Romeo Doron Alaeff (born 1970[1] in Brooklyn, New York) is an American visual artist,[2] photographer,[3][4] filmmaker,[5][6] author,[7] and animation and film editor.[citation needed] He is also the founder and Editor in Chief of Lines & Marks, an interview magazine, blog, and community dedicated to drawing.[8][9]

Romeo Alaeff
Romeo Alaeff
Born1970
Brooklyn, New York
NationalityAmerican
EducationRhode Island School Design (RISD), Tulane University
Known forFine Art, Photography & Animation
Websiteromeoalaeff.com

Career edit

Education edit

Originally studying biomedical engineering,[9] Alaeff received a Master of Fine Arts in photography from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1996 and a BA from Tulane University in New Orleans in 1993.[10][11]

Art edit

Romeo Alaeff's art work has been described as "blurring the boundaries between icon and art, funny and serious, traditional and experimental, public and private,"[5] and "exploring the experience of inhabiting liminal zones, those architectural spaces, psychological states, and physical states in which contradictions collide."[2] Alaeff often approaches his work with a sardonic or dark sense of humor, such as in his project The Evolution of Despair, which consists of a series of detailed drawings of animals expressing human thoughts and emotions. His book, I'll be Dead by the Time You Read This: The Existential Life of Animals,[12][13] is a continuation of that body of work.[citation needed] A sticker campaign was also launched from the original Evolution of Despair drawings and is featured in the book and exhibition tour, Stuck-up Piece of Crap: Stickers: From Punk Rock to Contemporary Art.[citation needed]

Some of Alaeff's work doesn't employ humor directly but is trained on social, psychological, or philosophical[14] observations, such as bias in perception in his "socially and politically charged,"[15] "multicultural, complexly encoded"[16] War on the Brain[17][18][19][20][21] series, which consists of "gorgeously revamped Rorschach blots containing references to conflicts from William Wallace and All That to the Smell of Napalm in the morning in Vietnam."[22] Other themes include choice, as in The Tyranny of Small Decisions, or the act of crying as a manipulative device in human discourse as well as in filmmaking.[23] In this project, Alaeff asked different musicians[24][23] such as Chi2[25] Strings and Moby to score the same 4 minute video of a young girl crying (singer Suzanne Santo of Honey Honey[26]) which was then played in a loop such that each viewer had a different experience of the piece such as "pathos, anxiety, pity and, in our attempt to give meaning to such seemingly unmediated emotion, an imagined internal narrative of heartbreak at the end of summer or an accident on the highway."[2] As a whole, Alaeff's work is meant to be interactive, speaking directly or indirectly to the viewer or allowing one's biases and projections to become part of the work.[9][17]

The documentary film series, "There's no place like you" (aka "Still Life with You") is a collection of "short stories,"[27] begun in 1994 and spanning 16 years, which is devoted to his "idiosyncratic, exuberantly complicated relatives."[2] The series "documents the harmony and discord that typifies family dynamics." Films in the series, "Believe," "Goin' Down to Mexico," "Works Like a Dream," "All is Vanity," and "Once."[27][6][28][29][30]

Bibliography edit

I'll be Dead by the Time You Read This: The Existential Life of Animals[12] (Plume/Penguin Books)

Stuck-up Piece of Crap: Stickers: From Punk Rock to Contemporary Art. (Rizzoli)

Exhibitions edit

Alaeff's work has exhibited nationally and internationally and has appealed to a wide range of audiences for both artistic as well as cultural interest. His work was exhibited in the 2001 Biennale in Lyon (France),[31][32][33] Artists Space (NYC),[34] the Kunsthal (Rotterdam), the Witte de With in conjunction w/ John Baldessari[35][36] at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid), Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA, Barcelona),[37] The Dallas Museum of Art and Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain[38] (Paris).

His work has found considerable interest with non-art audiences as well and has been included in the curriculum for Emory University’s, The Displaced Person, Literature Beyond the Canon, The University of Texas at Austin’s American Studies: Religion and Society in American Literature, and Georgia State University’s Graduate Educational Psychology Course.

