“Superman”

80" by 46" archival pigment print, 2016

The depiction of Superman represents a humanoid, hypertrophic, herculean character with supernatural powers. In the role of guardian, his grounded, symmetrical, posture of stability reassures us that we are safe. Hands-on-hips accentuate physical size. In contrast to a classical contrapposto posture, this is the quintessential superhero stance, a symbol of strength, protection and security. Head and feet point forward, another sign of physical readiness for engagement. Openly exposing the heart and throat can be a non-verbal display of fearlessness.

Shelley Lake, Red Shoes, 2021, simulated GIF

72" by 40" archival pigment print, 2015

80" by 50" archival pigment print, 2017

104” tall by 80” wide

archival inkjet on Lexjet peel-n-stick fabric

80" by 54" archival pigment print, 2016

After more than 25,000 years, the Venus of Willendorf is finally getting exactly what she wants. Instead of passively waiting for someone else to fulfill her desires, the Venus of Willendorf has gained a foothold in the gravity field.

Shelley Lake, Planet Venus, 2021, digital scene simulation, 39 frame GIF

30" by 40" archival pigment print, 2015

EMDR, 2023

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

70" by 46", archival pigment print, 2015

Three dimensional scene simulation with motion capture applied to dog model

80" by 54" archival pigment print, 2015

Inspired by the 1951 collaboration between Philippe Halsman and Salvador Dali entitled "In Voluptate Mors". "Skull" represents the fusion of love and death or death in the voluptuous. Photographer Halsman is quoted as saying "Every face I see seems to hide - and sometimes fleetingly reveal - the mystery of another human being."

Three dimensional scene simulation in partial fulfillment of SVA Master of Fine Arts degree

56 frame GIF animation

All is Full of Love by Shelley Lake, 2020

90 frame Simulated loop cycle

600 x 480 animated GIF

Shelley Lake, The Large Glass No. 3, 2019, digital scene simulation, 80 x 40 inches

Version with eye gaze at viewer

Shelley Lake, Falling Man, 2020, 34 frame Simulated walk cycle

Appropriated from Ernest Trova:

“Ernest Trova (1927-2009) was an artist best known for his “Falling Man” series. Born in Clayton, Missouri, he was influenced by his father who worked as an industrial tool designer and inventor. Upon his father’s death shortly after Trova’s high school graduation, he found a job as a window dresser for a large department store. As a self-taught artist, he was inspired by painters Francis Bacon, Jean Dubuffet and Willem DeKooning but was also artistically influenced by the mannequins with which he worked, evident in his oeuvre.

Trova rose to prominence in the art world in the 1960s with his “Falling Man” paintings, prints, and sculptures featuring an armless human figure, which he considered “man at his most imperfect.” A solo exhibition of his paintings inaugurated the Pace Gallery in New York in 1963, where he continued to exhibit for more than 20 years.

He continued “Falling Man” through the 1970s and 80s and over the years, the sculpture was created with various materials such as nickel and chrome-plated bronze, enamel on aluminum, and stainless steel and each was finished with an industrial sheen. In 1975 he co-founded Laumeier Sculpture Park with a gift of more than 40 large-scale artworks to St. Louis County.

Trova’s work is represented in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Tate Gallery, among others. He is survived by three children.”

Animated GIF created at the School of Visual Arts, New York City in fulfillment of the Art Practice, Master of Fine Arts Degree

A timeless symbol of fertility, the Venus of Willendorf has finally gained a foothold in the gravity field. After more than 25,000 years, the anonymous grande dame continues to stand tall, in defiance to the objectification of women.

191 frame Animated breath cycle

Shelley Lake, Venus of Willendorf, 2020, 38 frame walk cycle simulation

After more than 25,000 years, the Venus of Willendorf is finally getting exactly what she wants. Instead of passively waiting for someone else to fulfill her desires, the Venus of Willendorf has gained a foothold in the gravity field. Hot pink expresses her sexual identity, quintessentially female—a timeless symbol of fertility,

Best of Show, Orlando Museum of Art, First Thursdays, Bella Donna, 4 March 2021

137 frame Animated walk cycle. The body is a roadmap for beauty and the spirit gate into creation–our common denominator and inescapable temple.

Zbrush Turntable GIF

39 frame looping simulation

Shelley Lake, The Large Glass, 2019, inflatable vinyl with camera, 60 x 28 x 24 inches

Thirty five frame walk cycle for Jeremiah.

Digital Scene Simulation, April 2020

Animated GIF in partial fulfillment of the Art Practice, Master of Fine Arts Degree, School of Visual Arts, New York City

Handshake by Shelley Lake

60 by 80 inches

digital pigment print

48” by 86” digital pigment print, 2019

39 frame GIF animation, digital scene simulation, three seconds, 2020

Eye by Shelley Lake

62 by 66 inches

digital pigment print

Three dimensional powder print mastered at the School of Visual Arts, New York City. Requirement for Master of Fine Arts Degree, Art Practice program at SVA.

