Alex Lee (artist)

Last updated
Alex M. Lee
Born
Alex M. Lee

1982
Seoul
NationalityAmerican, South Korean
Education School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Known for 3D animation, new media art, interactive art, virtual reality
Notable workProject H.E.A.R.T., Everything From Here to Infinity
Movement electronic art, animation, new media art
Website https://alexmlee.com/

Alex M. Lee (artist) is an American and South Korean artist who lives and works in Phoenix, Arizona. He is assistant professor of animation at Arizona State University's Herberger Institute for Design & Art and faculty affiliate at ASU's Mesa City Media and Immersive eXperience Center (MIX). His work uses 3D animation, game engines and virtual reality to explore temporality, language, perception and human interpretation in our technological society. [1] His work has been presented at the Goethe Institut, SIGGRAPH, Toronto Digifest, anti-utopias amongst other international venues. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Background

Lee was born in Seoul, Korea in 1982 and grew up in America. [5] He did his undergraduate and graduate degrees at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, pursuing photography and digital imaging in the former and then Art & Technology in the latter. [6]

Career

Machinic Vision, Selected Works: 2008-2010

Lee's series, Machinic Vision, was featured in the anthology and textbook, "Reframing Photography: theory and practice". [7] In a documentary video for the release of the textbook, Lee was invited to provide an overview of his series of his early works, which "...emancipates the image from real-world capture by rendering digital images exclusively with computer technology." according to Routledge. [8] [9]

The Sands (2017)

In 2017, Lee was part of a VR group show called The Sands [10] at Essex Flowers, a storefront gallery on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Reviewed critically by HyperAllergic and Smithsonian magazine, the virtual reality works were curated around the myth of an abandoned casino lying destitute from the bygone era of Fifties Vegas glory, and showcased a 1:1 replica of Essex Flowers venue with embedded digital artworks. [11] [12]

Everything from Here To Infinity (2017)

“Everything from Here to Infinity” is an immersive virtual reality piece viewed on the Oculus headset, where Lee processes data of celestial objects from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and re-renders them in a complex spatial universe of abstract expressionist paint strokes. It was most recently debuted at Digifest Toronto [13]

Project H.E.A.R.T. (2018)

In 2018 Lee collaborated with new media artist Erin Gee (artist) to produce an artistic video game, Project H.E.A.R.T. ("Holographic Empathy Attack Robots Team"). It is presented as an installation on a desktop computer with an oculus headset and a biosensor on the user's hand. The sensor would measure changes in their skin conductance and heart rate as they played the video game. [14] Users are challenged to use their focus and empathy to support in-game soldiers' morale in order to win, as opposed to enacting the typical violence in first-person shooter video games. [15]

the Fold: Episode I (2020)

In 2022, Lee debuted his multi-episodic VR project, the Fold. It is a non-linear interactive film and VR-based art game involving rooms with doors containing a concept folding into other rooms with doors. Inspired by Jorge Luis Borges' short story 'The Garden of Forking Paths', it is in the spirit of an 'escape the room' concept which highlights the similarities and differences of technics as it relates to Western and Eastern philosophy. [16] Episode I debuted at the Paris/Berlin Recontres Internationales in Paris and Berlin in 2022 after multiple delays and postponements due to the Covid 19 epidemic. [17] [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virtual reality</span> Computer-simulated experience

Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment, education and business. VR is one of the key technologies in the reality-virtuality continuum. As such, it is different from other digital visualization solutions, such as augmented virtuality and augmented reality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immersion (virtual reality)</span> Perception of being physically present in a non-physical world

In virtual reality (VR), immersion is the perception of being physically present in a non-physical world. The perception is created by surrounding the user of the VR system in images, sound or other stimuli that provide an engrossing total environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oculus Rift</span> Virtual reality headsets by Oculus VR

Oculus Rift is a discontinued line of virtual reality headsets developed and manufactured by Oculus VR, a virtual reality company founded by Palmer Luckey that is widely credited with reviving the virtual reality industry. It was the first virtual reality headset to provide a realistic experience at an accessible price, utilizing novel technology to increase quality and reduce cost by orders of magnitude compared to earlier systems. The first headset in the line was the Oculus Rift DK1, released on March 28, 2013. The last was the Oculus Rift S, discontinued in April 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palmer Luckey</span> American entrepreneur (born 1992)

