Carolina Villagra / Contributing Writer
The FIU Art + Art History Department is lighting up dark streets this spring with Illuminate Coral Gables. The university is taking part in South Florida’s first-ever art and light exhibition, featuring their work “You Are Here.”
Professor Jonathan Perez along with Ari Temkin, Emily Silverio-Williams, Heather Kostrna, Jennifer Hudock, L’nique Noel, Maria Daniela Maldonado and Tara Remmen were involved in creating the “You Are Here” video projection on the Coral Gables Art Museum west facing wall.
FIU’s involvement came to be when David Chung, Chair of the Art + Art History Department, approached Perez with the idea of creating artwork for Illuminate Coral Gables. Although eager to participate, Perez would not do so unless his students contributed to the art project.
“I was interested in participating in the project if it could be a student-led project in some capacity. Like if FIU students were going to benefit out of this partnership rather than just myself.”
The Art Department’s “You Are Here” project originated in an art class facilitated through zoom meetings. Chung helped to design a course for students to engage with their classmates while creating the artwork.
The theme behind the project was manifested from hours of research on the building their artwork was to be projected on. Jennifer Hudock believed that the research helped to tie all the artists’ ideas together in the project.
“Without the research and the connection between all our ideas, the project would have been much more disjointed.,” she said. “There was a lot of research coming out, so the research helped in bringing all of our ideas together.”
Each student had the opportunity to dig deeper into the history and geology of Miami. Silverio-Williams was drawn to the sculptures on the borders of the museum and delved deeper into the artist behind them.
“I was really attracted to the sculptures and I ended up with my part in this project to research the woman who created those busts.”
Emily Silverio-Williams sketching in her workspace. Courtesy of Emily Silverio-Williams
Concept drawings of Joan Keller. Courtesy of Emily Silverio-Williams
Bust is a term that references a statue sculpted from the shoulders up. Silverio-Williams was intrigued by Joan Keller, the sculptress of these busts on the walls of the Coral Gables Museum.
“I was fascinated with this idea that it is not common knowledge who the sculptress is for those busts or that she is a female.” she said. “It sort of struck a chord with me as a female artist and made me think about how our [womens’] art exists in the world.”
While Silverio-Williams had an interest in sculptures, Maldonado found inspiration in the contradictions of nature.
“I found myself more gravitated towards the ecological side and the geological aspect of the works.” she said. “I mainly wanted to point out the fact that nature is so contradictory…nature and us…light and darkness…chaos and order.”
A still image of Earth from “You Are Here” during a projection test. Courtesy of Maria Daniela Maldonado
Hudock focused her research on climate change and the composition of limestone for the video projection. She explains what about this topic she was most struck by and how she was able to create her part of the artwork.
“I researched a bit about sea level rise and climate change and a little bit about the geology and the composition of limestone, and I created these models all with [StyleGAN2] a machine learning program.”
The main device used to manifest the artists’ artwork was StyleGAN2, an artificial intelligence database used to bring “You Are Here” to life.
Temkin took photos and recorded audio sounds in the Pine Rocklands, a national park in the Everglades.
When gathering his work for “You Are Here,” Temkin input photos into StyleGAN2. He discusses his thoughts on the artificial database.
“I like this conversation between AI technology and its relation to real life. It [StyleGAN2] represents biology in a way that doesn’t exist in nature.”
Noel created the instrumental sounds for the 14-minute display for “You Are Here”. She was inspired by her interest in anthropology and her Caribbean roots.
Coming from St. Thomas Island in the U.S Virgin Islands, she discussed the importance of considering history when creating sounds for an art piece such as this one.
“The sounds for ‘You Are Here’ are in relation to the historical events and the ecology of Coral Gables.”
The project couldn’t have succeeded without the student artists’ support for one another. Maldonado discusses the sense of support and unity that was created when working on the project.
“I felt discouraged at one point and I voiced these concerns to my team and my professor. I was met with nothing but encouragement,” she said. “This was special to me because it made me realize the importance of having a supportive environment.”
Each student learned the importance of teamwork and patience throughout the creation process. Silverio-Williams felt her time at FIU helped to prepare her to work with others for this collaborative project.
“The classes I’ve had so far and the teachers and peers I’ve worked with have made me think differently about art.” she said. “They make you approach art in a very intentional and intellectual way.”
If you are interested in seeing this work of art dissected into pieces, the Coral Gables Art Museum is exhibiting “You Are Here: Introspective,” a showcase of each students’ individual contribution to the outdoor artwork.
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