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LaJuné McMillian:
The Portal's Keeper

July 1-September 26, 2024


LaJuné McMillian: The Portal's Keeper is a new site-specific commission for the exterior video façade of the Mandeville Art Gallery. Building on the artist's interest in stewarding spaces for liberated Black realities and the Black imagination, McMillian conducted a movement and meditation workshop with UC San Diego students using extended reality and physical computing to translate participants' movement data into visuals for this new artwork. In the artist's words, "The Portal's Keeper is a reminder that movement not only represents our individual experiences, but it also represents our collective memory, transcending space, time and oppressive social structures. It allows us to connect to each other, our ancestors, our deepest selves, and gives us space to communicate to our future. Movement is a technology, holding the stories of our existence globally."

[Image: LaJuné McMillian: The Portal's Keeper Installation Views, Mandeville Art Gallery, July 1-September 26, 2024 (Photos by Pablo Mason)]

Co-sponsored by the Black Studies Project

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Artist Biography

LaJuné McMillian is a new media artist, and Creative Technologist creating art that integrates performance, extended reality, and physical computing to question our current forms of communication. McMillian has shown and spoke about their work at Pioneer Works, National Sawdust, Leaders in Software and Art, Creative Tech Week, and Art && Code’s Weird Reality. The artist was previously the Director of Skating at Figure Skating in Harlem, where they integrated STEAM and Figure Skating to teach girls of color about movement and technology. They have continued their research on Blackness, Movement, and Technology during residencies at Eyebeam, Pioneer Works Barbarian Group, and Barnard College.

Artist Lecture


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LaJuné McMillian:
The Portal's Keeper (El guardián del portal)

1 de julio-26 de septiembre, 2024

LaJuné McMillian: The Portal's Keeper (LaJuné McMillian: El guardián del portal) es una nueva obra de sitio específico hecha por encargo para la video fachada al exterior de la Mandeville Art Gallery. Hecha con base en el interés de la artista por espacios de propiedad compartida dedicados a realidades liberadas y a la imaginación Negras, McMillian llevó a cabo un taller de movimiento y meditación con los alumnos UC San Diego utilizando realidades extendidas y computación física con el propósito de traducir los datos de los movimientos de los participantes para esta nueva obra de arte. En palabras de la artista: "The Portal's Keeper (El guardián del portal) es un recordatorio de que el movimiento no sólo representa nuestras experiencias individuales, sino que también representa nuestra memoria colectiva, trascendiendo el espacio, el tiempo y las estructuras sociales opresivas. Nos da la oportunidad de conectar el uno con el otro, con nuestros ancestros, con nuestro ser más profundo, y nos ofrece el espacio para comunicarnos con nuestro futuro. El movimiento es una tecnología que contiene de manera global las historias de nuestra existencia."

[Imágen: Vistas de la instalación LaJuné McMillian: The Portal's Keeper (LaJuné McMillian: El guardián del portal), Mandeville Art Gallery, 1 de julio- 26 de septiembre, 2024 (Fotos de Pablo Mason)]

Patrocinada junto con el Black Studies Project

Public Programs

All events are free and take place in person at the Mandeville Art Gallery, unless indicated otherwise.

 

Artist Talk by LaJuné McMillian

Tuesday, May 28, 2024, 6:30-8 pm | RSVP

Location: SME 149, Structural & Materials Engineering, UC San Diego

LaJuné McMillian is a Multidisciplinary Artist, and Educator creating art that integrates performance, extended reality, and physical computing to question our contemporary forms of communication. They are passionate about discovering, learning, manifesting, and stewarding spaces for liberated Black Realities and the Black Imagination. McMillian was previously the Director of Skating at Figure Skating in Harlem, where they integrated STEAM and Figure Skating to teach girls of color about movement and technology.

 

 

 


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The Portal's Keeper

Workshop led by artist LaJuné McMillian

Wednesday, May 29, 2024, 1-5pm | SIGN UP

Location: Performance Space, Visual Arts Facility, UC San Diego

UC San Diego students are invited to a movement and meditation workshop using extended reality and physical computing. Participants' created avatars and motion capture will be integrated into visuals for a new site-specific commission exploring liberated Black realities for the exterior video façade of the Mandeville Art Gallery.

 

In this workshop, participants will:

  • Explore issues of cultural representation and exploitation present in digital tools/softwares.
  • Have an introduction to motion capture, rigging and 3D environments.
  • Move! We will use a series of movement and embodiment techniques to develop our personal movement libraries to record digitally.
  • Journal how movement currently shows up in our bodies.
Students should wear comfortable clothing and bring a laptop and a journal.