On Irreverence In Paradise

Ashen Aspen, 1995

CMYK Offset Print on Vinyl, 7' x 7'

"Does this image slam Aspen for taking its pristine environment for granted? Have we become so twisted? If So, then hats off to the Commercial Core and Lodging Commission, advisors to the City Council, for funding public art that dares bite the hand that feeds it."

Art News, Aspen Magazine

Cell,1993

Snow, 8' x 8' x 8'

Team: Catherine Redfrin, Thomas Mooney

"At the Winterskol snow sculpture contest, Kurosh and his team built a huge HIV virus. It was quite beautiful and won second place in the judging. The irony was that the hole in the side of the snow sculpture was constantly full of children playing. Would you want your child playing with AIDS?"

Aspen Daily News

Damned if you Do, Damned if u Don't, 1991

CMYK Offset Print, 11". x 8.5"

"Kurosh is in search of that point where people begin to be outraged by an image or event. His layout for Rita Saint John in Destinations Magazine brought much attention. The genitals of the model were airbrushed smooth. The owners of the airlines found this obscene and did not want the ad to run again."

Jay Magidson, Aspen Daily News

F, 1996

Blue Masking Tape, 6" x 4"
Team: Thomas Mooney

"Art, I'll pass. That's the sentiment espoused by a less-than-vicious vandal who altered a sign over the entrance to the Aspen Art Museum using plastic blue tape. Museum employees awoke Thursday to find that someone had changed the sign to "Aspen Fart Museum." drawing chuckles from passers-by and staffers alike."

Kent Smith, Aspen Daily News

DADAA, 1990

Toilet Paper, B&W Xerox, Wire Hanger

Team:?

"Elvis may be dead, but Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali apparently are alive and in good humor in Aspen. The self-titled group DADAA, Dead Artists who Dislike Aspen Art, have claimed responsibility for the hoof-to-helmet draping of the massive artwork. After a successful career in painting, it seems that Picasso and Dali have taken up rhyming verse. "Prompt removal is suggested, for tacky Aspen art can no longer be ingested. So Consider this fair warning, Or we'll steal him piece by piece 'til he's missing one morning." , the note read."

Greg Trinker, Aspen Daily News

BBB, BB, 1992

Black Ink, Silkscreen on Cotton Tshirt

"ValaNejad's image came as a response to the scathing New York Times Article last month that slammed not only Aspen and the IDCA, but designers in general for losing the sense of social mission the Aspen conference once stood for."

Jane Wilson, Aspen Times

$ki Pa$$, 1994

CMYK Inkjet Print on Paper, Laminated, 4" x 2.5"

"Unlike counterfeit money, making a fake ski pass is not illegal. But when they are used it becomes a crime, and the Ski Company vigorously prosecutes."

David Bellack, Attorney, Aspen Ski Company

The Kneeler

The Kneeler; Delivery Device by Pamela Joseph with Kurosh ValaNejad
Sound by Liliana Mejia and Pamela Joseph, Enclosure by Stephen Hues

Multimedia, multi-sensory, interactive, stereoscopic installation

Delivery Device:  4’ wide x 5’ deep x 5’ high
Enclosure:  5” wide x 7” deep x 8’7” high

ARTIST STATEMENT by Pamela Joseph, 2006

As often with my work, separate parts come together over time to make a complete statement.

I have had a long-standing interest in women and their place in contemporary society, their power or lack of it, and their relationship to the world around them. Over the past few years, my work has also explored different religious issues, especially the Madonna. The Virgin Mary has been an intense attraction for me.  I was raised as a Catholic, and she was the ultimate symbol of feminine perfection.

I bought the kneeler in 2003.  I was drawn to its textures and sense of history.  At the time I had no idea how it would manifest in an artwork.

La Voce Dell'innocenza (2003) by Pamela Joseph
Watercolor, Gouache, and Ink on Paper, 20 x 14 in.
from The Adventures of Pussy Marshmallow, 2001-2003.

I painted the Pussy Madonna image as part of a series of comic book covers in 2003 while I was a Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome.  It was there that I became especially aware of the sympathetic juxtaposition of the sacred and the profane:  erotic scrims on buildings would be backdrops for provocative Bernini sculptures, or a Virgin Shrine enclosed in neon would be next to a suggestive movie poster.

Pussy Marshmallow is my alter ego, a woman who audaciously dares to break the rules in the game of the sexes.  Here she is reborn as the Savior Christ child, resting in the arms of the Virgin Mary while winged fairies soar and the putenesca (means 'whore' in Italian) burns in hell.

This stereo pair can be viewed in 3D by crossing your eyes
  RIGHT                                                     LEFT

I have worked with Kurosh ValaNejad on a wide range of projects since 1992.  Kurosh suggested turning the Pussy painting into a 3-D stereoscopic display.  He executed the separation of layers, producing the right eye image.  

