Historical Portraits Project

In partnership with StandardVision, we've produced a series of digital art pieces for the Central Library Video Wall. This project involved creating cinematic moving "portraits" of Los Angeles historical figures, portrayed by library patrons and community members.

Read more about this project.

Generative Animations

A series of generative digital animations which draw inspiration from the art and architecture of Central Library, especially the decorative ceiling patterns painted by Julian Garnsey. There are roughly 6 or 7 unique patterned rooms in the Library—each with their own color palette, shapes, and compositions. The generative pattern system is organized as a series based on these various rooms—freeing the ornament from the bounds of ceiling decoration and reintroducing it as dynamic digital content. The final result is a piece that illustrates a systematic approach to decoration, placemaking, and interior design—both new and old.

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Universum

Universum is the first product of Substrate, a LACMA Art + Technology Grant project by artist Nancy Baker Cahill, which examines the equitable distributive properties of mycelial networks, and how they relate to emerging data-sharing technologies. Substrate connects civic institutions, cultural resources, and data storage systems as a collaborative test case for civic hubs citywide, including the Los Angeles Public Library, LACMA, and Long Beach City College working in tandem, imagining new ways of eliminating barriers to access, of structuring permission, and of producing and sharing knowledge. Using blockchain, Substrate connects these public resources as metaphoric "Mother Trees" with the potential to nourish communities through distributed networks of multi-stakeholder cultural initiatives.

Titan by Sandro Bocci

Sandro Bocci is an Italian filmmaker and new media artist. Inspired by the beauty and intricacies of the natural world, Bocci has honed his skills in experimental shooting, ranging from macro to astrophotography. One of the distinctive features of his work is the prominent use of high magnification field of view footage and are deliberately devoid of CGI or AI manipulation. These visually compelling images offer viewers an immersive experience rich with enigmatic reverberations and unexpected discoveries.

Raum by Dirk Koy

Dirk Koy is a filmmaker and motion graphics artist using different technologies such as drones, 2D/3D animation, photogrammetry, AR and VR to create moving digital images that combine graphic design with video and animation. He investigates the interface between reality and virtuality, upending the viewer's expectations of focus and perspective.

LIA 19 by LIA

Austrian Artist LIA is considered one of the pioneers of software and net art and has been producing works since 1995. Her practice spans across video, performance, software, installations, sculpture, projections and digital applications. LIA’s works combine traditions of drawing and painting with the aesthetics of digital images and algorithms, characterized by a minimalist quality and by an affinity with conceptual art. She focuses on the translation of certain experienced principles into abstract forms in order to allow the viewer to explore the same on a subconscious level.

Unveiling by Behnaz Farahi

Behnaz Farahi is a designer, creative technologist and critical maker. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor at the MIT Media Lab, where she leads the Critical Matter Research Group. Trained as an architect, she explores how to foster an empathetic relationship between the human body and the space around it through the implementation of emerging technologies. Farahi’s Unveiling addresses the representation of the female body through the veiling and unveiling of identity. It was created in direct response to the Mahsa Amini protests that began in September 2022.

Incomplete by Dalena Tran

Dalena Tran designs systems and builds platforms to propose new models for collective knowledge and creative worldbuilding. Her body of work explores the interplay between media and emerging technology in constructing urban imaginaries. A reverie of our increasingly virtualized world and composed of a single take, Incomplete invites us to traverse an endless choreography of bodies in perpetual free- fall and updating images that reflect a world in constant change.

Drive Time by Casey Kauffman

Casey Kauffmann is an interdisciplinary artist working in a variety of digital mediums. Her piece Drive Time is a video collage artwork combining found and original material of Hollywood freeways. Exploring the diverse terrain of LA via a quintessential LA experience— spending time in our cars—the work juxtaposes the commonly perceived glitz and glamour of LA with the authentic, unpolished beauty that is inherently known and appreciated by its residents.

Private Life (Virginia Wing) by Alexis Jamet

A French designer and illustrator based in Paris, Alexis Jamet's diverse works range from conventional identities to animated short films and installations. He shares his time betweenpersonal practice, graphic design and drawings, collaboratingwith various institutions, brands, publications, and partners across the globe. Private Life is a collaboration with musician Virginia Wing, and features imagery which morphs back and forth between total abstraction and grainy snippets of recognizable imagery, like butterflies and naturescapes.

Plane of Incidence I by Sabrina Ratté

Sabrina Ratté is a Canadian artist based in Montreal. Using tools, such as 3D scans, analog video synthesizers, and 3D animation, her formal approach serves as the foundation for the creation of ecosystems that manifest across various platforms, from interactive installations to series of videos, digital prints, sculptures, or virtual Reality. Plane of Incidence explores the convergence of objects and living beings, drawing inspiration from their conceptual, spiritual, and scientific connections.