George Legrady
Encyclopedia
George Legrady is a multidisciplinary, interactive media artist
. He began his photographic artistic practice in Montreal
. In 1973, he received his first major project, a photo documentary in northern Quebec
of four James Bay
Cree
communities in response to the James Bay Cree hydroelectric conflict
. Following graduate studies at the San Francisco Art Institute
in the mid 1970s, his work resulted in numerous projects that focused on a semiotic analysis of the photographic image. In 1985, he produced a photo documentary on the visual syntax of public billboards in four major Chinese cities.
Legrady began to explore the potential of digital technologies in the early 1980s in the studio of Harold Cohen at the University of California in San Diego. His contribution to the digital media field since the early stages of its formation in the early 1990s has been in intersecting cultural content with data processing. This is a means of creating aesthetic and socio-cultural narrative experiences. In 1997, the digital catalog of his solo museum exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada
and the Canadian Museum of Photography, tracing the transition from photography to interactive media installations in his artworks, is now featured online at the Daniel Langlois Foundation
for Arts, Science, & Technology.
His most significant interactive digital media arts projects include the “Anecdoted Archive from the Cold War” in 1993, “Slippery Traces” in 1995, published by the ZKM Museum in Karlsruhe, and the internationally traveling “Pockets Full of Memories” in 2001-2006, which was commissioned by the Centre Pompidou. His data visualization project "Making Visible the Invisible" for the Seattle Central Library
will be operational until 2014. It was featured in the Whitney Museum Artport in 2005.
He is Director of the Experimental Visualization Lab in the Media Arts & Technology doctoral program at the University of California in Santa Barbara. He has previously taught at the University of Western Ontario, the California Institute of the Arts, the University of Southern California, the San Francisco State University, and the Merz Akademie of Visual Communication.
New media art
New media art is a genre that encompasses artworks created with new media technologies, including digital art, computer graphics, computer animation, virtual art, Internet art, interactive art, computer robotics, and art as biotechnology...
. He began his photographic artistic practice in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. In 1973, he received his first major project, a photo documentary in northern Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
of four James Bay
James Bay
James Bay is a large body of water on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean. James Bay borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario; islands within the bay are part of Nunavut...
Cree
Cree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
communities in response to the James Bay Cree hydroelectric conflict
James Bay Cree hydroelectric conflict
The James Bay Cree hydroelectric conflict refers to the resistance by James Bay Cree to the James Bay Hydroelectric Project and the Quebec Government, beginning in 1971.-A brief timeline of the James Bay Cree :...
. Following graduate studies at the San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute is a school of higher education in contemporary art with the main campus in the Russian Hill district of San Francisco, California. Its graduate center is in the Dogpatch neighborhood. The private, non-profit institution is accredited by WASC and is a member of the...
in the mid 1970s, his work resulted in numerous projects that focused on a semiotic analysis of the photographic image. In 1985, he produced a photo documentary on the visual syntax of public billboards in four major Chinese cities.
Legrady began to explore the potential of digital technologies in the early 1980s in the studio of Harold Cohen at the University of California in San Diego. His contribution to the digital media field since the early stages of its formation in the early 1990s has been in intersecting cultural content with data processing. This is a means of creating aesthetic and socio-cultural narrative experiences. In 1997, the digital catalog of his solo museum exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada
National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada , located in the capital city Ottawa, Ontario, is one of Canada's premier art galleries.The Gallery is now housed in a glass and granite building on Sussex Drive with a notable view of the Canadian Parliament buildings on Parliament Hill. The acclaimed structure was...
and the Canadian Museum of Photography, tracing the transition from photography to interactive media installations in his artworks, is now featured online at the Daniel Langlois Foundation
Daniel Langlois Foundation
The Daniel Langlois Foundation is a non-profit, philanthropic organization endowed by Daniel Langlois and chartered in 1997 with the mission to support artistic and scientific projects and research dedicated to further general human awareness as well as the understanding of human relation with its...
for Arts, Science, & Technology.
His most significant interactive digital media arts projects include the “Anecdoted Archive from the Cold War” in 1993, “Slippery Traces” in 1995, published by the ZKM Museum in Karlsruhe, and the internationally traveling “Pockets Full of Memories” in 2001-2006, which was commissioned by the Centre Pompidou. His data visualization project "Making Visible the Invisible" for the Seattle Central Library
Seattle Central Library
The Seattle Public Library's Central Library is the flagship library of The Seattle Public Library system. The 11-story glass and steel building in downtown Seattle, Washington was opened to the public on Sunday, May 23, 2004...
will be operational until 2014. It was featured in the Whitney Museum Artport in 2005.
He is Director of the Experimental Visualization Lab in the Media Arts & Technology doctoral program at the University of California in Santa Barbara. He has previously taught at the University of Western Ontario, the California Institute of the Arts, the University of Southern California, the San Francisco State University, and the Merz Akademie of Visual Communication.