Diagram for Mirror Box (a.k.a. Hyperviewer) and Light Box

Kurosh designed the lightbox and drew the diagram for the mirror box.  The intricate mirror box was fabricated by proportionally scaling a similar historic contraptions. I have always been fascinated with the idea of the phrase “They did it with mirrors”, the conflict and the indecision of what is real or merely illusion.  We engaged in our usual dialogue to further develop the piece.

The dialogue in the sound design is based on my personal experiences and memories. Sound artist Liliana Mejia took my words and wove them into a sound design of music, fire and wings. Her response to the color pink in the painting helped provoke the final score.

The Kneeler Enclosure (2006) by Stephen Hues
Wood frame, leather straps, 2-sided velvet curtain
 5ft. wide x 7ft. deep x 8ft. 8in. tall

Exhibit Advertising

WIRING DIAGRAM with ELECTRICAL REQUIREMENTS

The Kneeler requires outlets to support a Mac Mini computer,
a Subwoofer/Amplifier with 2 Speakers, a Light Box

Portfolio

This portfolio (under construction) 

features one project for every year

 since 1988 when my carree

r in computer graphics started.                                                                                                                                           

2025   In Memory of Bill Viola

I added the following quote by Bill Viola to a water feature at the ‪Getty Museum‬.  

"People have experiences at art museums today that they used to have in church."

19 River Rocks, Gold Mica

2024 Art & Propaganda; Their Importance in Movement Building
What is art in relation to propaganda? And in the context of movement building, what is the role of an artist in relation to the changemaker?  Guided by the thoughts of Artists/Activists, Artemis Akchoti Shahbazi and I led a workshop at the inaugural conference of the Creative Advocacy Institute.

2023 The Islamic Republic of Nazis  

Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, purports to be God's representative on Earth. Yet his actions are often more devilish than divine.

Adhesive Vinyl on 32 perimeter fence posts of the Los Angeles County Museums, 4 ft. x 16 ft.

2022 What if Len Lye had a Computer
When deconstructing the analog processes developed by the pioneers of early animation, I inevitably find myself reconstructing them using digital technologies, while identifying opportunities to expand, and dare I say, improve them. 

2021 Say My Name, Be My Voice at the Freedom Sculpture

... transforms public art it into a memorial.

2020, #FreeNasrin at the Freedom Sculpture

... transforms public art it into a virtual soapbox.

2019 Pushing Light Through a Darkened Palette

. . is a visualization of common triggers and technology of Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) , designed to induce a low-grade euphoria that its viewers may find to be a beneficial therapeutic experience.\

silent vie, trt: 7 min 5 sec

2018 Gender ID
From crib to coffin, we are put in boxes. At birth, our gender is recorded by checking one of two boxes; male or female. Just out of the womb, we are assigned a lifetime of expectations and limitations. While growing up we see variations in others and in ourselves. This personal sense of gender, our gender identity, forms at the age of 3 and raises the number of options from 2 to 32+. However inclusive and well-meaning, these labels are still confining as they are just more boxes. Look in the box to see the person. Remove the box and they will grow in surprising ways. Sometime the box may feel like a shelter from public scrutiny. Stay there too long, and it will shape you.
For some, it is not enough to think outside the box; They must live there

TRT 5 min 45 sec,  Procedurally generated with my Body Scrub device

2017 Vignette: Simorgh in the 21st Century

Stories about Simorgh, the mythical flying creature, span 5000 years. She is beautiful, with the tail feathers of a peacock that are magical. She is inherently benevolent, able to heal man and to purify nature. And in stories of Sufi mysticism, she is devine.

Duel Citizen, Dual to the Death, TRT 1 min 5 sec, uses my proprietary scratch animation technique, and is the proof of concept/study for Simorgh in the 21st Century

2016 Pressure-sensitive (Here’s what’s Watts.)

Pressure, made of the wreckage from of the Watts riots of ’65 (1), is not just evidence from a crime scene or verification for an insurance claim form. It is also a portrait. This once functional vessel, pounded down and burnt black, represents the very people who made it - by destroying it and anything white-owned in their neighborhood. With an eye for seeing beauty in what other’s discard, Artist Noah Purifoy ‘found’ it. He framed and titled it as a way to ‘interpret the August event’ for 66 Signs of Neon, a group show made from the same stock

 

2015 Interactive Animations for What Makes a Monster? Exhibit

Morphing illustrations from Ulisse Aldrovandi's 1642 Compendium Monstarorum Historia, my installation suggest that we create monsters, and by doing so, are the real monster.

What Makes a Monster of You?

Interactive Exhibition Banner

Treasure Room, USC Doheny Memorial Library

7' tall x 5' wide x 1" thick glass

Rear Projection Screen

2014 Interactive Animation at Wonderland Unbound

My animation and interactive installation were exhibited at USC Doheny Memorial Library as part of Wonderland Unbound, the 10 yr anniversary celebration of the library’s Lewis Carroll Special Collection

Wise Words (for the Modern Girl)

USC Doheny Memorial Library, LA, CA
Architectural Projection
4 projectors, 200 ft.wide x 50 ft. tall
Total Running Time: 2 min 30 sec.

