Luba Drozd (born 1982) is an American
installation artist
Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often cal ...
.
Biography
Drozd was born in 1982 in
Lviv
Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
, then part of the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...
, and as an adolescent later emigrated to the United States.
Drozd received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Computer Graphics and Interactive Media from
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...
in 2006,
then attended the
Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts, where she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Film/Video in 2015.
Drozd's early works were single and two channel animation and video. For
Smack Mellon's 2015 show ''Respond'', Drozd contributed ''Humane Restraint'', a
video installation
Video installation is a contemporary art form that combines video technology with installation art, making use of all aspects of the surrounding environment to affect the audience. Tracing its origins to the birth of video art in the 1970s, it has ...
which art critic Jillian Steinhauer said "mashes up cheery instructional videos from mental hospitals and police forces that teach viewers how to properly restrain people . . .
nd hingesbrilliantly on the point at which humor quietly swings into seriousness." In that same year, she received a new work grant from the
Eastern State Penitentiary
The Eastern State Penitentiary (ESP) is a former American prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located in the Fairmount, Philadelphia, Fairmount section of the city, and was operational from 1829 until 1971. The penitentiary refined the r ...
for a two-channel video installation called ''Institute of Corrections'',
and was a
BRIC Media Arts Fellow.
In 2016, she was a Fall/Winter 2016-2017 artist resident for the Studios at
MASS MoCA
The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) is a museum in a converted Arnold Print Works factory building complex located in North Adams, Massachusetts. It is one of the largest centers for contemporary visual art and performing ...
,
and her piece ''Solipsism'' was included in CIM, an exhibition of seven contemporary Ukrainian-American Artists. In 2017 she was a
Bronx Museum of the Arts
The Bronx Museum of the Arts (BxMA), also called the Bronx Museum of Art or simply the Bronx Museum, is an American cultural institution located in Concourse, Bronx, New York. The museum focuses on contemporary and 20th-century works created by ...
AIM Fellow,
with her installation piece subsequently included in that year's Bronx Museum Biennial. In 2017, Drozd had a solo show at Lubov (a gallery in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
), called ''Soon enough Roads will be Rivers''.
In 2018, Drozd received residencies at the
Millay Colony for the Arts
Millay Arts, formerly the Millay Colony for the Arts, is an arts community offering residency-retreats and workshops in Austerlitz, New York, and free arts programs in local public schools. Housed on the former property of feminist/activist poet ...
and the
Virginia Center for the Creative Arts
The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA) is a residential artist community in Amherst, Virginia, USA. Since 1971, VCCA has offered residencies of varying lengths with flexible scheduling for international artists, writers, and composers at ...
and exhibited within a group show at the
Pfizer
Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral (New York City), The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 184 ...
Building in Brooklyn. In 2019 Drozd received a
MacDowell Colony
MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire. The program was founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDo ...
Fellowship,
and she and
William Lamson worked on ''A Continuous Stream of Occurrence'', an exhibition at the
Knockdown Center. Her subsequent piece ''Tarsainn'' received support from the
Foundation for Contemporary Arts
The Foundation for Contemporary Arts (FCA), is a nonprofit based foundation in New York City that offers financial support and recognition to contemporary performing and visual artists through awards for artistic innovation and potential. It was ...
through their emergency grant program.
In late-2019, Drozd created a site specific piece at Sunview Luncheonette. In 2020, Drozd received a
Yaddo
Yaddo is an artists' community located on a estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment.". On March  ...
residency.
That same year, she also worked as part of ''A faint hum'', a group installation at the
Hessel Museum of Art.
Rachel Vera Steinberg said that "Using piano strings, animated projection, sheet metal, micro-controllers, motors, and drywall, Drozd’s new installation yearns for a synesthetic equalization of matter."
During the
COVID-19 pandemic in New York City
The first case of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City was confirmed on March 1, 2020, though later research showed that the novel coronavirus had been circulating in New York City since January, with cases of community transmission confirme ...
, Drozd distributed 3D-printed
face shield
A face shield, an item of personal protective equipment, aims to protect the wearer's entire face (or part of it) from hazards such as Projectile, flying objects and road debris, chemical splashes (in laboratory, laboratories or in Industry (eco ...
s, based on a design by Prusa Research (the manufacturers of the
Prusa i3
The Prusa i3 is a family of fused filament fabrication 3D printers, manufactured by Czech company Prusa Research under the trademarked name Original Prusa i3. Part of the RepRap project, Prusa i3 printers were called the most used 3D printer in ...
3D printers).
The shields were designed to be "fabricated with
acetate
An acetate is a salt formed by the combination of acetic acid with a base (e.g. alkaline, earthy, metallic, nonmetallic, or radical base). "Acetate" also describes the conjugate base or ion (specifically, the negatively charged ion called ...
