#thejavaproject

[willhutnick]

#tbt to my mural this summer at The Java Project. Also, the work is STILL up so let me know if you want to see it! @thejavaproject #thejavaproject #greenpoint #sammyforscale #sammythepup photo by @buttonsbub (at The Java Project)

[field-projects-gallery]

Gina Dawson @thejavaproject @ginaleighdawson #thejavaproject #ginadawson #ginadawsonisawesome (at The Java Project)

[carlgunhouse]

Come say hi I'll be sitting 1 to 6PM at Gina Dawson's show I curated @thejavaproject (at The Java Project)

[design2printnyc]

CLIENT CRUSH // Brooklyn based artist LINDSAY DYE on her current project CamGURLS featuring our digitally printed compression jersey.

New art space, The Java Project, recently hosted the work of Lindsay Dye for their first ever exhibition. The show’s opening brought in some 200 people, that’s 200 people who braved an especially harsh 7 degree winter evening. Using imagery sourced from virtual coworkers (read on), and objects representing the Disney-owned gated community she grew up in, the gallery space became a commentary on public/private spaces and the concept of set design, image framing and makeup artistry created by the actual subject within them. Images of the women were used both as a wall surface as well as printed digitally on compression jersey and sewn into dresses, crop tops and skirts. The dresses were displayed both on live models as well as hung on garment racks. The show itself has gained some notable recognition too, specifically in Barcelona based magazine, Playground,  Vice’s Motherboard, and Florida International University. 

I caught up with Lindsay at The Java Project gallery space in Greenpoint to chat about this body of work, what it’s about and where she’s headed next. Read on for the interview.

About the project

What is the concept behind camgURLs, what inspired you to do thisproject?

LD: The project began organically, out ofnecessity at first. I was in my last year of graduate school at Pratt Institutein Brooklyn, NY studying photography. My ex-boyfriend kicked me out of my apartment and I needed a quick way to make money as I was sinking deeply into $120,000 worth of student loan debt. A few of my friends have been involved with online sex work through Backpage.com- but I knew I didn't want to meet anyone in person. A friend suggested a webcamming site where you perform live for money. Most women strip and put on cum shows, some girls sing and paint on cam and a lot of them play card games. It's like applying for any other job- social security number, application, direct deposit, you're legitimately hired and paid out bi-weekly based on tips you receive while in your public chat-room. 

     I began to watch other women in their rooms to figure out what I should be doing. While clicking through thousands I realized they are making their own sets, they are their own stylists, they frame themselves in a rectangle- they looked like the photographs of artists I was studying in school who stage their work; Cindy Sherman, Alex Prager, Lise Sarfati. I began photographing (screen-shotting) women that were engaged with the camera in a way that wasn't sexual; women sleeping, smoking, crying. My other interest was how democratic the site was. Every race is present, every size, conventionally hot or not. 

     I do not photograph the women nude. It's not about the representation of the female body and the male gaze vs the female gaze and blah blah blah. It's more about an attempt at entrepreneurship and the assertion of agency based on one's self-presentation, whether or not they get naked. The women who make money are naked all the time. The women I chose aren't successful, their "camscores" are low, most of them are not active on the site anymore...probably because they didn't get naked. The project is more of an archive of the unsung heroes of webcamming and the repetitive themes seen in contemporary photography and modern painting. 

What is the significance of the suburbia inspired sculptural pieces in the show?

LD: The exterior house lights with colored sand and sculpture of Eve covered with Lisa Frank stickers are loosely related to the camgURLs, more through their visual representation; color, repetition, collage- and concepts; child vs adult, self-presentation. These pieces come from a body of work about the neighborhood I grew up in, a gated community in Florida built by Disney. The framing device I used in the show is related as well, each color painted on the walls framing a particular piece is one of a collection of approved colors you were ‘allowed’ to paint your house in this neighborhood. Your grass had to be a certain length, there’s a curfew- nothing is your own style or aesthetic.

What different mediums did you work in for this project & what do you want to use more/less of?

LD:  I displayed the work in the gallery in two forms, photographs on the wall and clothing. I copied Ryan McGinley's Yearbook exhibition style where he layered vinyl photographs from floor to ceiling, "a constellation of people." The piece is titled "My Coworkers." McGinley was showcasing models, young sexy artists, the nude glitterati of NYC youth. My version is similar in the physical style of it, layered vinyl prints of people, but mine are of the non-nude and un-acclaimed.  The project came full circle when I decided to print the photographs I was archiving on fabric and produce a line of clothing. Models wore the clothing during the opening and they also were shown on a retail display. I have dresses, crop tops, and skirts made, which while they are functional they infringe on copyright laws and the privacy rules of the website. The title of the un-wearable garment is, “CAMGIRLS ILLEGAL COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT DRESS, CANNOT BE WORN IN PUBLIC.” The chat-room is in fact public place, all women are recorded when they log on, no matter what.  The public/private aspect of this piece is translated through fashion and the act of self-presentation; presenting one’s self in a dress that is conceptually about self-presentation. 