Palmer Freeman Luckey is an American entrepreneur best known as the founder of Oculus VR and designer of the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality head-mounted display that is widely credited with reviving the virtual reality industry. In 2017, Luckey left Oculus and founded defense contractor Anduril Industries, a defense technology company focused on autonomous drones and sensors for military applications. Luckey ranked number 22 on Forbes' 2016 List of America's Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reality Labs</span> Virtual and augmented reality products company

Reality Labs, formerly Oculus VR, is a business and research unit of Meta Platforms that produces virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) hardware and software, including virtual reality headsets such as the Quest, and online platforms such as Horizon Worlds. In June 2022, several artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives that were previously a part of Meta AI were transitioned to Reality Labs. This also includes Meta's fundamental AI Research laboratory FAIR which is now part of the Reality Labs - Research (RLR) division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samsung Gear VR</span> Virtual reality headset by Samsung

The Samsung Gear VR is a virtual reality headset developed by Samsung Electronics, in collaboration with Oculus VR, and manufactured by Samsung. The headset was released on August 21, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HTC Vive</span> Virtual reality headset

HTC Vive is a line of virtual and mixed reality headsets produced by HTC Corporation. The brand currently encompasses headsets designed for use with personal computers as well as standalone headsets such as the Vive Focus line, Vive Flow glasses, and the Vive Elite XR mixed reality headset.

Oculus Touch is a line of motion controller systems used by Meta Platforms virtual reality headsets. The controller was first introduced in 2016 as a standalone accessory for the Oculus Rift CV1, and began to be bundled with the headset and all future Oculus products beginning in July 2017. Since their original release, Touch controllers have undergone revisions for later generations of Oculus/Meta hardware, including a switch to inside-out tracking, and other design changes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virtual reality headset</span> Head-mounted device that provides virtual reality for the wearer

A virtual reality headset is a head-mounted device that uses 3D near-eye displays and positional tracking to provide a virtual reality environment for the user. VR headsets are widely used with VR video games, but they are also used in other applications, including simulators and trainers. VR headsets typically include a stereoscopic display, stereo sound, and sensors like accelerometers and gyroscopes for tracking the pose of the user's head to match the orientation of the virtual camera with the user's eye positions in the real world. AR headsets are similar to VR headsets, but AR headsets enable the user to see and interact with the outside world. Examples of AR headsets include the Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AltspaceVR</span> Virtual reality social platform

AltspaceVR was a social VR platform that was founded in 2013 by Eric Romo and launched its initial product in May 2015. In 2017 it was acquired by Microsoft and became part of the Mixed Reality division within the Cloud and AI group. Some elements of the platform appear in Microsoft Mesh.

Foveated rendering is a rendering technique which uses an eye tracker integrated with a virtual reality headset to reduce the rendering workload by greatly reducing the image quality in the peripheral vision.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virtual reality game</span> Video game played in virtual reality

A virtual reality game or VR game is a video game played on virtual reality (VR) hardware. Most VR games are based on player immersion, typically through a head-mounted display unit or headset with stereoscopic displays and one or more controllers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oculus Go</span> Untethered virtual reality headset by Oculus VR

The Oculus Go is a discontinued, standalone virtual reality headset developed by Meta Reality Labs in partnership with Qualcomm and Xiaomi. It is in the first generation of Facebook Technologies' virtual reality headsets, and the company's first device in the category of standalone VR headsets, which was a new category at the time of the Go's release. The Oculus Go was unveiled on October 11, 2017 during the Oculus Connect developer conference, and released on May 1, 2018. Xiaomi launched their own version of the headset in China as the Mi VR Standalone on May 31, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oculus Quest</span> Virtual reality headset

The first-generation Oculus Quest is a discontinued virtual reality headset developed by Oculus, a brand of Facebook Inc., and released on May 21, 2019. Similar to its predecessor, Oculus Go, it is a standalone device, that can run games and software wirelessly under an Android-based operating system. It supports positional tracking with six degrees of freedom, using internal sensors and an array of cameras in the front of the headset rather than external sensors. The cameras are also used as part of the safety feature "Passthrough", which shows a view from the cameras when the user exits their designated boundary area known as "Guardian". A later software update added "Oculus Link", a feature that allows the Quest to be connected to a computer via USB, enabling use with Oculus Rift-compatible software and games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oculus Rift S</span> Virtual reality head-mounted display