Escape Artist by Shelley Lake, digital scene simulation, 2020 (Sam Taylor-Johnson appropriation)

Begun in 1603, Kabuki theater is a traditional form of Japanese dance drama. The aragoto exaggerated theatrical style employs bold red, blue, brown, or black markings over a white base. Red kumadori stage makeup expresses heroic strength, passion, and positive emotions.

48” by 84” archival pigment print

Gender and race reversal of Manet’s 1863 depiction of Olympia

28" by 30" archival pigment print, 2015

80" by 42" archival pigment print, 2016

54" by 80" archival pigment print 2016

80" by 54" archival pigment print, 2016

All is Full of Love by Shelley Lake

Digital Scene Simulation

54” by 74” digital pigment print

Giant of Karisimbi by Shelley Lake, digital scene simulation, 2020

80" by 38" archival pigment print, 2016.

Letting go of control and unleashing the power inside the machine is an intoxicating adventure where uncertainty takes center stage.

TAI CHI, 2017

Every part of a character’s anatomy is nuanced into shape using interactive tools in the computer. The width of the calf relative to the length of the lower leg, the angle of the ankle in relation to the ground plane, each joint is moved into place like an electronic marionette. One of the most difficult challenges in the digital domain is to impart gravity to the figure. In the art of Tai Chi one drops into their center of gravity and paradoxically defies gravity in the movement.

80" by 54" archival pigment print, 2015

80" by 30" archival pigment print, 2016.

Each joint is moved into place - like an electronic marionette.

80" by 30" archival pigment print, 2015

48" by 30" archival pigment print, 2016

80" by 30" archival pigment print, 2016

34" by 30" archival pigment print, 2015

Official White House Portrait of Donald J. Trump, the 45th president of the United States of America

iBot, 2015

30” wide by 24” tall

Exhibition Matte Canvas with Gloss Laminate

EMILY 2.0, 2017

48” by 60” archival pigment print

Emily O’Brien is the star of the Wikihuman project whose mission is "dedicated to the studying, understanding, challenging and sharing knowledge of Digital Humans". O’Brien earned an Emmy Award nomination owing to her performance on “The Young and the Restless”. Her face was scanned in 2008 and again at higher resolution in 2015. Pictured here is the three dimensional wireframe model from her scan in 2015 from the Digital Human League at the University of Southern California.

This wireframe 3d stereo anaglyph was rendered with Adobe Photoshop CC. Adobe Photoshop was early to support the render of three dimensional models and is still my first choice for ultra high resolution wireframe rendering. Photoshop allows complete control over line width, color, ambience, hidden line removal, crease threshold, cross sectioning and shading. In addition to extraordinary polygonal mesh control, Photoshop also allows for the creation of stereo anaglyphs automatically rendering color opposites red and cyan for images viewed with colored glasses.

Suri Closeup, 2015

30” wide by 18” tall

Exhibition Matte Canvas with Gloss Laminate

The 49 victims of the Orlando nightclub massacre that took place June 12, 2016 at Pulse, a LGBT bar hosting Latin Night. Digital mosaic of victims represented in the LGBT freedom flag. The colors were designed to symbolize life, healing, sunlight, nature, harmony and spirit.

Photoshop render of character created in Daz3D

80" by 30" archival pigment print, 2014.

With large format inkjet printing, I'm able to represent each portrait larger than life, making for an immersive experience.

Frankenstein: Digital mosaic of images from the Bush Administration.

54” by 80” matte canvas archival print

Yoda by Shelley Lake

Stereo Anaglyph, digital scene simulation

36” by 54” digital pigment print

Generic characters rendered in Adobe Photoshop

6 by 8 foot digital print from 1988

Courtesy Apple Computer, Inc.

Stack of Generic Art originals in an edition of 25. Six art movements represented in each set: Op, Pop, Minimalism, Simulationism, Conceptualism and Abex.

Installation view of "Generic" show at Natoli-Ross Gallery, Los Angeles, 1988

Collaboration with Richard Duardo

Generic Art Exhibition at Natoli-Ross Gallery, Los Angeles, California. Inaugural exhibition featuring the collaboration of Richard Duardo and Shelley Lake.

Installation view of "Generic" show at Natoli-Ross Gallery, Los Angeles, 1988

Collaboration with Richard Duardo

Electronic Digital Display with paper dispenser.

Installation view, 1988 at Natoli-Ross Gallery, Santa Monica, California

Generic Conceptualism, enamel on aluminum, 1988

Kuhlenschmidt was a pioneer in the Los Angeles art scene during the 1980's. Laser capture 1987.

Stuart Regen, 1987

Laser Scan of Stuart Regen. Half resolution plot captured at Cyberware Laboratory in Woodland Hills, California.