Is CamgURLS an ongoing project? 

LD:  Yes, I am always clicking through women to photograph. I self-published a 24-page Yearbook of these women, this will happen once a year. There is also a quarterly publication, digital and print. I’m in negotiations for the dress to be sold in a store in Soho. 

In regards to your other bodies of work, what other issues/concepts do they focus on? 

LD: Most of my work is about the conversation of public and privates places and spaces, whether that be a gated community or the Internet. I'm interested in the identification of groups, new cultural representations and stereotypes, communication and the degradation of language, and how we present ourselves in the age of the Internet.

Digital fabric as an artistic medium

Have you used digitally printed fabric before as a medium to express yourself/create work?

LD: No I haven’t. Conceptually, it worked for this project. 

How did it benefit this current project?

LD: The photographs and the idea of “camgURLs” is elevated with the fabric, a wearable/unwearable sculpture. A discourse can begin about self-presentation and public and private interactions. I appreciate the photographs on paper; individually I’m attached to each girl. But the projects’ boundaries, the boundaries of the Internet, the boundaries of a private sex scene and a public chat-room become less clear and dangerous when the women are off the net, off the wall, and on someone else’s body to be viewed by the public. 

Do you feel that you had more or less creative freedom using this medium? 

LD: The medium inherently means something, so in that way it’s limiting- but not for this project. The innate qualities of fabric, clothing, the body elevated the meaning of the work. It also made me think about photography in a different way. I never reached out to the women and they are not aware they are a part of an art project and I am completely aware I am violating their privacy. The photographs are about the discourse of public and private imagery. I in fact admire these females, I am one of them, we work together every day. We are all photographed and recorded every time we log in. Also I equate photographing or screenshots on the internet to street photography. What about the internet or a public chat-room is private? Did Winogrand ask every woman on the street that he photographed for permission? 

Lindsay Dye is a Brooklyn based artists, born and raised in a gated community in Weston, FL. After high school she lived in Miami for 7 years, where she received her BFA in Photography from Florida International University. An internship at Aperture Magazine brought her to New York City, where she later began graduate school at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY for her MFA in Photography. Check out her website HERE, and follow her on instagram while you’re at it @dyelindsay.

[svamfafinearts]

Sidewalk Trophy // The Java Project

Visit the Java Project website for more information about this three person show featuring MFA Fine Arts students.

[willhutnick]

Quick touch up at The Java Project #greenpoint @thejavaproject #thejavaproject (at The Java Project)

[willhutnick]

Mural detail. Hope to see you @thejavaproject tonight at 7:30 for Greenpoint Open Studios Launch Party! @greenpointopenstudios #greenpointopenstudios #greenpoint #thejavaproject (at The Java Project)

[willhutnick]

And done! Hope to see you on Friday for the opening! It'll also be up for 6 months so you have time too @thejavaproject @greenpointopenstudios #greenpointopenstudios #greenpoint #thejavaproject #willhutnick (at The Java Project)

[willhutnick]

My work at The Java Project officially opens this Friday as part of Greenpoint Open Studios kickoff party! Hope to see you there/hope to get this done by Friday... @thejavaproject @greenpointopenstudios #thejavaproject #greenpoint #greenpointopenstudios (at The Java Project)

[willhutnick]

Earlier today at The Java Project. Photo by: @thejavaproject @greenpointopenstudios #greenpoint #thejavaproject (at The Java Project)

[willhutnick]

Thanks Jared Leto for the feature! @jaredleto @thejavaproject #thejavaproject #youreaghost (at The Java Project)

[willhutnick]

Hi mural! Nice to see you again 😃🌈 @thejavaproject (at The Java Project)

[willhutnick]

Day 2 @thejavaproject #javaproject (at The Java Project)

[willhutnick]

Working at The Java Project until it gets dark. Stop on by and say hello! @thejavaproject #greenpoint #javaproject #sammyforscale photo by @buttonsbub (at The Java Project)

[willhutnick]

Day 1 at The Java Project. @thejavaproject #greenpoint #javaproject (at The Java Project)

[willhutnick]

I made my exhibition disappear @thejavaproject #thejavaproject #homealone (at The Java Project)