Introduced with the work of NASA-based black women researchers, and the work of women developers, such as Cave Automatic Virtual Environment developer Carolina Cruz-Neira, in the Fall of 2020 and the Spring of 2021, the SAIC ATS course Women Artists in Cyberspace explored cyberspace and virtual-space-based work of women artists, with early Internet artists and writers, including Sherrie Rabinowitz’ role in the Electronic Café; Lorri Ann Two Bulls work with NAPLPS graphics; Brenda Laurel’s work with VR; and with contemporary work by artists such as Lynn Hershman, Pamela Z, Tamiko Theil, Lauren McCarthy, and Carla Gannis.
In response, SAIC students created women-centered art works that were inspired by the issues and approaches that these women and their works explored. Works by every student in the 20-21 Women Artists in Cyberspace classes are included in the primary documentation. For this introduction page, 12 projects were selected for fuller documentation. To explore these works click on the artist's name.
Additionally, beginning with Stevie Lakym Stevens' motion responsive glove, this introduction points to three works that epitomize the spirit of the class.
Inspired by Hidden Figures, Ciel Wang created a video essay on Hidden Figures and introduced Deng Lu, a Chinese woman cinematographer.
"...I’ve made two drawings to illustrate a Chinese female cinematographer that I admire very much. As an important medium, film has always been controlled by men. Women want to express themselves better, they need more female directors and female photographers. Due to the weight of movie cameras and more reasons, female photographers are struggling in this industry. In such a harsh environment, Deng Lu ran around carrying a Steadicam weighing 60 kilograms every day. The existence of outstanding female photographers not only encourages other women in the industry, but also better expresses women's vision and ideas to the public."
Inspired by Carla Gannis' augmented reality selfies, photographer Maca Burbano created a series of layered selfies that began at midterm with quarantine images and concluded in her final project.
Heartfelt thanks to everyone in this class who has explored and contributed to an understanding of the core role of women artists in the InfoSphere
- Judy Malloy, Lecturer SAIC ATS