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Artist blog report 1

Lillian Schwartz

Lillian Schwartz was born in Ohio in 1927. She worked with digital media before it had gained popularity. Schwartz was one of the earliest artists to work with digital media art. She has used digital media to make many different kinds of art, including graphics, videos, and sculptures. She made one of the first music videos, and one of the first art films. She worked with scientists to learn about computers and how she could use them to make art. Some of her artworks are ones which have made changes to previously existing ones. For example, one of her most well known works, Mona/Leo, combines a self portrait of Leonardo DaVinci with his Mona Lisa. Another work she has made is called Proxima Centauri, which is a sculpture with changing images. She also has a piece called Night Scene, which the Artist and Computer article describes as a “computer-generated etched aluminum plate,” showing an image which looks like nighttime in a city.   

Schwartz’s artworks show what may have been the intended meaning of the originals. Mona/Leo shows the similarities between the Leonardo DaVinci portrait and the Mona Lisa, suggesting the Mona Lisa could have been a self portrait of its artist. She did another project with The Last Supper, showing the image’s possible connection to the painting’s setting. Images like these can make people think more about why other artists’ works were made in the way which they were.

I feel like the artist’s pieces are effective at conveying the message she wants them to. The images clearly show the connections Schwartz wants to make. Her work also shows how computers can be used by artists. She says in the Artist and Computer article that computer programs can be useful to an artist who is designing a three dimensional object, such as a sculpture.     

"Night Scene" by Lillian Schwartz   

Sources

www.biographicon.com

 Artist and Computer-Lillian Schwartz www.atariarchives.org/artist/sec31.php