 

***

It was an illuminating discovery process to create this new media installation. I was able to engage in a meaningful way with the material of magnetic videotape. I explored the materiality of this once ubiquitous media form, and also learned about its historical development. I  am looking forward to installing the work in a different venue, especially taking into consideration the spacial needs and effects of the piece. 

***

Feel free to contact me about the piece with questions or comments: minhae.shim@gmail.com 

To contact the video editor, e-mail: daniel@roshiproductions.com 


Click to go to the Youtube Link

"Kismet" Awarded in Gallery Art Competition

I was very excited to receive news that my large-scale painting, Kismet, was awarded a Special Recognition in the All Women Art Competition, sponsored by the Light, Space & Time Gallery.

The painting will be a part of an exhibition that will be up during the month of February 2013. You can check out my work and the work of other very talented artists here. 

NOWHERE/NOW HERE Art Show

I'm excited to announce the opening of the NOWHERE/NOW HERE show at the Harbor Art Gallery. The exhibition showcases a wide range of artists who work in different mediums: digital and traditional photography, painting, print, sculpture and video installation. All of the works explore the theme of space & place.

The show opens today and it will be up until February 7, 2013. The gallery is open from Monday-Thursday, 1-7 pm. 

The reception is on Wednesday, January 30, from 5-8. And you're all invited! 

Here is the final line-up of artists for the show: 

KC Evitts: Transience, oil painting

Susan Tan: The Order in Random, photography 

Carrie Savage: Three Years and Two Months, photography 

Rashelle Brown: Welcome Home, photography 

Nicole Bousquet: Untitled, charcoal drawing 

Gwen Vitti: The Last Drop, sculpture 

Eunah Bang: Kor-glish, sculpture 

Amanda Wild: Multiverse, silk print 

Minhae Shim: Video Sassoon, new media installation

Special thanks to: 

Ann Torke: Advisor 

Kevin Benisvy: Director, Harbor Art Gallery

Daniel Roth: Creative Consultant for Video Sassoon

If you get a chance to go, please let us know your thoughts: minhae.shim@gmail.com 

Nobody Puts Minhae In the Nook

"NOBODY PUTS MINHAE IN THE NOOK" is a phrase coined playfully by my friend, Amanda Wild, as we were discussing the logistics of setting up our show, Nowhere/Now Here, at the Harbor Art Gallery. 

As a video artist and an artist who is interested in using and exploring media, I've noticed that displaying my work presents a distinct set of complications. For the upcoming show, I'll be exhibiting a new media installation, titled Video Sassoon. The work is a multimedia experience that has sculptural, audio, and video elements. Below is a statement about the work: 

"Video Sassoon is a phantasmagorical meditation on media, remediation, and the editing process. Discarded strips of videotape are repurposed to create a screen through which a digital video is projected. In the video, newly severed pieces of hair float across the screen to the tune of a familiar funeral ballad that has been rendered unrecognizable by the editing process. The work uses the inescapably human material of hair to comment on the omnipresence of media and its evolution, and to connect video editing to a familiar, tactile experience." 

So where does a piece like this, and other video or media works, go within the space of a gallery or a museum? The Harbor Art Gallery has a "nook" in the far left of the gallery. It's an enclosed space made of temporary walls within the gallery itself. During discussions of which artist will display where, the running joke was that my work "was perfect for the nook." And we'll be going to put the show up tomorrow morning in fact, so I'll make sure to document the set-up process. 

Scholars who study digital media, such as Christiane Paul, are aware of the issues of new media exhibition and are actively engaged in the problem-solving process for displaying works of new media: "New media art seems to call for a distributed, 'living' information space that is open to artistic interference - a space for exchange, collaborative creation and presentation that is transparent and flexible." 

Video Sassoon is a piece that needs space to be displayed and experienced. I'm sure that there will be challenges in the installation and exhibition process in the video nook, but I'm also excited to see how the exhibition space itself will transform and contribute to the work. 

The above photographs were from the initial projection test. More photos and info about the final installed piece, and the show, to come. 

Transport: Video vs. Painting

I mostly work in digital media, so I encountered a novel challenge this new year's week when I had to transport my 60" x 60" surrealist painting (which also weighs about 20 pounds) from the studio to its new home. Seeing at this painting is just about my height, I enlisted Danny's help in moving it. (More photos of the painting, entitled Kismet, coming later)

We had originally planned to take it on the T, knowing very well that we would be objects of disdain in a crowded train. When we went out to dinner and explained our plan to friends, they suggested that we rent a van instead (thanks Ta-Wei and Erica!).

Moving the painting in a big van was less painful than taking it on the T, but it was certainly more challenging that transporting video files. The physicality of a painting (paint, canvas, wood) and its presence in a specific place complicates the transport of a painting.

The heaviest things used to transport video are a hard drive and perhaps a laptop. Video files are also often moved over networks and the internet. Of course, there's the issue of film/video production equipment. However, pieces of equipment are smaller and more easily packed than a relatively fragile 5' x 5' painting.

While transporting painting is (usually) a more involved process than transporting video files, exhibition of painting vs. video is certainly another story, which I'll address in another post.