Featured Artist Anne Spalter

Enjoy the fascinating and creative portfolio of artist Anne Spalter, and visit her website for more information.

 

 

I create my modern landscapes in order to better see and understand the world around me. Just as one might meditate on a problem or idea, examining a landscape visually allows one insights that the regular conscious mind would not afford. When it works both I, and hopefully my viewers, see environmental elements—such as buildings, technological structures, highways, and the colors of landscapes, seascapes and skyscapes, in eye-opening ways.

 

 

I show work in a variety of formats—from standard wall-mounted screens to a new form of furniture—the video coffee table.

 

 

My work is informed by previous experience with traditional media—I feel more like I am painting now, using digital video, than I did using oil paints. Although the media is different, issues of composition and color remain the same.  I was a math major in college and have been thrilled to be able to bring the mathematical, geometric order made possible by the computer into my work. The experience of shooting the video and working on many instances of a final piece is in the spirit of action painting.

 

 

I began making these kaleidoscopic works because of a trip I took to Dubai—I have always loved Islamic art and I suddenly saw how the computer and my landscape ideas could merge in these patterned compositions.

 

 

I am inspired by modern, often technological landscapes and I shoot all my own video and stills during trips to both large cities and remote locations around the world. I then use custom software to control the many parameters involved in designing the final sequences.

 

 

These include the center of focus, transparency, tiling and mirroring, degrees of symmetry (number of “petals” of the image), angles of rotation, speed, and more. I use the custom software in conjunction with Adobe After Effects, a video editing and special effects environment that lets me perform color balancing and other standard operations.

 

 

I am currently working on a series of videos based on footage I shot in Bora Bora. I was amazed by the lush landscape and incredible color range on this small island.

 

 

I have been exploring new ways of working with the video and still images, including large-scale wall decals, projections, and “video gems.” The video gems are small battery-powered screens encased in resin. The wireless, rechargeable sculptures offer a whole new way for people to enjoy fine art video.