, a
hole punch
A hole punch, also known as a hole puncher or paper puncher, is an office supplies, office tool that is used to create holes in sheets of paper, often for the purpose of collecting the sheets in a Ring binder, binder or folder (such collected sh ...
er from a
discount store
Discount stores offer a retail format in which products are sold at prices that are in principle lower than an actual or supposed "full retail price". Discounters rely on bulk purchasing and efficient distribution to keep down costs.
Types (Uni ...
, and
rubber bands
A rubber band (also known as an elastic, gum band or lacky band) is a loop of rubber, usually ring or oval shaped, and commonly used to hold multiple objects together. The rubber band was patented in England on March 17, 1845, by Stephen Perry ...
".
On March 30, 2020, a photograph of Drozd creating the masks appeared in a ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' article on the rise of crowdsourced medical equipment during the pandemic. In May 2020, Drozd told arts magazine ''
Bomb
A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...
'' that "
ch of
erart practice deals with the subjectivity of perception on both micro and macro levels."
In 2021, Drozd was appointed a
Guggenheim Fellow
Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated d ...
.
On February 24, 2022, Drozd, condemning the
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, took part in an
anti-invasion march in Manhattan.
She has family who remained in Ukraine after her emigration, and she wanted them to
flee the country for their safety.
She also voiced her "doubts
hat
A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
domestic and international pressure would deter
Vladimir
Vladimir (, , pre-1918 orthography: ) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin, widespread throughout all Slavic nations in different forms and spellings. The earliest record of a person with the name is Vladimir of Bulgaria ().
Etymology
...
Putin from pursuing his plan to take over Ukraine."
In November 2022, she returned to Smack Mellon with ''The Tenacity of a Fluid Trace'', an art installation incorporating
drywall
Drywall (also called plasterboard, dry lining, wallboard, sheet rock, gib board, gypsum board, buster board, turtles board, slap board, custard board, gypsum panel and gyprock) is a panel made of calcium sulfate dihydrate (gypsum), with or with ...
,
piano wire
Piano wire, or "music wire", is a specialized type of wire made for use in piano string (music), strings but also in other applications as Spring (device), springs. It is made from tempering (metallurgy), tempered high-carbon steel, also known ...
,
sheet metal
Sheet metal is metal formed into thin, flat pieces, usually by an industrial process.
Thicknesses can vary significantly; extremely thin sheets are considered foil (metal), foil or Metal leaf, leaf, and pieces thicker than 6 mm (0.25  ...
, and steel beams to produce sound.
Gregory Volk said that he "would hardly characterize
tas a direct response to the war, yet correspondences are evident, especially in her deep feeling and respect for matter, in contrast with Putin’s senseless destruction."
Awards
* 2015
BRIC Arts Media Media Arts Fellowship
* 2016
Eastern State Penitentiary
The Eastern State Penitentiary (ESP) is a former American prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located in the Fairmount, Philadelphia, Fairmount section of the city, and was operational from 1829 until 1971. The penitentiary refined the r ...
New Work Grant
* 2016
MASS MoCA
The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) is a museum in a converted Arnold Print Works factory building complex located in North Adams, Massachusetts. It is one of the largest centers for contemporary visual art and performing ...
Visiting Artist in Residence
* 2017
Bronx Museum of the Arts
The Bronx Museum of the Arts (BxMA), also called the Bronx Museum of Art or simply the Bronx Museum, is an American cultural institution located in Concourse, Bronx, New York. The museum focuses on contemporary and 20th-century works created by ...
AIM Fellowship
* 2018
VCCA Resident Artist Fellow
* 2018
Millay Colony for the Arts
Millay Arts, formerly the Millay Colony for the Arts, is an arts community offering residency-retreats and workshops in Austerlitz, New York, and free arts programs in local public schools. Housed on the former property of feminist/activist poet ...
Artist Residency
* 2019
MacDowell Colony Fellowship
* 2019
Foundation for Contemporary Arts
The Foundation for Contemporary Arts (FCA), is a nonprofit based foundation in New York City that offers financial support and recognition to contemporary performing and visual artists through awards for artistic innovation and potential. It was ...
Emergency Grant
* 2020
Yaddo Residency
* 2020
Pioneer Works
Pioneer Works is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit cultural arts center in the Red Hook, Brooklyn, Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City that was founded by artist Dustin Yellin in 2012. Pioneer Works includes a large exhibition spac ...
Technology Residency
* 2021
Guggenheim Fellow
Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated d ...
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drozd, Luba
1982 births
Living people
21st-century Ukrainian women artists
21st-century Ukrainian artists
21st-century American women artists
American installation artists
Artists from Lviv
MacDowell Colony fellows
Bard College alumni
Pratt Institute alumni
Ukrainian emigrants to the United States