Biography
Emily Lazerwitz (b. 1991) is a visual artist living and working in New York.
Her artistic practice deals with the issue of time and focuses on the intersection of art, craft, technology, and language. More specifically Lazerwitz is concerned with the way technology shapes the direction in which language develops.
"Having grown up with the development of the Internet and social media, I have witnessed very personally how the expansion of these innovations has changed who I am and how I communicate. I am excited by the prospect of being able to interact instantaneously with anyone in the world through audio, visual, and written means. However, these same technologies also limit my use of language through restrictions on length and vocabulary. Long beautiful prose from past centuries currently has no place in this new environment and that scares me.
To overcome this fear, I turned to my art and focused on ways to render words completely meaningless as both a prediction and protest to what I see happening. The craft forms of quilting, weaving, and needlework became my visual language of choice to explore this consequence. These practices have been passed down for centuries and involve precision, time, and acquired skill, while social media platforms function through universal accessibility, short cuts, fragments, and speed. The tension between these two forms drives my practice.
Every piece takes weeks to make. They require painstaking concentration, as well as time to understand and literally decode the messages. The logic is purely my own and becomes a privileged knowledge for the few who spend the time to really look.
How soon is it until we no longer use words or even letters just simply ones and zeros?"
Emily Lazerwitz holds a BA degree in Fine Art from Columbia University, New York (2014). In 2010 she was the recipient of the Promising Artist Award from Rhode Island School of Design.
Recent shows include "The 25th International Juried Exhibition”
Juror: Katherine Brinson of the Guggenheim Museum" (where she won 2nd Prize), "Speculative Future", A-Side B-Side Gallery, London (2014); "Columbia University Senior Thesis Show", LeRoy Neiman Center for Print Studies, New York (2014); "Small Works", Trestle Gallery, New York (2012); "Art as Protest", Postcrypt Art Gallery, New York (2010).
Emily Lazerwitz is currently pursuing her MFA at Slade School of Fine Art, London.