Oculus Rift S is a discontinued virtual reality headset co-developed by Lenovo Technologies and Oculus VR. Announced in March 2019 and released that May, it is a successor to the original Oculus Rift CV1 model, with noted changes including a new "inside-out" positional tracking system with cameras embedded inside the headset unit, a higher-resolution display, and a new "halo" head strap.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oculus Rift CV1</span> Virtual reality headset by Oculus VR

Oculus Rift CV1, also known simply as Oculus Rift, is a virtual reality headset developed by Oculus VR, a subsidiary of Meta Platforms, known at the time as Facebook Inc. It was announced in January 2016, and released in March the same year. The device constituted the first commercial release in the Oculus Rift lineup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SexLikeReal</span> Virtual reality company

SexLikeReal (SLR) is a virtual reality pornography sharing site, VR live cam streaming, production company and VR technology developer. It was launched in 2015 with the top Studios such as VR Bangers, VR Conk, BadoinkVR, Virtualrealporn and more than one of the largest Netflix-like platforms for VR pornography, SexLikeReal has been featured by XBIZ and other major media outlets in the adult entertainment industry. According to Venture Beat, SexLikeReal is pioneering in merging adult entertainment with VR technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quest 2</span> Virtual reality headset

Quest 2 is a standalone virtual reality headset developed by Reality Labs, a division of Meta Platforms. It was unveiled on September 16, 2020, and released on October 13, 2020 as the Oculus Quest 2. It was then rebranded as the Meta Quest 2 in 2022, as part of a company-wide phase-out of the Oculus brand following the rebranding of Facebook, Inc. as Meta.

<i>Horizon Worlds</i> Virtual reality platform developed by Meta Platforms

Meta Horizon Worlds is an online virtual reality game with an integrated game creation system developed and published by Meta Platforms. On this multi-player virtual platform, players move and interact with each other in various worlds that host events, games, and social activities. They can also build and publish worlds similar to Rec Room. Horizon Worlds works on Oculus Rift S, Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest Pro and Meta Quest 3 headsets.

References

  1. ↑ Dooley, Tatum. "VR and the Failure of Self-Help Technology". Canadian Art. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  2. ↑ Bors, Sabin. "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men". anti-utopias. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  3. ↑ "VR ARTISTS ERIN GEE AND LI ALIN @ DIGIFEST". Goethe Institut Kanada.
  4. ↑ "Alex M Lee". Science of the Unseen SIGGRAPH. SIGGRAPH. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  5. ↑ "Alex M Lee". Science of the Unseen SIGGRAPH. SIGGRAPH. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  6. ↑ "Alex M Lee". Clarkson University. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  7. ↑ Modrak, Rebecca (2010-11-23). Reframing Photography (1st ed.). Routledge: Taylor & Francis. p. 1. ISBN   9780415779203 . Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  8. ↑ "ALEX M. LEE". Reframing Photography. Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group.
  9. ↑ "Alex M Lee". ilikethisart. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  10. ↑ "The Sands". Essex Flowers. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  11. ↑ Sutton, Benjamin (9 August 2017). "A VR Exhibition Pays Tribute to a Long-Gone Vegas Casino". HyperAllergic. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  12. ↑ Panko, Ben. "Reach Out and Touch This Virtual Reality Art Installation". SMITHSONIAN.COM. Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  13. ↑ "Everything from here to infinity". Digifest 2018.
  14. ↑ James, Wagner. "Project H.E.A.R.T: A Virtual Reality War Game Where Soldier Morale Is Controlled By The Player's Real Emotions :: New World Notes". New World Notes. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
  15. ↑ Dooley, Tatum. "VR and The Failure of Self Help Technology". Canadian Art. Canadian Art . Retrieved 2019-12-06.
  16. ↑ "The Fold".
  17. ↑ "| RENCONTRES INTERNATIONALES PARIS/BERLIN | new cinema and contemporary art |".
  18. ↑ "| RENCONTRES INTERNATIONALES PARIS/BERLIN | new cinema and contemporary art |".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.