Nathan Selikoff in his studio
Sitting in his studio, surrounded by books, computers, guitars, and beautiful complex images, Nathan Selikoff might be in an office at an academic institution or a farmhouse in New York State. Surprisingly, however, his studio exists in Holden Heights, south of Downtown Orlando. Sandwiched between Washington Shores and Wadeview, the diverse neighborhood of Holden Heights has been Nathan and Amy Selikoff's home for the last several years. While Selikoff calls Holden Heights home, and the physical space of his studio indeed exists here, he actually considers the Internet an important extension of his studio.
Everything changed for Selikoff, however, since last summer. "I finished a residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts (ACA), and I met one of the Algorists in Europe," he commented. The residency, which was the first one at the ACA for digital arts, brought him new inspiration in his art career. Selikoff writes software programs that create images on a computer screen illustrating certain mathematical principles that make strong visual statements. For this he spends a great deal of time mining the internet for knowledge, and crunching code.
Selikoff's artwork uses algorithms, or step-by-step procedures, to create art, placing his work squarely in the Conceptual Art movement which rose in the 1950s. Conceptual artists let the process take precedence over the final product; perhaps the most famous being Robert Rauschenberg's meticulous erasure of William DeKooning's drawing. By choosing computer code, Selikoff and his fellow digital artists carry Conceptual Art into the digital age.
Bridges, a conference in The Netherlands, included an exhibition of art influenced by mathematics. Selikoff was accepted as one of the artist in the show, and ths brought him into contact with one of the European Algorists, practicing digital art in the same way. Selikoff exhibited several pieces, most notably "Helios," which is the result of a mathematical principle known as strange attractors. Forces which attract particles in unusual ways create movement, and the movement generates a form. Selikoff then renders this form and prints it for display.
Within his home are multiple examples of the type of artwork generated by this process. Outside, the messy vitality of Holden Heights; inside, the pure world of mathematics and thought, with three-dimensional objects floating in space, some highly structured and symmetrical and some organic and chaotic. The contrast could not be greater, yet Selikoff's vision is strong enough to cause a visitor to bridge this contrast into his creative space. If mathematics reflects universal beauty, the essence of Selikoff's studio is mathematics, expressed in many different ways.
Yet Selikoff is not isolated from his neighbors at all. He moved to Holden Heights after participating in Orlando Urban Plunge, married in the local church, and is active in many neighborhood get-togethers. Selikoff wanted to counteract the perception of his generation as "talkers, not doers", and he effectively did this by choosing this home just south of Parramore.
Helios
.jpg)
"When we moved to the neighborhood, at the end of 25th Street was a horse. A lady there had grown up in that house, and still had land up against the embankment of I4. She kept a horse on the land. She finally moved it a year or so ago when I4 was widened, and her land was taken by eminent domain." Selikoff noted that the neighbors are a mix of African-American, Afro-Caribbean, white, Hispanic, Latino, and other cultures. He and his family continue to confront the seeds of racism by maintaining a home in this place.
Selikoff also merges his personal territory in the home with his family by sharing his studio space with them. Public space and private space are relative concepts, and Selikoff's studio is, within their house, public space. This trend of artists blurring their personal space with their immediate family and friends is in sharp contrast to the prototypical artist working alone in a loft, a barn, or a room by himself.
As an artist, Selikoff retreats into an abstract world to accomplish his pieces, yet as a citizen, his choice of Holden Heights forces him to interact with his environment. This interaction is important, and Selikoff is seeking more "collaboration and bringing my process out in the open for poeple to experience and interact with," and an example of this is his recent work as part of the RS21 group of artists. In this work, "A Society of Stickpeople," the viewer is allowed to have input into the computer program that creates the artwork, which will be on view at the Maitland Art Center in May.
Nathan Selikoff's choice for home and studio place him out of a traditional comfort zone, but put him in another. If this culture is taking large steps towards eliminating racism, it is also taking individual steps towards this goal, and Selikoff is part of this shift. The influence of Holden Heights on his artwork is perhaps tacit, but it is there. With one foot in art and the other in science, the artist creates works of phenomenal beauty. Perhaps with one foot in his own roots and the other foot in a culturally alien neighborhood, the same might just occur.
Nathan Selikoff has an active exhibition schedule, with upcoming dates both in Central Florida and beyond. To view more of his artwork, visit http://www.nathanselikoff.com/..jpg)
Star Birth
Comments