Claudia Hart
Claudia Hart
Kiki.object, version 02, 2021
3D-rendered animation, GIF (loop), ed 200
A Feminist Manifesta of the Blockchain, print-out
Courtesy of the artist.
When Claudia Hart was asked to join the FeralFile.com “sculpture show,” she took a quantum leap, initiating a discussion with the artists and curator about NFTs, the real and (un)real, and questions of ownership and authenticity. Ultimately, her contribution to the show deconstructs a history which is known by reconstructing the image of Kiki de Montparnasse, Man Ray’s muse and a true Dada icon. Hart, always resistant to patriarchal “tech bro” culture, takes Kiki and breaks her neck, refusing her function as the object of Man Ray’s gaze. Hart’s version of Kiki stares back at the viewer in seductive defiance, haunting us in a visceral way. This Kiki simulation mesmerizes viewers with its rich sensuality, the oddity of its own staring eyes, and Hart’s multi-layered use of technology that combine together in the gaze of this avatar Kiki to catch a glimpse of the infinite possibilities of kindred spirits who can meet and connect despite the vastness of the canon that we call art history.
Claudia Hart emerged as part of a generation of 90s intermedia artists examining issues of identity and representation. Since the late 90s when she began working with 3D animation, Hart embraced these same concepts, but now focusing on the impact of computing and simulations technologies. She was an early adopter of virtual imaging, using 3D animation to make media installations and projections, and later as they were invented, other forms of VR, AR and objects produced by computer-driven production machines. At the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she is a Professor, she developed a pedagogic program based on her practice - Experimental 3D - the first dedicated solely to teaching simulations technologies in an art-school context.
Text by curator Julie Walsh
Photo: Stephen Spera
Claudia Hart is a New York based artist born in 1955.
Claudia Hart is a Professor at the Art Institute of Chicago, and a well-known artist, having worked with 3D animation since the late 90s as an intermedia artist examining issues of identity and representation. She has produced a large body of work using VR, AR, 3D, NFTs and objects produced by computer-driven production machines. At the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she is a Professor, she developed a pedagogic program based on her practice - Experimental 3D - the first dedicated solely to teaching simulations technologies in an art-school context.
Hart’s works are widely exhibited and collected by galleries and museums including the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art (US), the Museum of Modern Art (US), New Museum (US), The Museum of Contemporary Art (US), the National Gallery (UK), Hamburger Bahnhof (DE) and the Albertina Museum (IT) amongst others.