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Monica Lacy - living with video art in Los Angeles

Monica Lacy

Los Angeles based collector


ArtPlay: How long have you been collecting contemporary art?

Monica: I’ve been collecting art for about 15 years. I was first interested in paintings and then changed my focus to photography. 

I found artists working with the newest digital technology and camera-less photography to be the most interesting.



ArtPlay: How did you become interested in video art and media based art?

Monica: I saw the work of the LA based, video artist Brian Bress on a tour at a collectors home. I was intrigued by the performative aspect of his work and the layered experience of watching one of his videos, I was hooked. 



ArtPlay: How is living with a media based work different than a painting for you?

Monica: Media based art is so dynamic, when people walk in my house it’s the first artwork they ask about. 

It always begins a really interesting conversation with friends and since talking about art is one of my favorite things. I installed my first video art work, which is Beach Eyes (2015) by Brian Bress, in the dining room of my house. 



Brian Bress Beach Eyes 2015 High definition dual-channel video (color), two high definition monitors and players, wall mounts, framed 38.5 x 49 x 4 inches 11 min., 02 sec., loop

ArtPlay: What other media based art work have you seen recently that has inspired you?

Monica: I was in NY this summer and stopped by MOMA to see the exhibition, New Order: Art and Technology in the 21st century. 

There was a screen based work by Ian Cheng, another young artist from Los Angeles, that I was immediately drawn to. Cheng’s work, Emmissary trilogy (2015 - 17), you really need to experience in person to get the full impact. It was presented on a monumental sized screen and the images were built with video gaming technology and AI. The artist creates these simulations that generate behavior among a complex system of people, plant and animal life over an infinite period of time. It’s was fascinating, watching this work that has no fixed beginning or end and thinking about how these algorithm based works have no fixed narrative. 


MoMA Ian Cheng: Emissaries | copyright: MoMA

ArtPlay: Are there any digital young artists that you’re following? 

Monica: Petra Courtright, Rachel Rose








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