Hye Rim Lee at Max Lang

For those waltzing around the Chelsea gallery scene in the next few weeks, Hye Rim sends word about an opening of new work on March 13th at Max Lang gallery, 229 10th Ave, New York.

In Pictures: Tending Networks Symposium

Click the large image to go to the next image, or use the page navigation along the bottom. For the full size version of any image, click Link.

New media work shows traffic, but not it's impact

As well as recycling code as a way to teach programming, Steph Thirion recently finished Cascade on Wheels, a data vis project attempting to translate abstract traffic stats into a more meaningful, compelling interactive. Beautifully realised in Processing, Cascade extrudes upwards, creating something akin to a spatial bar graph over Madrid - the higher the wall, the more traffic on that street. Responsive and navigable, the user is able to pan, zoom, and explore this new environment of data easily. The problem is, Cascade stops there, failing to make any statement about how, for instance, the 100,000 vehicles per day on El Prado street impacts residents, the environment, and the urban fabric.



Thirion (and the rest of the team) seemed to realise this, and came up with a second vis based on the same data, Traffix Mixer. A sound toy, where "emotion was given prominence over direct readability", Mixer does provide a nice complement to the more strictly infographic Cascade. But unfortunately, the innovative, slick interface compromises the power of the work. " Ah, i forgot how pleasant it sounds... nice to hear it again.", is one comment on the video blog. The sound of a speeding car coming up behind you - as any pedestrian or cyclist can attest- is always unnerving and ominous. Mixers sound, while aggressive, is too abstracted from its subject matter, sounding more like a track from a laptop/glitch artist.


Traffic expands like a virus. The amount of vehicles will always expand to the amount of roadway available. Its effects are also viral and ever expanding. In a landmark study in 1981, Dr. Donald Appleyard demonstrated a direct correlation between the number of friends people have on a street, and the amount of cars travelling on a given street. Even more interestingly, when asked to define their "home area", residents on Appleyard's "Low Traffic" road circled the whole street: their house, the front yards, the footpaths, and even their friends houses. With growing traffic comes growing impact, and a growing retreat. Children on the street stop playing. Adults on the footpath stop conversations. Hanging out in front yards ceases, decks stop being used, and finally in extreme situations, the front room of the house is unused, permeated with traffic noise, horns, and pollution. Traffic Mixer and Cascade on Wheels, while stunningly executed, fail to convey the impact of their subject - either quantitatively or qualitatively.

New Hye-Rim work at Art Basel Miami

Hye Rim Lee recently sent word about new work in the Art Basel Miami Beach show - the US counterpart to the parent show in Switzerland. "My 3 new work Crystal City, a digital print series 1, (c-type print, 72 inch x 72 inch), Candyland, a series of digital print (70 cm x 70 cm, c-type print) will be at Art Miami Basel, Kukje Gallery stand." Lee showed earlier in the year here in Auckland at Stark White gallery, before heading off to a residency in New York.

Hye Rim Lee at Starkwhite

Candyland consists of a series of stills from 3d models, highlighting some of the artists themes - a perfect manga face, a nipple, red lips against an untextured polygon skin. Obsession/Love Forever is comprised of four 3D DVD animations featuring dissected body parts of TOKI trapped in a perfume bottle. The latter is a fictional character created by Hye Rim, which represents and explores the idealised female form dominant throughout manga, anime, and video game genres, and extending heavily into the mainstream culture particularly in Asia. Technically and aesthetically Hye Rim as employed conventions of these genres in her work. Animations entice with pastels straight from the pages of beauty magazines. Glass bottles shimmer and emit slow-motion perfume sprays. The artist has setup particle systems - typically used for smoke and fire effects in CG and video game work, Hye Rim repurposes them here to create swirling, glistening pixie dust and more seductive effects. On until the 30th of August at Starkwhite.