Leah Gilliam facts for kids

Quick facts for kids L. Franklin Gilliam
Born	Leah Catherine Gilliam 1967 (age 57–58) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Education	Brown University (BA) New York University (MFA)
Known for	Participating in first digital media exhibition at Whitney Museum of Art, NY
Notable work	Apeshit v3, Lesberation, Sapphire and the Slave Girl

L. Franklin Gilliam is an American filmmaker and artist. They create art that explores ideas about identity and how people see themselves.

Gilliam used to work at the Institute of Play, which helps people learn through games. Today, they are a leader at Girls Who Code. This organization teaches girls about computer science.

Early Life and Learning

L. Franklin Gilliam was born in 1967 in Washington, D.C.. Their father, Sam Gilliam, was a famous painter. Their mother, Dorothy Butler Gilliam, was the first Black woman reporter for The Washington Post. Growing up, their parents helped them discover art and culture.

Gilliam went to Brown University and studied Modern Culture and Media. They earned their first degree in 1989. Later, they received a master's degree in Film and Twentieth Century Studies from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 1992. They also studied at New York University (NYU).

Teaching and Design Work

Before finishing their master's degree, Gilliam taught film at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. In 1993, they became a visiting artist at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. They later became a professor there.

From 1996 to 2007, Gilliam was a professor at Bard College. They led different art programs and helped students learn about film and electronics. After their time at Bard, Gilliam continued to work in education and design.

Art and Technology

L. Franklin Gilliam's art often looks at how we create knowledge. They also explore how old technologies become new again. They take existing cultural texts and change them to talk about bigger ideas like race and gender.

For example, in 2001, Gilliam showed art at the "BitStreams" exhibit at the Whitney Museum of American Art. They used old Mac computers to display parts of old movie trailers. This showed their interest in old technology.

Their 1998 CD-ROM, Split: Whiteness, Retrofuturism, Omega Man, used a film trailer from Planet of the Apes. This piece also focused on older media technologies. In 2000, Gilliam received an award from Creative Capital for their unique art.

Agenda for a Landscape

One of Gilliam's most well-known works is Agenda for a Landscape. This art show was at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in 2002. The exhibit looked like an old NASA command center.

It showed computer-changed videos of Mars from the 1997 Mars Pathfinder mission. Gilliam mixed this with their own videos of the Hudson River. This connected two very different places. Gilliam suggests that new technology creates a new kind of landscape art.

They also made a DVD called Springtime for Mars. This DVD told a story about what happened to the Mars rover after it stopped sending signals in 1997. In the story, a young hacker finds a way to talk to the rover again.

Film and Art Projects

Here are some of L. Franklin Gilliam's projects:

• 1992 Now Pretend (a 16mm film)
• 1995 Sapphire and the Slave Girl (a video)
• 1998 Split: Whiteness, Retrofuturism, Omega Man (a CD-ROM project)
• 1999 Apeshit v3 (an art installation using computers)
• 1999 Apeshit (a video)
• 2001 Playing the Race Card (a digital video)
• 2004 Agenda for a Landscape (an interactive art show)
• 2008 Metrophile (an urban game)
• 2008 Lesberation (a board game)