In “Observations,” a digitally-generated trail runs through the looping animation, illuminating different elements as it goes. The elements are taken from original watercolor and pen drawings; digitally-generated patterns; and found video footage describing everyday scenes.
The elements are united by a theme of growth and movement, and are often repeated with changes throughout the animation. The title refers to those observed in the videos, but also the artist’s scientific exploration of elements of randomness and chaotic motion; the whole animation is a study in combining artifacts of digital and human-created randomness, focused by the inexhaustible (though sometimes inefficient) path of the line.
Emily Garfield is originally from New York City and has lived in the Boston area since 2009. She has a BA in Visual Art from Brown University, where she also studied visual perception, aesthetics and Japanese studies, including a semester learning traditional Japanese arts in Nagoya. She has exhibited extensively in the Boston area and was the coordinator for Somerville Open Studios 2014. She draws her maps at Artisan’s Asylum maker space in Somerville, where she is also a board member. www.emilygarfield.com