Whitney Art Works: James Mahoney

James Mahoney

"For nearly two decades my work has explored concepts linked to the now unfolding digital age. This paradigm shift is cascading through our culture and our consciousness beyond just the technological. The World Wide Web has unleashed a global, hyperlinked collage; fueled with unlikely juxtapositions. The “mash-up” and “remix” of the web perfectly reflects the foundations of information theory regarding the relationship between predictability and information. At the core of this new era lies this investigation into the concept of information itself and its twin sister, “meaning”. My work examines the mechanisms by which meaning is created and conversely, eroded. I focus on that tender moment when diverse elements combine to begin to suggest a possible meaning. I utilize algorithms, processing and newly available digital imaging tools but then bring those elements full circle back into the realm of the physical and the human hand. I layer the digital throughout an encaustic process combined with hand illustration, which amplifies the sensuous, tactile qualities of the irreproducible analog world of chemistry. This ultimate juxtaposition exposes the paradox and ambiguities that I find most interesting in this dynamic age we’re in."

James Mahoney is an artist living in Maine working in both digital and traditional media. His work has been shown internationally but mostly in Los Angeles and most recently in Portland, ME. His work has been featured in the Portland Museum of Art’s Biennial Exhibition in 2005, Space Gallery, and he regularly shows at Whitney Artworks gallery. He is also the founder and owner of Global Wonder Entertainment, a Seattle based multimedia company. He holds a degree in architecture from Cornell University, created one of the first computer animation systems (at Hanna-Barbera Productions) and was a senior researcher at Microsoft Corporation. Straddling both the creative and the technical, he loves to teach and has a deep passion for new media and it’s potential. Jim also enjoys chess, Yoga and life drawing.

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