Monday, January 18, 2010

ARTIST STATEMENT


I’m interested in creating elusive sci-fi environments that address metaphysical issues and questions such as, the nature of being, god, space, time, identity, nature of minds in relation to parallelism and the correlation between opposites. My work is heavily influenced by contemporary surrealism, theatre, robotics, metaphysics and science fiction cinema. Being that my parents has always worked for NASA at the Space Shuttle Program in Titusville Florida has been an integral part of my narrative based installations and portraits.  I use my own image as a stand in for the human race in the portraits.
The portrait pieces represent the relationship between technology and humans taken from a metaphysical point of view. The action of projection in the portraits and installations signify mysticism, creation and light. In my mixed media sculptures and installations I am attracted to the contrast of the hand made object in a high tech reality because it creates spectacle and charm. It also illuminates a strange dialogue about pseudoscience, futuristic imagery, craft and a certain level of camp, (the kind associated with old, low budget sci-fi fantasy flicks). For example, when I visually experimented with faux versus real life representation; making a faux Mac laptop out of paper makes it about the hand made object in a high tech reality. Also, the process of duplicating life only enhances the discussion layers of parallelism and projection in this particular context.
I take direct inspiration from the camera lens and projectors for my pieces. I use science textbook illustrations and diagrams of the universe and gravitational lensing diagrams openly as references.  I’m specifically interested in the kind of technology that helps us understand the vastness of outer space. Using colorful yarn, cut paper, children’s toys and programs by Apple Computer, such as Photobooth, adds charm to an eerie atmosphere that pretends to be futuristic and/or sci-fi. In my new work I will continue to conceptualize my viewpoint on the elusive fabrics of being in space-time.

TOP 10 INFLUENTIAL SCI FI FANTASY, DREAM SPACE INDIVIDUALS OF 2009

NOT IN ANY PARTICULAR ORDER

-Joan Jonas is really cool too, forgot about her

1.) Stanley Kubrick
 http://kubrickfilms.warnerbros.com/
http://books.google.com/books?id=fU78LdDClHUC&dq=STANLEY+KUBRICK&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=uzDbKdAdm5&sig=I1XR4wqXq4aLQTVZSeBKqS05ymA&hl=en&ei=QDBVS5O9BYOVtge6_6StDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=19&ved=0CFAQ6AEwEg#v=onepage&q=&f=false

2.) David Lynch
http://www.davidlynch.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKiIroiCvZ0

3.) George Lucas
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000184/

4.) John Carpenter
http://uk.imdb.com/name/nm0000118/

5.) Stephen Hawkins
http://www.hawking.org.uk/

6.) Albert Einstein
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates//1921/einstein-bio.html

7.) Matthew Barney
http://video.pbs.org/video/1237601764#
http://www.gladstonegallery.com/barney.asp?id=1470
http://www.artrage.com.au/img/content/Matthew-Barney-C-3.gif
http://www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/artist_bio_11A.html

8.) Pipilotti Rist
http://www.pipilottirist.net/

9.) Cindy Sherman
http://www.cindysherman.com/
http://www.cindysherman.com/biography.shtml

10.) David Altmejd
http://www.andrearosengallery.com/artists/david-altmejd/

RESEARCH-

-Gravitational Lens(ing)
-Metaphysics
-Black hole diagrams
-New technology humans are using to understand space/time
-Diagrams of Universes
-Religion
-What the universe is made of
-How light works
-Folk Art
-Computer Advancement
-Parallel Universes
-Parallelism
-Pschology
-Artists who work with similar subject matter
-Cinema and the camera lens and everything that goes with it! and its relation to everything!  Language, how we see our own existence....how we understand, cinema in relation to light and effect on human mind
-Sci Fi movies old and new

IN THE WORKS: Drawings/ Paintings of a Performance Piece that will take place HOPEFULLY!

THE GIST:


The basic plan is to build an animatronic version of myself.  Just the head...for now.  Moving eyes controlled by micro controllers and the plan is that the puppet head will be an extension of my body.  Some outside take on puppetry....From this performance with the "mikaela puppet" ,ill call it for now,  hopefully some beautiful staged photos, digital paintings/ composites and drawings will follow after.  I want to leave it open.  Nothing is set in concrete.  My first step is to...well...I got to make the puppet head first.
Problems:  Materials that i need (Micro Controller)  is out of my budget.  So i have some technical issues with the piece that i will have to solve.  Using traditional manual puppetry mechanisms ?

There is also talk of a video collaboration with Jen Nugent and another with Jenny Vu.  I dont want to talk about it.  Something primitive.  Explain later.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

25 THINGS ABOUT THE ART OF MIKAELA RAQUEL

 Metaphysics vs. Pseudoscience

 Space/ Time

 NASA

 Science- Fiction

Meaning Of Life/ Pondering Existence

Hand-made/ Low tech reality vs. High tech reality

Our Relationship with Technology

Parallelism in Opposites

Dream Space

Humor

Emotional Otherness

Submission

Hostility

God

Rainbow/ light

Identity

Self Portrait

Elusive Environments

Spectacle/ Awe

Mixed Media

Paper Installation

Projection/ Projector

Video/ Performance

Funnel