In addition, he has been a guest artist, critic and teacher at the Rhode Island School of Design, Brown University, Pratt Institute, Parsons The New School for Design, The University of Georgia and Georgia State University.[39]

References edit

  1. ^ "Romeo Doron Alaeff Art auctions results". www.artprice.com. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  2. ^ a b c d "Mobilizing Difference – Nuit Banai – NY Arts Magazine". 2006-04-30. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  3. ^ Schnur, Clemens. "Fotoprojekt: Diese Bilder zeigen die echte Berliner Nacht". Berliner Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2017-08-15.
  4. ^ "Unterwegs zur Geisterstunde – Der Fotograf Romeo Alaeff zeigt eine andere Seite Berlins". Mit Vergnügen Berlin (in German). Retrieved 2017-08-15.
  5. ^ a b "Romeo Alaeff shows us his tapeworm". Gopher Illustrated. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  6. ^ a b James, Caryn (1997-07-18). "A Bounty of Works You'd Hardly Find At Your Video Store". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
  7. ^ "Romeo Alaeff – Penguin Books USA". www.penguin.com. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  8. ^ "About | Lines & Marks". 8 December 2014. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  9. ^ a b c "CITIES // Systems of Control: An Interview with Romeo Alaeff". Berlin Art Link. 2016-05-20. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
  10. ^ "Romeo Alaeff – Glenfiddich Artist in Residence 2007". Glenfiddich – Global website. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  11. ^ "Rhode Island School of Design - #2 Art Schools in Jerry's Top 10 - JerrysArtarama.com". 2014-09-20. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  12. ^ a b Plume/Penguin Group, 2011
  13. ^ "I'll Be Dead by the Time You Read This". Oprah.com. Retrieved 2017-08-16.
  14. ^ Books for Courses in Philosophy and Religion. Online: Penguin Books. 2015. p. 18.
  15. ^ "Counterforces and Other Little Jokes". counterforces.blogspot.de. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
  16. ^ "Counterforces and Other Little Jokes". counterforces.blogspot.de. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
  17. ^ a b "Studio Visit// ROMEO ALAEFF". Berlin Art Link. 2011-03-02. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
  18. ^ "another global exhibition you probably can't go to (and I certainly can't)". counterforces.blogspot.de. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
  19. ^ "Romeo Alaeff – Glenfiddich Artist in Residence 2007". Glenfiddich – Global website. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
  20. ^ "伊通公園 ITPARK". www.itpark.com.tw. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
  21. ^ "格蘭菲迪「AiR藝術家駐村計畫」 www.P9.com.tw :::品酒網::: 各式威士忌、葡萄酒、紅酒、高粱酒、白蘭地、調酒,您買酒、喝酒的最佳夥伴". www.p9.com.tw. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
  22. ^ "Counterforces and Other Little Jokes". counterforces.blogspot.de. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
  23. ^ a b "Romeo Alaeff's Videos". www.brooklynartproject.com. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
  24. ^ "John Turner Music Composer". John Turner Music Composer. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
  25. ^ "CHI2". www.chi2.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
  26. ^ "Hear HoneyHoney Singer Suzanne Santo's Driving 'Ghost in My Bed'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
  27. ^ a b "Culture Unplugged: Believe". Culture Unplugged.
  28. ^ "Holding the door shut with one hand and trying to work on my book with the other". Randnotizen. Retrieved 2017-08-16.
  29. ^ "ילד של אמאל'ה-תערוכות,בית בנמל-תל אביב-סיטי-חבל על הפנאי". www.telavivcity.com. Retrieved 2017-08-16.
  30. ^ "artnet.com Magazine News – COOL VIDEO ON WALL STREET". www.artnet.com. Retrieved 2017-08-16.
  31. ^ "6e Biennale de Lyon | Past and Future Exhibitions | on artist-info". www.artist-info.com. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  32. ^ Group, PMB. "Catalogue en ligne". carreartmusee.centredoc.fr. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  33. ^ "Jan Svenungsson – Text by Anne Bertrand". www.jansvenungsson.com. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  34. ^ "Based on a True Story, 2004". artistsspace.org. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  35. ^ "4 RMS W VU: wallpaper, lamps and plants. NEW. – Exhibitions – Our Program – Witte de With". www.wdw.nl. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  36. ^ "Home Screen Home – Exhibitions – Our Program – Witte de With". www.wdw.nl. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  37. ^ "Home Screen Home". www.macba.cat. 16 July 1998. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  38. ^ "Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain". fondation.cartier.com. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  39. ^ Alaeff, Romeo (2011-11-29). I'll Be Dead by the Time You Read This: The Existential Life of Animals. Penguin. ISBN 9781101546017.