Alexa Meade facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alexa Meade
|
|
|---|---|
Meade in the self-portrait Double Take
|
|
| Born | 1986 (age 38–39) Washington, D.C.
|
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Vassar College |
| Known for | Installation art, painting, photography |
|
Notable work
|
Body painting Ariana Grande, Color of Reality, Wonderland Dreams on Fifth Avenue |
| Awards | TED Speaker, Tribeca Film Festival – "Disruptive Innovation Award", Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics – "Artist in Residence", Google - Artist in Residence, World Trade Center - “Artist in Residence” |
Alexa Meade (born in 1986) is an American installation artist. She is famous for painting directly onto people and objects. Her art makes real-life scenes look like flat, two-dimensional paintings when photographed.
Imagine a trick of the eye called trompe-l'œil, where a flat painting looks like a real 3D space. Alexa Meade does the opposite! She makes real people and objects look like they are part of a painting. When you see her work, it's like a photo of a painting of a person, with the real person hidden underneath.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Alexa Meade was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland. She went to Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. In 2009, she earned a bachelor's degree in political science.
She first planned to work in politics. She even interned for politicians on Capitol Hill. Later, she worked as a press assistant for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.
Career Highlights
Discovering Her Unique Art Style
In 2009, an art class at Vassar College sparked Alexa's interest. She started exploring how light and space work. She tried painting black where shadows fell on the ground.
She then tried painting a "map of light" on the human body using gray colors. She soon realized that she had made a 3D person look like a flat, 2D painting! This discovery changed her career plans. Even though politics was her dream, she felt art was a better fit for her.
After college, she practiced her new technique. She painted on everyday objects like grapefruits and fried eggs. She believes her lack of formal art training helped her. It allowed her to think outside the box and paint on unusual surfaces, not just canvases.
Gaining Public Attention
Alexa Meade first became well-known in March 2010. A blog post about her "living paintings" went viral. Soon, she was featured on CNN and other news outlets. Her website's views jumped from almost none to 30,000 in one day!
One of her famous early works was "Transit." She painted an older man in her studio. Then, she photographed him riding the Washington, D.C. metro. He looked like a painting from a museum had come to life!
In 2013, she gave a speech at the TEDGlobal conference in Scotland. Her talk, "Your Body is my Canvas," showed how she creates her art. She also shared how her career began.
Art and Science: Perimeter Institute
In 2015, Alexa Meade became an Artist-in-Residence at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. This institute is in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. She spent time studying theoretical and quantum physics.
In return, she created an art project with the scientists. The program's curator praised her "fearlessness." Her willingness to ask questions helped connect art and science.
Color of Reality Film
In 2016, Alexa Meade painted dancers Jon Boogz and Lil Buck for a short film. The film was called Color of Reality. It explored themes of gun violence and racial tensions in America. The story was told through painting and dance.
Lil Buck performed his unique dance style, Memphis Jookin’. This style mixes ballet with street dancing. The film received great reviews. The New York Times called it "a van Gogh—that is, if one of his paintings were brought to life as a performative protest." The film won an award and was shown at famous places like Lincoln Center.
"God Is a Woman" Music Video
In 2018, Alexa Meade painted singer Ariana Grande for her music video "God Is a Woman". The video director saw Meade's previous work. He asked her to paint Ariana Grande in a pool of milky paint.
The result was stunning and empowering. Allure called it "Some of the most gorgeous imagery." Meade's painted style even started a trend. Thousands of people created their own art inspired by her work.
Wonderland Dreams on Fifth Avenue
In the fall of 2022, Alexa Meade opened her immersive exhibit, Wonderland Dreams. It was on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. She spent two months and used 2,000 gallons of paint to transform the large 26,000 square-foot space.
Meade used her special 3D painting style. She created a 2D dream world with live, hand-painted models. Over 100,000 visitors experienced Wonderland Dreams during its year-long run.
-
Wonderland Dreams by Alexa Meade was located at 529 5th Ave, NYC
-
Wonderland Dreams installation painted by Alexa Meade
-
Alexa Meade’s painted model interacting with a guest at the Wonderland Dreams Exhibition
Fifth Avenue Portrait Collection
After Wonderland Dreams, Alexa Meade created the Fifth Avenue Portrait Collection in 2023. This public art exhibit stretched 180 feet along Fifth Avenue. It featured 12-foot-tall colorful portraits of New Yorkers. These included famous actors like J. Harrison Ghee and Brian Stokes Mitchell.
Other Notable Projects
Alexa Meade's art has been shown in many places around the world. In 2010, her work was in the Saatchi Gallery in London. In 2012, she did a live performance at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.
She has also worked with musicians like Avicii. She created large public art installations in cities like Madrid and Toronto. In 2015, she had exhibitions in Paris, France, including at the Grand Palais.
In 2016, she was invited to the White House by President Barack Obama. This event showcased creators and innovators. In 2017, she toured with Refinery29’s exhibit 29Rooms. The Tribeca Film Festival honored her with the Disruptive Innovation Award in 2017. This award celebrates people who inspire new ways of thinking.
Meade has also lectured at universities like Stanford University and Princeton. She has explored how art, math, and technology connect. She even collaborated with Google engineers on an installation using Light Field technology.
Scientists are still studying Alexa Meade's unique art. In 2019, Scientific American magazine wrote about her work. They explained that our brains naturally create depth from flat images. Meade's art cleverly plays with this process, showing how our brains see the world.
See also
In Spanish: Alexa Meade para niños
