Event #1 - Ted Victoria

     I had the opportunity to attend the virtual presentation conducted by artist Ted Victoria, and I am eager to share my thoughts and takeaways from his work. Ted Victoria is an incredible artist based in the New York area who has worked with diverse mediums throughout his carrier. However, he greatly focused this presentation on his use of mirrors and projections as tools for creating living images. Furthermore, Ted emphasized how his work utilizes diverse technological mediums in an attempt to explore the limits of his creativity (Argueta). Overall, I truly enjoyed the unique and impactful nature of Ted's work, as it worked with people's perceptions to make them confront the uncomfortable side of their perceptions. 

Source: East End Arts

 

     When describing some of his pieces, Ted highlighted several of his creations while describing some of his inspirations. Personally, I really enjoyed listening to the stories behind the artwork, as much of what inspired him came from items or occurrences that, by most accounts, would be considered mundane or irrelevant. For example, he described getting inspiration for one of his box installations by observing the tin box from which he was eating macaroni. This statement greatly impacted me, as it made me aware of how fluid and natural the artistic process could be. Of course, the process is somewhat different for everyone, but the general perspective that inspiration can emerge from seemingly unimportant observations made me more critical of my surroundings.

 

     Lastly, I would like to draw attention to Ted's use of living organisms in his art. Several of the pieces that Ted presented utilized living organisms, either physically or in projection. One of his creations consisted of fish in a jar; when asked why he selected that specimen, he said they were easy to maintain and ideal for the visual he desired. Another of his pieces used projections of Sea-Monkeys, a manufactured creature derived in the 1950s from brine shrimp (Harvey). This animal has a distinctive and unsettling appearance that allows light to pass through them; consequently, incorporating through a projection makes the box more dynamic and immersive. Ultimately, out of all of the pieces presented, my personal favorite was a projection of Sea-Monkeys on the storefront of a building on Germantown Avenue in New York. The creativity and scale of the piece were outstanding. I wish to have had the opportunity to see it in person, but even the pictures provided a surreal and uneasy sentiment within me. I like art that takes me outside of my realm of comfort and forces me to confront my sense of perception and reality, and that is what Ted's work forced me to do.

 

     I look forward to one day seeing his work in person through his many collections and exhibitions across the world. As of now, some of his work can be experienced in the Fonds National d'Art Contemporain, France; Indianapolis Museum of Art; the Forbes Collection, New York; Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas; Museo Tamayo, Mexico City; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Tasa Collection, Munich; MOMA, New York City; and many more (East End Arts).

 

Works Cited

Argueta, Victor. “Projection Lens Optical Design.” OFH, https://www.opticsforhire.com/blog/projection-lens-design.  

“Gallery : Detour 2021 : Ted Victoria.” East End Arts, https://www.eastendarts.org/gallery/detour-2021-artists/ted-victoria.html.

Harvey, Ailsa. “What Are Sea-Monkeys?” LiveScience, Purch, 4 Feb. 2022, https://www.livescience.com/33907-sea-monkeys.html#:~:text=Sea%2Dmonkeys%20are%20both%20living%20creatures%20and%20a%20manufactured%20product.

Jeff, Author. “Why Are My Sea Monkeys Dying?” Fur, Wings, & Scaly Things, 20 Apr. 2022, https://furwingsandscalythings.com/why-are-my-sea-monkeys-dying/.

Victoria, Ted. “Albums.” Ted Victoria, 2017, http://www.tedvictoria.com/albums/.