Eric Daigh is an American artist based in Traverse City, Michigan. He gained acclaim in 2009 when he won third place [1] for his pushpin portraits in the Inaugural ArtPrize competition in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His artwork displays a strong sense of play and uses a variety of unorthodox and unconventional everyday life materials including pushpins and Post-It notes.[2]
Eric Daigh | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 11, 1977 Savannah, Georgia, U.S. |
| Education | University of Montana |
| Known for | Modern art, Installation art, New media art, Conceptual art |
| Movement | Modernism |
| Awards | ArtPrize |
Artwork
editEric Daigh’s artwork combines creativity along with hours of diligent application. As a process artist, his work starts with taking a series of photographs of his subject. After carefully analyzing the photos, he uses a computer and specialized software to break an image down to a very low resolution and forces the computer to make the image out of only five colors (red, blue, yellow, black and white).[3] He then uses a grid map to show where to stick the pins row by row. At first glance, Daigh’s artwork appears to be a low-resolution portrait, but upon closer inspection, onlookers can see each piece is made up of thousands of colored pins. Many of his art pieces use over 11,000 pushpins to complete a three-foot by four-foot piece and as many as 25,000 pushpins for a four-foot by six-foot piece.[4] In Summer 2010, Daigh surpassed his own world record by creating a commissioned pushpin piece for automaker Acura, which used 109,687 pushpins.[5]
Background
editEric Daigh was born in Orange, California and is a graduate of the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana. He is known for his large-scale creative use of pushpins in portraits and multimedia artwork. His artwork combines the use of photography, graphic design and imagination to create a photographic mosaic art piece. His inspiration comes from artist Chuck Close, an American painter and photographer known for his photorealistic massive-scale portraits. Portrait photographer Martin Schoeller also inspired Daigh.[6]
Honors
edit- 2009 third place winner of ArtPrize. Daigh’s work was exhibited at the Old Federal Building in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The 2009 Inaugural ArtPrize competition drew more than 1,200 artists who exhibited their work throughout Grand Rapids, Michigan. The public used modern networking technology to vote on an artist’s work.[7]
- 2009 Communication Arts (magazine) Illustration Annual Winner.
Exhibits and Records
edit- 2010 Art Chicago – Carl Hammer Gallery – Chicago
- 2009 Guinness World Records – "Largest Pushpin Mosaic"
- 2009 Ripley's Believe It or Not! – Permanent Museum Collection
- 2008 Right Brain Brewery – Traverse City, Michigan
- 2007 Inside Out Gallery – Traverse City, Michigan
References
edit- ^ Kaczmarczyk, J. "ArtPrize's push-pin 'Portraits' by Eric Daigh featured on CBS Sunday Morning", November 30, 2009, "[1]", July 19, 2010
- ^ McCray, V. "ArtPrize winner won't be pinned", April 23, 2010, ""ArtPrize winner won't be pinned » Life » Traverse City Record-Eagle". Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved July 20, 2010.", July 18, 2010
- ^ CBSNews. "Push Pins and No Paint", July 11, 2010, "[2]", July 19, 2010
- ^ Moye, D. "Artist Eric Daigh Creates Portraits With Pushpins", 2010, ""Artist Eric Daigh Creates Portraits with Pushpins - AOL News". Archived from the original on May 26, 2010. Retrieved July 20, 2010.", July 19, 2010
- ^ Taylor, J. "Daigh's world-record push-pin art", July 7, 2010, ""Video: Daigh's world-record push-pin art » Arts & Entertainment » Traverse City Record-Eagle". Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved July 20, 2010.", July 20, 2010
- ^ Telegraph. "Push pin mosaic portraits by Eric Daigh", "[3]", July 19, 2010
- ^ Kaczmarczyk, J. "ArtPrize's push-pin 'Portraits' by Eric Daigh featured on CBS Sunday Morning", November 30, 2009, "[4]", July 19, 2010
External links
edit- Push Pin Portraits by Eric Daigh Featured on CBS Sunday Morning
- ArtPrize Winner Won't Be Pinned
- Push Pins and No Paint
- TC Artist Eric Daigh 'Sticks It' to NYC
- Traverse City Artist Pinned Down World Record with Push Pins
- Stick with It! Post-it Brand and Publicolor Encourage Students to Dream Big with Contest to Help Design the World’s Largest Billboard Made Entirely of Post-it Notes
- The Official Site of Eric Daigh