Questioning Our Images: The Female Frame

Examination of the image becomes vital in a period of history marked by the smartphone and its accessibility to image and video creation.  Lala Drona inspires others to question the origins of our daily images through her research into topics concerning le regard (the gaze).

Female Frame, 2019, Acrylic on Canvas, 20cm x 20cm

During her appearance at the Bienvenu Art Fair at the Cité des Arts in Paris, journalist and video editor Mathieu Mieleszko followed Lala Drona to document the release of her painting “Female Frame.”  In this video, Mieleszko delves into the artist’s intention behind the painting, and provides a link between her artistic universe and its real-world applications.  His cinematographic style in this video is influenced by concepts behind the piece, mimicking le regard which follows behind the artist during the exhibition.  The style critiques the traditional objectification of women depicted through the male gaze, as women in the video are not simply objects to be seen, but instead look back (appearances by: video artist Jamika Ajalon, and stained glass artist Alison Koehler).   

Lala states that her present work on the female gaze examines “issues in the lack of diversity in the transmission of images and stories throughout history.  Our images predominantly come from creators of the same profile (male, white, heterosexual).  It’s not to say that these stories are not important, it’s to say that it’s time to share the stage.  We want different stories, a broader understanding of the diverse human condition.  And it’s time to bring commonly silenced voices to the forefront.”

Video still from Mieleszko’s film

 Her painting “Female Frame” not only inspires others to question the profile of the person behind our images, but also the corporate and political entities.  “We are bombarded with too many images today, in the form of Instagram, and other social networks.  Advertisers and political campaigns are able to post images at the same level of importance as the images from our friends and community.  The infinite scroll feature facilitates the mindless consumption of these images, and we are only beginning to see the negative effects of this.” 

            Lala Drona intends to create three paintings under the concept of “the female frame.” 

Video editing by Mathieu Mieleszko:
https://vimeo.com/user20455396
Music in video by Sim Hutchins:
https://soundcloud.com/simhutchins
https://simhutchins.bandcamp.com/

L.D. Times Article 2019: Clare Steele and Lala Drona

The L.D. Times releases its yearly article in a new format, this time doubling its artist coverage. Clare Steele (Australia) and Lala Drona (France), talk about their digital friendship, and what it means to be an artist today.

Full Article

Lala Drona, painter / videaste, and Clare Steele, conceptual documentary photographer, first met in Seville, Spain in June 2018. They met in an all-female artist residency, and with Ezra Enzo (USA), abstract painter, became a solid international artist trio.

“They really bounce well off of one another,” said other artists-in-residence about the trio. “Since the residency, they’ve been able to keep in contact and support one another from 3 different continents through voice message.”

When approached about the topic, Lala Drona stated, “I’m so happy to have these women in my life. This is an artist friendship that represents our times: Three strong female artists, living in different countries, empowering one another by sharing our experiences through smartphone applications, in long-form voice notes. Sometimes I feel like these voice-notes are our contemporary letter-writing.”

When Clare Steele visited Paris, France in October this year, it was essential that they finally record one of these conversations. Click below to read the full article.

L.D. Times Article: Artist to ArtistFull Article

To read all L.D. Times articles, click here.

Art meets Big Data: Lala joins competitors

Ever since Lala Drona’s groundbreaking (albeit controversial) work with Muse inspiration extraction, a wide range of Muse Services have continued to pop up.  Her invention of the industry has birthed innovations in Artist-Muse services and has revolutionised the way we think about inspiration, redefining the roles artists/muses play within the act of creation.  Thanks to these developments, we can find more that 1000 Artist-Muse/Inspiration services spread across Western Europe and the Eastern United States today.

Since the genesis of the industry, Lala Drona has decided to branch out.  Her investment in her European Art tour has left her strapped for cash, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.  Lala Drona’s next art project with Lala Laboratories is bigger than ever.  Sources say that in order to make some extra cash, Lala Drona is taking on a side-hustle, offering her expertise to other muse services. 

She has been spotted on 3 different occasions with higher-ups from the company AMServices (Artist-Muse Services), a service which enables artists to test out their Muse’s ideas on mass audiences in an online system.  In this system, artists are able to test their muse’s ideas, tweak them, and test them again.  The system keeps track of every variation of the idea, and lets the artist test all the versions simultaneously in real time.  The artist can compare each version of the idea by diverting audiences to each one, and observing how each performs.  By doing this, the artist can select the highest performing version of the idea and use that one for creation.

AMServices has been criticised by many in the art world, as many find it to be “Big Brotheresque,” some having described the service as “the art world meets Big Data.”  Even Lala herself has accused the service of “taking the soul out of creation by commercialising ideas and adapting them to a mass audience…all in the aim of making more money.” 

Despite all of this, AMServices sticks to their vision of “data as a tool,” denying intentions to commercialise or “main-stream” ideas.  AMServices Founder Anita DeBlanca made a statement in 2017 saying “We provide data services.  What our clients decide to do with that data is their choice.”

The verdict is still out regarding Lala’s updated views on AMServices, and sources have not been able to confirm what Lala Drona’s involvement with the company will be.  Either way, this unexpected move has the art world on the edge of their seats, anticipating future innovations expected to come from this collaboration.