Lillian Schwartz

Lillian Schwartz is a well-known artist that used a combination of art and technology. She was born on July 13, 1927, in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Schwartz began studying at the College of Nursing and Health to become a nurse instead of following an art career.  After her nursing career, Schwartz became part of the Experiments in Art and Technology. (E.A.T) was a group that brought artists and engineers together to collaborate on projects that used technology and art. Before working with technology and digital art, Schwartz was working with sculpture and photography. 

It is clear that Lillian Schwartz was experimenting with her artwork using technology. Being one of the first artists to use digital art, she was successful in creating art. I think that Schwartz was just experimenting with the computer and making good use of the effects available at the time. Some of the images she made show a clear outline of an object but is using the pixel pattern or basic shapes to create them. She did not try to create a complex piece but instead create simple pieces using a variety of effects. It could have been trying to blend two images to look like one or drawing simple objects.

  Olympiad

“Proxima Centauri” (1968) is one of Schwartz famous sculptures. It is a kinetic sculpture that was displayed in the exhibition “The Machine at the End of Mechanical Age” at the Museum of Modern Art. “Proxima Centauri” was an interactive, kinetic sculpture that was a globe sitting on top of a table like structure. Other components of the structure included a slide projector, motor, mirror and moving rods. Schwartz combined art (sculpture) and technology (projector and motor) to create “Proxima Centauri.” She used the pedal to start the motor and that would start the projector and display different effects on the globe. The sculpture had a pressure sensitive pedal that the viewer would have to step on in order for the sculpture to work. It allowed the viewer to be a part of the sculpture and allow them to experience a new form of art which now included the use of technology.

"Proxima Centauri" 

“Mona/Leo” is one of Schwartz notable works that used the combination of technology and art. It was a picture that merged half of Leonardo Da Vinci’s portrait and the other half was of the Mona Lisa. The picture was interesting because of the selection of art. It was obvious that the picture was of an artwork and its artist. It was interesting of the selection of the piece. The Mona Lisa had a lot of theories regarding the identity of the woman depicted. It was said that the Mona Lisa was a portrait of Da Vinci. Schwartz’s “Mona/Leo” allow people to compare the image of Da Vinci and the Mona Lisa. Schwartz did a good job of aligning the facial features from both pictures.  The nose and mouth are two of the features that look like they belong to one image when it is looked at closely.

"Mona/Leo"

The picture looks simple and it is noticeable that it is two separate images. It is understandable that it was made using simple technology but it could have been improved by making the two images look like they were one. The Mona Lisa side was a painting and the Da Vinci side was more of a drawing. One way of improving the picture is to use two images made from the same medium. It would help the picture blend better. Overall, the picture was able to accomplish the meaning using the technology available at the time. Schwartz successfully created an image that compared the artist with their artwork.

Works Cited:

• http://lillian.com/biography/
•  http://library.osu.edu/find/collections/rarebooks/RBMScollections/lillian-schwartz/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diLa2lig3dw
• http://www.vasulka.org/archive/Writings/EAT.pdf