2013 Firebird Rising

2012 The Body Scrub Device

....  is a virtual funhouse mirror that amplifies body language while providing anonymity. This combination of affordances encourages spectators to become the spectacle. Body Scrub, LEGO (pictured) was acquired by The Strong National Museum of Play for their long-term exhibit, Feild of Play.

2011  The Cat and the Coup

2010, The Night Journey

 

I demo-ed the videogame as part of a lecture by Bill Viola at Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass  Village Colorado 

2009

2008,  FA436: Art and Technology Course

2007  The Redistricting Game

2006, Immune Attack

2005, The Leaders Project

2005, The Kneeler

This multimedia, interactive, stereoscopic installation is a collaboration with Pamela Joseph and Liliana Mejia. For more information: http://kuroshv.blogspot.com/2011/11/the-kneeler.html



2004 WKRPinc,

Erotic (not pornographrafic) Body parts from Spanish -language, adult comic books collaged and painted, scanned and digitally mirrored across both axis' making a repeatable pattern printed on rolls of wallpaper (recommend for barhrooms.)\
WKRPinc is Wallpaper by Kurosh, Robert Brinker, Pamela Joseph
Aspen Times Weekly, Arts & Entertainment, Escape to Aspen, Sept 20, 2004

2003, Sensory Environments Evaluation
For more information: http://ict.usc.edu/projects/sensory_environments_evaluation/
"Sensory Design for Virtual Environments" paper and video for 2003 ACM SIGGRAPH Sketch
Related Paper: "Emotionally Evocative Environments for Training"


2002, Music for the Deaf
This mini music video was created by a collaborative of colleagues at USC's Institute for Creative Technologies. I conceived the idea and created the animation in the inner ear using proprietary software written by Andrew Gardner (who has a cameo as the signer.) Julia Kim shot the live-action footage. David Miraglia was the sound designer, with music provided by MTV.

2001

2000, When Summer Falls
This 3D CG animation is the culmination of my self-guided studies at 7 Los Angeles area schools from 1996-99.

1999

1998

1997 The Seasons of Aspen Magazine

Blue Masking Tape, 6" x 4"
Team: Thomas Mooney

1996 The Aspen Fart Museum

"Art, I'll pass. That's the sentiment espoused by a less-than-vicious vandal who altered a sign over the entrance to the Aspen Art Museum using plastic blue tape. Museum employees awoke Thursday to find that someone had changed the sign to "Aspen Fart Museum." drawing chuckles from passers-by and staffers alike."

Kent Smith, Aspen Daily News

1995 Ashen Aspen 

CMYK Offset Print on Vinyl, 7' x 7'

"Does this image slam Aspen for taking its pristine environment for granted? Have we become so twisted? If So, then hats off to the Commercial Core and Lodging Commission, advisors to the City Council, for funding public art that dares bite the hand that feeds it."

 Art News, Aspen Magazine

1994, Escher Staircase

"Now a work of art, a spiral staircase designed by computer artist Kurosh ValaNejad, features an inlaid lower landing that echoes the curve of the staircase, creating the illusion of ever descending space."

Colorado Homes & Lifestyles Magazine, May 1996

Snow, 8' x 8' x 8'
Team: Catherine Redfrin, Thomas Mooney

1993,  Cell 

At the Winterskol snow sculpture contest, Kurosh and his team built a huge HIV virus. It was quite beautiful and won second place in the judging. The irony was that the hole in the side of the snow sculpture was constantly full of children playing. Would you want your child playing with AIDS?"

Aspen Daily News

1992,  BBB, BB

Black Ink, Silkscreen on Cotton Tshirt

"ValaNejad's image came as a response to the scathing New York Times Article last month that slammed not only Aspen and the IDCA, but designers in general for losing the sense of social mission the Aspen conference once stood for."

Jane Wilson, Aspen Times

1991,  Damned if you Do, Damned if u Don't

CMYK Offset Print, 11". x 8.5

"Kurosh is in search of that point where people begin to be outraged by an image or event. His layout for Rita Saint John in Destinations Magazine brought much attention. The genitals of the model were airbrushed smooth. The owners of the airlines found this obscene and did not want the ad to run again."

Jay Magidson, Aspen Daily News

1990,   DADAA   (Dead Artists who  Dislike Aspen Art)   

 

Toilet Paper, B&W Xerox, Wire Hanger

"Elvis may be dead, but Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali apparently are alive and in good humor in Aspen. The self-titled group DADAA, Dead Artists who Dislike Aspen Art, have claimed responsibility for the hoof-to-helmet draping of the massive artwork. After a successful career in painting, it seems that Picasso and Dali have taken up rhyming verse. "Prompt removal is suggested, for tacky Aspen art can no longer be ingested. So Consider this fair warning, Or we'll steal him piece by piece 'til he's missing one morning." , the note read."

Greg Trinker, Aspen Daily News                   

   1989 Eve gets AIDS                                                                                       

,... was made with proprietary 3D CG software in the Amiga lab at Ohio State University.                       

TRT 1 min 25 sec

1988 Jeleous Dreams of Concreate Angels