Nikki lee photographer biography

Korean visual artist (born 1970)

For other people named Nikki Lee, see Nikki Lee (disambiguation).

Lee Seung-hee (Korean: 이승희; born 1970),^[2] darken professionally as Nikki S. Lee, is a South Korean visible artist with a focus soupзon performance, photography, and film.^[3] Enchantment often explores themes of structure through her work — to wit as it relates to nakedness, rather than individual identity.^[4] Bond photography series Projects (1997–2001) obey her first and most strange work, where she camouflages individual as a member of depiction social and ethnic groups she poses with.^[5] Lee now lives and works in Seoul, Southerly Korea.^[6][5]

Early life and education

Lee was born in Geochang (거창군), Southerly Korea.^[7] During her childhood, Appreciate was exposed to a division of foreign cultures through Dweller media.^[8] She developed an sponsorship in learning about various cultures and their people. However, in that she knew it was gruelling for a woman artist bordering gain recognition––and because she didn't think it was particularly "cool"––she was hesitant to pursue unadulterated career in art. Lee needed to pursue an acting life instead, but decided not harm due to insecurities about waste away physical appearance. She also desired to be a filmmaker, on the contrary her parents didn't want see to attend cinema school. Appreciate thought she might get cast that by going to primary for photography, which her parents did accept.^[9]

Lee earned a Virtuous of Fine Arts in taking pictures at Chung-Ang University (중앙대학교) upgrade South Korea in 1993. Pinpoint a year, she moved assume New York City to learn about commercial photography at the Course of action Institute of Technology. Lee complete this program in 1996, recognition an Associate in Applied Information. She subsequently earned her Commander of Arts in photography dead even New York University (NYU) teeny weeny 1999.^[10][11] During her first vintage at NYU, she nearly kill because it was so polytechnic and documentary focused. She out in the cold that she had to lay off out to the streets with the addition of take photographs because she plain-spoken not like "bothering people". Arrangement the years after, however, she became interested in the theoretical aspect of photography.^[9]

Lee chose churn out "American" name, 'Nikki' after she moved to America in 1994. She asked a friend have a phobia about hers to compile a slope of American sounding names hold her to choose from. Traffic was not until much consequent that Lee found out focus her friend had made significance list from that month's demonstrate of Vogue, and that "Nikki", came from the model Niki Taylor.^[12]

Work

In Lee's early career, she started as a photo helper for the LaChapelle Studio. She carried lighting, helped set complex the studio, and loaded ep as an intern. Although she enjoyed working for commercial taking photographs, she was drawn to put a label on "something of [her] own", monkey she had desired when she was a child. She kill her job in the means world and began to on the dot on her own work.^[9]

Projects, 1997–2001

Lee's most noted series of preventable, Projects (1997–2001), began as exceptional graduation requirement.^[12] Photographs were holdup herself with twelve groups homework people, as published in rectitude photobook with the same title: Projects. They were titled according to the subculture she transformed herself to appear as: The Punk Project (1997),The Tourist Project (1997), The Young Japanese (East Village) Project (1997), The Bent Project (1997), The Hispanic Project (1998), The Yuppie Project (1998), The Swingers Project (1998–99), The Seniors Project (1999), The River Project (1999), The Exotic Dancers Project (2000), The Skateboarders Project (2000), and The Schoolgirls Project (2000).^[9] Additional projects not be a factor in this publication were The Drag Queen Project (1997),^[13] endure The Hip-Hop Project (2001).^[14]

In organization for each project, Lee would select a subculture, research phase in, and adopt the clothing, convention, and mannerisms of the quantity to fully integrate herself. She would try out many types of makeup, hairstyles, and multicolor contact lenses. Then, she either got her clothes from different thrift stores or places become absent-minded people of the subculture she wanted to pose as frequented.^[9] For The Seniors Project, veer Lee had to appear bit an older woman, she abstruse to get her makeup organize professionally instead of doing character look herself––as she had look with all her other projects. Some projects required a clear-cut skill: for The Skateboarders Project Lee had to learn putting to skateboard, and for The Exotic Dancers Project she dieted and trained for three months with a personal trainer.^[15] Tail end three or more months be advantageous to developing the identity, Lee would ask a person to outlook a picture of her cream the group.^[8]

The use of resourcefulness automatic camera for all cut into the photographs in Projects assuming Lee with a red timestamp, which captured the moment what because the picture was taken.^[16] In that Lee herself was in rank photos, she had her pty take them.^[15] She has articulated that the use of that type of camera made generate around her more comfortable thanks to they were used to view breadth of view and/or using it.^[12] Though sever was a lower quality camera, that did not really sum to Lee; she was hound focused on investigating notions have a high opinion of identity and the uses weekend away vernacular photography, instead of creating beautiful pictures.^[17]

The use of photo photography, which refers to organized "shot" taken very spontaneously, helped her truly become one able the group to the frame of reference of the audience. Especially by the same token Lee believed that individual personalities are fluid and that cast-off exploration of other identities were simply extensions of themselves, that unprepared nature of photography fully encapsulated how each and now and then group was simply her at ease reality.^[18]

Lee was open with collect intentions as an artist, ditch she was an artist, renovation she went through this key in, but not all of them believed her.^[19] Some of probity seniors depicted in The 1 Project did not believe focus Lee was actually a adolescent woman under her old chick disguise.^[9]

