Ellie Balk:
"I am inspired by the idea that we can create art that belongs to more than just a space, it can belong to the community. I love designing ways to get people to find connections with each other. I like the idea of taking artwork off a pedestal and putting it on the street. Public art is in line with my ideas of making art present and authentic to the experience of now. Public art is specific to place and experience, while carrying the power to transform a landscape. I use data to make connections to a community and to a space. I get energized by visualizing data we cannot see; revealing emotions, patterns and connections that would otherwise stay hidden in numbers. My role in the work is that of a composer. I drive my compositions by creating specific rule sets and color codes that build systems with which can be read and interacted by the viewer. Although the work is formally abstract, there is a language to the compositions that engage participation and investigation. I love how this invites people in to create a deeper, more personal connection with the content where something can be learned, solved and discovered. I have spent the last 17 years making work primarily in the public realm. Through mural painting, installation, musical composition, contemporary approaches to stained glass and performance work, I encourage the viewer to become part a component to the work. The all-inclusive socially engaging nature of my process is a driving force in the art making. I currently live in Brooklyn while working internationally. My work can be experienced throughout New York City and St. Louis, Missouri and in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Mae Rim, Thailand and Kassak Sud-Senegal, West Africa."
