Photography /  by Mirena Rhee

My first artwork was photography. Since 2005 I've been taking photographs of people, cities, objects, my own art, my drawings, paintings, installations, performances as well as other people's art paintings, sculptures, and many others.

Photography taught me how to see. Thanks to my camera and my computer I can make a photograph a perfect visual experience and make it my own. Because my computer never forgets it allows me to see the patterns in the world, the lines, the colors, and the faces. Out of these observations came the same kind of project where I categorized images along the lines of thoughts.

Until this day I photograph my own work with small exceptions.

All photographs on this website are by me, a small number of images here are not photographs but digitally generated landscapes also generated by me.

Drawing My First Trip to Mars /  by Mirena Rhee

Drawing My First Trip to Mars

I draw with dip pen and ink on really smooth cotton archival board. If there's any happiness in making art this sort of state where I draw these lines is where I'm the happiest I guess a kind of a zone state. I pay attention to very small things actually I pay attention to just one thing and that is the line that's coming out of that pen. I could say the entire universe converges on the tip of the pen in these moments.

When I stop drawing is when I actually dip the pen in ink and make sure to make a few doodles on a small piece of paper so it doesn't leave a large stain on the drawing by accidentally spilling more than necessary ink.

No matter what happens I know that I can always go back to drawing a line and everything will be fine. There's supreme calmness to it because there is no mixing paints and application of paint there's no much worrying about the surface as much or the technology of painting. There is technology to drawing but I have it down so this is where I'm at a perfect state to just be one with the drawing. I really like the sound the pen makes and like the the marks it leaves on the paper.

I use English and German inks because they're a lot more delicate, higgins ink is too thick and the lines too coarse.

Congratulations Chandrayaan-3 on deploying a Moon Rover /  by Mirena Rhee

My favorite toy as a child was a moon rover soo… dreams come true. My uncle has it in my late grandparents’ home. Sweet memories of playing with it.

I've always been obsessed with space, ever since I remember. I think I was five when I played with these. The question is why did my dad think I'd like these toys I have no idea. I'm going to ask.

My uncle has them now in my late grandparents' home. Whenever I'm there I always tour my favorite places like the barn where right now I feel like a giant walking in on my childhoods memories of an enormous barn and chicken coop. Also the toys and an old bear called Mecho who was my best friend when I was little.

My moon rover toy as a child accompanied by a moon truck.

My moon rover toy as a child accompanied by a moon truck.

They talk about AI because they want to avoid talking about the homeless the poor and the jobless /  by Mirena Rhee

I know I know I also love looking at cats on the internet but the truth is that they're more taken care of than a lot of people in the United States. We don't have the systems and the thought processes that put us in touch with the human condition because there is a pile of consumer goods between us and the human condition.

The skyscrapers of greed and the group think actually prevent us from thinking rationally about the human condition. All the handbags sit in warm and air conditioned places while tourists on 5th avenue in New York City jump over homeless people lying on the sidewalk.

I mean what is the fucking point of worrying about climate change when our hearts are Stone Cold. People are busy building out commercial grade kitchens and renovating their little particle boarded places with new particle board. People's living rooms are pure vacuum between a television and a couch with mass media diagrams jumping between the two.

Why all video games look the same /  by Mirena Rhee

I've seen the gradual deterioration of artistic innovation in the US.

The media landscape is dominated by ads spilling out of a screen, shopping and flipping numbers aka money. Oh and forgot streaming, what kind of a total moron watches streaming video games. They're lazy to even play games themselves and watch other people do it. In the same way the American public rather watch all kinds of idiots live on Instagram rather than live themselves.

People are obsessed with people's yachts, what prevents you from getting on a boat and sitting on the railings? You don't have to buy the whole fucking boat.

Oh I forgot, Americans work endless hours so they can rent little cages in the suburbs to fill with stuff before dying of overeating. Sure, can't fit too much living in that. Better look up some actor to give you the rundown on life.

YouTube has convinced young people that somehow it's okay to stare at a screen 4 hours on end and get bored out of your mind watching kit bashed landscapes stream by.

They now even outsource playing games.

Streaming is totally uncreative but displays 10 times as many ads.

It's like a giant ogre chewing food and constantly spitting it out, only for another ogre to chew it even further and spit it out into the mouths of gaping humans.

I've been looking at video games recently and I noticed how they all look the same, all artistic innovation has been bred out of them. All art is dominated by kits, The most boring ugly way of making video games. All enemies look the same all the characters look the same and all the environments look the same.

It's the same ugly medieval village it's the same ugly utensils on every ugly table, it's the same zombie enemies, The same awkward animations, The same tedious talking to NPCs to gather information in the game. I watched a sped up speed run and for about 20 minutes nothing happened, The same ruined landscapes, The same encounters, The same environmenrs I've seen hundreds of times.

I can't imagine who can possibly stand being lobotomized with this pile of ugly.

I actually now enjoy sports games racing games and sandbox ones like beam.ng. I also really enjoy watching small developers innovate because all AAA is a kit graveyard and franchise head explosions.

It's the same with ai art, they all look the same it's just paint by numbers on pixel scale. Completely unoriginal.

I challenge AI to mix paint and prepare damar varnish. Gravity is a bitch. I really like it.

Sunflower fields /  by Mirena Rhee

Watermelon, watermelon /  by Mirena Rhee

Watermelon, watermelon
are you gonna be sweet?
You are heavy and shiny.
Dad said the stem mustn’t be curly
and it must sing when you tap it.
I trust my dad with Watermelons
the one I picked was sugary and dark red inside
it sounded like… crack, crack… when I cut.
Our mouths went… mlem, mlem.