Tauba Auerbach

Ugaritic Alphabet, Ink and pencil on paper (2006)


Tauba Auerbach is much different than your typical New Media artist in that her practice primarily revolves around painting. Auerbach a contemporary artist deals mainly with the short comings and possibilities of language. She approaches language as a technology inherently progressive and positive; a system of symbols by which the interior complexities of a person’s mind, body and general self are converted into an external, communicable form. Auerbach’s focal point is to play with the identity of language examining their placement on a page or as individual letters.

Artists have incorporated language, text, and words into their work for decades in order to move away from pure illustrative representation and the fixation on art as an object. Auerbach’s work is much different then pervious artist by shifting the multiplicity of this age old “technology” and practice by reconfiguring letters to create word puzzles that lead the viewer to logical but unexpected conclusions, extending human capabilities.

“I feel as though I know each letter intimately-its shortcomings and its tendencies. I feel close to them.”-Auerbach (www.newimageearthgallery.com/tauba.html)

Moreover her extreme and rigorous investigation of text, language, and letters goes straight to the heart of how our world communicates and explores the structure of language, the composition of words, phonology, syntax, and semantics.

Tauba Auerbach is a cue that New Media art does not have to encompass only digitally produced or performance art. It can incorporate commonly known mediums like paint or ink. Tauba Auerbach use of words, semantics, and symbols is pleasing to me because I have always been fascinated by the way artists incorporate text in their work. Her work in particular inspires me to act, creating a work intertwined with symbols and text.

http://www.taubaauerbach.com/ (The website is neat!)

'Yes and No and/or Yes or No', Color Aquatint Etching on Somerset paper (2008)

Paul Kaiser & Shelley Eshkar

Paul Kaiser and Shelley Eshkar are digital artists whose collaborations combine motion-capture with dance, sometimes in the form of installations and other times as projections for the stage. Their work embraces the artistic views and ideals I believe New Media art embodies. The duo’s work is very much infused with technology and personalized computer programs, but it does not exude from it. Most of Kaisers’ and Eshkars’ work has a painterly free flowing or realistic feeling. This may be because much like myself Kaiser and Eshkar research explores several mediums such as literary sources, human motion, and everyday images/routines to gain inspiration and direction for projects.

The work titled “Pedestrian” is the main piece that lured me to Kaisers’ and Eshkars’ work. I was entranced by the miniature realistic looking characters and unusual camera view of the animation. “Pedestrian” is an animated video loop that is usually projected on the floor or wall. The video places the viewer as an omniscient observer, suspended in space panning over urban street scenes and parks were the viewer can witness the movements of the city’s inhabitants.
This is similar to other New Media artist works in that it contains the sense of surveillance or invading ones privacy. Kaisers’ and Eshkars’ “Pedestrian” examines human routine, behavior, and mentality of crowds in an urban setting successfully because of the previous research performed for projects to have the best possible outcome. The combination of trompe l'oeil illusion and realistic nature gives the piece a reflective or dream quality.