Zbrush turntable animation of 3d Print created at Cyberware in 1987

3D printing with Stratasys Fortus 450 MC

ASA Light Gray with T12 Tip and double dense walls

Build Size limitations: 16 x 14 x 16 inches

Production grade thermoplastic

Computer Generated three dimensional styrofoam print made in 1987. Early experiment in three-dimensional printmaking. Portrait of Stuart Regen, the Los Angeles art dealer who also helped produce "Leaving Las Vegas". Regen was the son of prominent New York art dealer Barbara Gladstone.

Early experiments in 3D Printing 1987.

2019 Reprint of portrait created with Fortis 450 MC ASA Light Gray with T12 tip and double dense walls.

Computer generated wireframe mask from Digital Productions, 1985

Still from 3 minute computer generated movie, "Polly Gone"

Still from 3 minute computer generated movie, "Polly Gone"

Simulation of First remote controlled television set

Appropriation from Roy Lichtenstein "ON"

Three dimensional simulation from plaster casts created by Diana Walczak for the motion picture, "Millenium".

Computer metamorphological render demonstrating "in-betweens" in a 15 frame animation. Created using DP3D, proprietary Three Dimensional Scene Simulation software written by a software team assembled by Gary Demos and John Whitney, Jr. at Digital Productions, Hollywood.

Simulation of Chess set design inspired by a Marcel Duchamp sculpture at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Duchamp and Man Ray played chess using a board with pieces similar to this design.

Still frame from a 30 second commercial for Trix cereal. Background plate used for advertisement with composite rabbit animation. Alan Battino Art Direction. 1984.

The source image for Tink was created in 1984 at Digital Productions. We were the first motion picture company to simulate a Disney character. A large sculpture of Tinker Bell’s head was overlaid with a grid and captured one point at a time on a 3d digitizing tablet. This archival pigment print was created from a computer printout made in our Hollywood studio.

EARLY EXPERIMENTS IN GENERATIVE ART

The computer is changing the way we make art. Letting go of control and unleashing the power inside the machine is an adventure where uncertainty takes center stage.

With this early experiment in simulation, "One Thousand Question Marks", the computer was liberated to randomly rotate and place one thousand question marks in three space. The color of each question mark was also randomized. The final image was rendered in 1984 at Digital Productions in Hollywood, California and mastered on 4 by 5 film with a digital film printer.

This style of generative art delegates considerable authority to the computer.

Movie money in a random distribution

Musical Instruments in a random distribution

Cubes, cones and Spheres in a random distribution. Generative Art.

Photograph of Pat Hearn in Provincetown, Massachusetts, 1980.

Polaroid photograph of Pat Hearn. Hearn was a student at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Early experiments in slow scan portraiture of Tina Weymouth, as published in ARS ELECTRONICA, 1980.

As a fellow at the Center for Advanced Visual Studies, M.I.T., Lake captured the likeness of Tina Weymouth. Digital portraits were computer generated using the Ramtek 9300 raster display frame buffers at the Architecture Machine Group, now know as the MIT Media Lab. These are integrated 9-bit systems with 24-bit color in the color matrix. The resolution of these picture memories is 640 by 480, a total of 307,200 picture elements.

Facial distortion is the result of movements made by Weymouth during the 20 second sweep of the flying spot scanner (a device similar to a television camera). The bottom plate is pseudo colored.

Kodchrome 25, 1/15 second at f/4.

Multistrobe photograph demonstrating how a hammer accelerates with gravity, November 2, 1977

By exercising simple methods in photo-instrumentation (Model 533 Multiflash unit), high speed multiple-image photographs were made useful as a data base from which we could extract otherwise unseen events for analysis.

ANALYSIS OF A HAMMER IN FREE FALL - RATE OF CHANGE

According to Newton’s theory (first law-momentum), the product of a body’s mass and velocity is constant if no outside force is applied to it, the change in momentum is zero. The second law (for force) states that the force of gravity accelerates a body in the direction it is already moving, and so speeds it up uniformly at the rate 32 feet per seconds squared.

Intuitively, the picture of the hammer falling appears to adhere to this law of gravity/acceleration.

Tri-X film (4 by 5) 20 flashes per second, 1.0 millisecond exposure per flash, total exposure 20 milliseconds

Photographed at the Edgerton Strobe Laboratory, M.I.T,

22 caliber bullet passing through a Hershey Bar, 1977

Bullet Photography

By employing microphone sensing to micro flash techniques, interactive effects of a projectile acting upon a stationary object are frozen for analysis.

A peak wave form 2.5 bullet diameters from central penetration is evidenced in this photograph. It is possible that for any bullet whose width is D, an exit wave peak will occur 2.5 D from impact.

Tri-X film (4 by 5 ASA 400) f/16

Photographed at the Edgerton Strobe Laboratory, M.I.T. under the direction of Professor Harold Edgerton and Charles Miller (October 5, 1977)