Marie Sester
Encyclopedia
Marie Sester is an artist working primarily with digital technologies
to create works in a variety of media and formats.
, Sester studied to be an architect
, earning a Masters Degree from the Ecole d'Architecture in Strasbourg, France. After traveling through Europe
and Africa
, she settled in Paris
and established an art practice creating mainly drawings and paintings. After receiving a residency in Japan
in 1993, her work shifted toward an exploration of public space, creating installations and experimental interactive works.
In 2000 she moved to the U.S.
, living first in San Francisco, then Los Angeles
. She currently lives in New York City
.
and identity, particularly how we navigate through contemporary society's
systems of surveillance
and security
. Her work relies on interaction with the audience, creating encounters where it's not clear if one is experiencing something playful or sinister.
Her work has earned recognition in the art and technology worlds, including an Honorary Mention in Interactive Art from Ars Electronica
(2003), a Webby Award for Net Art
(2004) and a spot on the "50 Coolest Websites" list on Time Magazine Online (2004).
Recently, her works have been included in the Seoul
and Singapore Biennale
s (2008), Glow Eindhoven (2009), SFMOMA (2010–2011) and EMPAC in Troy, New York (2010–2011).
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...
to create works in a variety of media and formats.
Biography
Born in FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Sester studied to be an architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, earning a Masters Degree from the Ecole d'Architecture in Strasbourg, France. After traveling through Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, she settled in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and established an art practice creating mainly drawings and paintings. After receiving a residency in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1993, her work shifted toward an exploration of public space, creating installations and experimental interactive works.
In 2000 she moved to the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, living first in San Francisco, then Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. She currently lives in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Work
After school, Sester's interests shifted from designing physical structures to the study of ideological frameworks, specifically how culture and politics affect our sense of place. Her work focuses on notions of privacyPrivacy
Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively...
and identity, particularly how we navigate through contemporary society's
Contemporary society
Contemporary society, according to social and political scientists, is characterised by at least three fundamental directions:* increasing human interconnection through a network of relationships that is progressively covering the whole planet;...
systems of surveillance
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
and security
Security
Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
. Her work relies on interaction with the audience, creating encounters where it's not clear if one is experiencing something playful or sinister.
Shows and Recognition
Sester was a Creative Capital grantee in 2002.Her work has earned recognition in the art and technology worlds, including an Honorary Mention in Interactive Art from Ars Electronica
Prix Ars Electronica
The Prix Ars Electronica is one of the most important yearly prizes in the field of electronic and interactive art, computer animation, digital culture and music...
(2003), a Webby Award for Net Art
Net.art
"net.art" refers to a group of artists who worked in the medium of Internet art from 1994. The main members of this movement are Vuk Ćosić, Jodi.org, Alexei Shulgin, Olia Lialina, and Heath Bunting...
(2004) and a spot on the "50 Coolest Websites" list on Time Magazine Online (2004).
Recently, her works have been included in the Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
and Singapore Biennale
Singapore Biennale
The Singapore Biennale is a contemporary art biennale in Singapore. The first Singapore Biennale operated as one of a lineup of Singapore 2006 events. Fumio Nanjo, Director of Tokyo's Mori Art Museum, has been reappointed Artistic Director of the Singapore Biennale 2008...
s (2008), Glow Eindhoven (2009), SFMOMA (2010–2011) and EMPAC in Troy, New York (2010–2011).