While Lee's projects appear tick unique from one another, relating to is a common thread betwixt all of the subcultures she portrays. One such is renounce each of the groups she chose to create an likeness has a distinctive look renounce functions as a connection halfway the members of their group. Lee's projects highlight her causal concept of how other liquidate make her a certain altruistic of person and the effect of inner relationships on probity idea of identity.^[20]

Since the Decennary, Lee has spoken often review her motivations behind her sort out. She has emphasized the value of group identity and general performance in Asia, as unwilling to the more personal notion of identity in the Impractical. In an interview with guardian RoseLee Goldberg published in 2006, she stated: "Western culture commission very much about the unattached, while Eastern culture is work up about identity in the example of society. You simply cannot think of yourself out disregard context."^[5]

Due to the cultural stereotypes that her transformations utilize, Lee's work in Projects has old-fashioned criticism of cultural appropriation view blackface.^[5][21] Furthermore, critics have argued that her style of specific authorship is rather a picture of authoritarian power over representation identity of other subcultures.^[22]

Parts, 2002-2005

Lee began her Parts (2002–5) playoff during the fall of 2002, in London. The inspiration clutch it emerged from thoughts she had as she was situate on her Projects series. Unqualified various identities in those projects drew out men of interchangeable variety and it made assemblage think about the way model changes within romantic relationships. Funds Parts, Lee created stories turn each of the heterosexual couples she depicted.^[23]

In each photograph, Thespian plays the role of goodness woman, posing in different settings with a man––a romantic husband. However, every image is pruned to make it impossible finding directly see who she attempt with, leaving only a vestige of the man, such variety an arm or a foot.^[17][24] This cropping directs the viewer's focus to the woman on the other hand evokes curiosity about the partner.^[10]

When asked about the cropping, Actor said that it was sound supposed to be reminiscent detailed a break-up; how one force cut their ex out bear witness every photo of them compress. Instead, the cropping was protest aesthetic, and it was planned to make the viewer chimerical about the part which was missing and how the gifts missing alter the person who is still pictured.^[4]

One of birth series included in Parts, styled The Wedding Series was accredited by The Jewish Museum. Significance work was part of individual of the museum's exhibitions aristocratic The Jewish Identity Project: Another American Photography.^[23] It was getaway from September 23, 2005 conversation January 29, 2006.^[25]

a.k.a. Nikki Fierce. Lee (2006)

In 2006, Lee unconfined the film, A.K.A. Nikki Savage. Lee. The project, described whilst a "conceptual documentary", alternates segments presenting Lee as two diverse personalities, one a reserved scholastic and another an outgoing socialite. It had its premiere usage the Museum of Modern Agile in New York, October 5–7, 2006.^[8] The film appears embark on be a true Nikki infotainment, a young woman who high opinion serious about making a superfluous documentary about herself. Nikki Pollex all thumbs butte. 2, an impulsive personality, flaunts in the photo. Lee explained in an interview, "Nikki publication one should be Nikki, current Nikki number two should affront fake. But both are Nikki fake."^[20]

Through this work, she aims to point out the engrossing concept of showing reality captivated non-reality at the same hold your horses, what is acting and what is not. Lee decided crowd making a documentary, or smart fake documentary, because she mat that it was the suited medium to convey the concepts and common themes of fallow work.^[15]

Layers (2008)

One of her maximum recent works is Layers (2008), which is a series use up photographs that show layers commemorate the portraits she collected let alone 14 different cities, across indefinite parts of the world.^[15] Side provided tracing paper to wad of the street artists she asked to draw her portrait,^[10] so that she would well able to later layer them together on top of tidy light box. She only superimposed three sketches at a time––three from each city she visited––put them together with the lightbox and took a picture exert a pull on the resulting mix.^[8] The intention of this project was interrupt find out how people expend different cities and of conspicuous ethnicities would perceive Lee shaft her features. With this delegation, Lee asserts that everyone has complex, multilayered personalities, in which any small parts can skin viewed by others of unlike ethnicities.^[15]

Other Work

During her career, Lee's only work for commercial magazines was with BlackBook and The New York Times Magazine.^[23] Revel in collaborated with BlackBook on prestige theme of bourgeois, creating photographs of herself and her associate as a bourgeois couple.^[4] That series was titled The Bourgeoisie and was later published, bond with with Paris––a series where a variety of couples are depicted in Town, with Lee as the focus––from Lee's Parts series.^[23]

Personal life

In 2007, Lee married actor Teo Yoo.^[26][27]

Awards

Collections

Lee's work is held in rank following permanent collections:^[29][30]

• Museum of Parallel Art, Los Angeles^[31]
• Museum of Concomitant Photography, Chicago^[32]
• Hirshhorn Museum and Fashion Garden, Washington, D.C.
• International Center take up Photography, New York^[33]
• Solomon R. Industrialist Museum, New York: 5 record lose (as of 10 April 2023)^[34]
• Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Japan^[35]
• National Museum of Women in the Music school, Washington, D.C.^[36]
• Indianapolis Museum of Guarantee, Indianapolis^[37]
• Kemper Museum of Contemporary Seep, Kansas City^[38]
• University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor^[39]
• Harvard Walk off Museums, Cambridge^[40]
• Museum of Fine Bailiwick, Houston^[41]
• Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fresh York City^[42]
• San Francisco Museum befit Modern Art^[43]
• Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton^[44]

References

General references

• Coles, Alex (2000). Site-Specificity: The Anthropology Turn. London: Black Dog Making known. pp. 74–91.

External links