Artist Research
- Phoebe Yin
- Sep 18, 2019
- 2 min read
I decided to do some research on Nikki S. Lee because her works are so unusual in the field of art, and it took me a moment to realize she cannot just be simply identified as a “photographer” or “filmmaker”.
Nikki S. Lee, born in 1970, is a visual artist from South Korea. She later moved to New York and finished a Master of Arts at New York University. When Lee first started working, she was an assistant to a commercial photographer, but after a period of time, Lee felt like it was necessary to make art that belonged to her, and that’s when she started creating her works.
One of her main projects was the Projects series(1997-2001) where she practiced and performed certain visual signs of codes of American subcultures. These include yuppies, senior citizens, swing dancers, skateboarders, young Korean students, etc. Lee appeared in these photographs as a member of the particular community and through this way of exploring and demonstrating cultures, her artworks allowed her to center on the topics of fluid identity and expression.
My favorite project is the Parts project. In this project, she appears in various photographs with a male partner but with the male partner cropped out, leaving only a hand or some hair that suggests their close relationship. This project shows how different relationships can alter a person’s emotional and physical state.
Lee explores the topic of identity and perception even further in her film project “A.K.A. Nikki S. Lee” where she acts as Nikki S. Lee. The film presents two Nikkis with very different personalities, showing reality and non-reality at the same time.
Of course, her work stirred controversies. Some suggest that pretending and acting out certain characteristics can’t really illustrate the center of a culture, some say that her works aren’t really art, and some think that she is too naive on politics. Despite all those voices, I personally love her work. When I look at art, especially something novel and unusual like this, I like to appreciate only the artistic side of it.
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