September 2017 Unicorn Of The Month: Ann LePore

Ann LePore Was raised in the garage under her father’s car and continued tinkering with analog video and kinetics in Western New York and later with computer driven electronics and animation in New York City. A New Leonardo artist, and Geraldine R Dodge Foundation grant recipient, Ann has exhibited at events such as Digital Salon, the Free Biennial, and La Superette, in New York City and Internationally. She has completed residencies at Engine 27 Sound Space, the Taliesin Artist Residency Program and was awarded a year-long studio residency at Gallery Aferro in Newark.

The images and installations she creates as a result of her tinkering are heavily influenced by her experiences not just as an artist, but as a member of several communities that are defined by the physical assertions and limitations of a very specific environment. Ann received her BFA from Alfred University and her MFA from the School of Visual Arts. She is currently Associate Professor of 3D Design and Animation at Ramapo College of New Jersey.

The Greening: 209 evokes different moments in time: present, future, and past. In the U.S. a house or other building may last a generation or more. The systems we design to guide us as a society outlive us all, though they are not permanent either. How do we know if the structures we put in place are working? How long does the long view need to be if we are going to plan accordingly? It’s time to remodel.

The Average age of homes in the US is 35. Is that because we are a “young” culture? Or a disposable one? Vines grow quickly, decay can be seen on the walls, and an oculus opens up on the roof. Is this a time-lapse showing years compressed into seconds or are those plants actually predatory? Is the oculus actually the moon, or are there primordial organisms swimming under a microscope? We’ll only know if we spend some time, looking at the same thing, all facing the same direction.

And this is what being rooted in a place, in the landscape, does for us. To all face the same way, shoulder to shoulder, laboring together- this is the only way to be human together. Everything else that defines us is less consequential.

More of Ann's work can be seen on her Website,  her Vimeo Channel, and be sure to follow her on Twitter.