A photo of mine has been used in the current issue of Art In America (September, 2014) as the signature image for the Art Silicon Valley/San Francisco (Art SV/SF) art fair, happening Columbus Day weekend (October 9-12). The image is of my friend Nick Dong’s “Enlightenment Room” piece when it was installed here last year at the Renwick Gallery.
Art In America, September 2014 – Art SV/SF Art Fair Ad
I would complain that they didn’t give me proper credit for the image (The Copyright notice you see in this image was added by me for the purpose of posting this here), but they also screwed up the name of the piece in the ad caption, so I’m not the only one being dissed.
That said, it’s still VERY cool to have one of my images used in an advertisement in Art In America.
I got a two page spread in Metalsmith magazine in a feature article about my friend Nick Dong, whose installation piece was part of the “40 under 40” show at the Renwick Gallery here in Washington last year.
Metalsmith, June 2013, p.46Metalsmith, June 2013, p.47
If you want to get a copy for yourself, you can check it out on their website and order hard copies or PDF copies. Metalsmith Magazine
I’m also including a video I shot of Nick’s installation. My apologies for the video quality, but it was my first time shooting with that camera and I didn’t know about adjusting the video noise, so the low-light segments are rather grainy looking.
You can see more about Nick and his work on his website – Studio Dong. Nick is originally from Taiwan, and now lives and works in the San Francisco Bay area.
If you’ve been following my blog for a little while, you probably saw the post about my friend Nick Dong’s art installation at the Renwick Gallery (the Smithsonian Museum of American Arts and Crafts). At that shoot, Nick shot a quickie video of the piece using his point-n-shoot camera. The video quality was somewhat disappointing. He’ll be back in town tomorrow for the exhibit opening, and I’ll be going over to the gallery after hours to shoot video, which I hope to post here when I have it edited. Nick’s need for a video of the installation, plus several personal projects I have in mind (some instructional videos on platinum printing, a Kickstarter funding request, and some artist interviews at Glen Echo Photoworks).
I’m still learning my way around the camcorder – a Canon Vixia HF G10. The touch-screen controls are fairly intuitive, and they get easier the more you play with it and start learning the control layout, but certain things being buried in touch-screen menus is frustrating to someone coming from analog still photography where all the controls are exposed all the time as knobs, buttons or dials. At least this one does have a nice fat manual-focus control ring right around the lens, making it easy to pull focus, and the zoom speed is easy to manage as well. You can vary the zoom speed from almost-imperceptible to WHAM! in a fluid manner instead of having just two or three zoom speeds.
Here is a series of illustrations of the operation of the room. This shows the room getting brighter as Nick sits on the cushion (see, you do get to see his face after all!). Nick’s installation consists of a long, narrow room with the walls covered in elongated hexagonal tiles (each of which Nick made, and hand signed on the back!) . The floor and ceiling are covered in mirror tiles. The opposite end of the room from which you enter is rounded, and at the focus of the hemicircle, a mirror-based seat with a white cushion is located. In the ceiling is a series of LED lights. Sitting on the cushion triggers the lights and music, which build in intensity for approximately one minute before fading out.
Here is a link to the Renwick Gallery’s exhibit announcement:
On Friday morning I had the great honor and opportunity to go to the Renwick Museum of American Crafts (part of the Smithsonian Institution) to photograph an installation piece by a friend of mine, Nick Dong, an Oakland, California based installation/mixed-media artist. His piece, “The Enlightenment Room” was chosen to be included in the Renwick’s “40 under 40” exhibit showcasing 40 hot and talented artists under the age of 40 working in “craft” media. Nick’s installation consists of a long, narrow room with the walls covered in elongated hexagonal tiles (each of which Nick made, and hand signed on the back!) . The floor and ceiling are covered in mirror tiles. The opposite end of the room from which you enter is rounded, and at the focus of the hemicircle, a mirror-based seat with a white cushion is located. In the ceiling is a series of LED lights. Sitting on the cushion triggers the lights and music, which build in intensity for approximately one minute before fading out.
Shipping Crates, The Enlightenment Room
Nick, adjusting some tiles
Nick, inspecting the room
The Enlightenment Room, Exterior
The Enlightenment Room, Interior
Here is a link to the Renwick Gallery’s exhibit announcement:
I tend to be a bit of a stick in the mud when it comes to my artistic tastes, but I was truly impressed by Nick’s installation piece. Every component was extremely well thought out and seamlessly integrated to produce a singular experience.
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