Birnbaum transformation to Ice Ice Maybe
His road to New York was traveled via London, Boston, the University of North Texas in Denton, College Station and our very own Lake Highlands.
LH Today recently had the opportunity to visit with this talented installation artist, a '96 LHHS alum, to find out more about his journey, his art and his inspiration.
Birnbaum is currently taking part in the New York City art show, Never Can Say Goodbye, hosted by the non-profit group No Longer Empty.
It was following the show's opening, on January 15th, that we caught up with the artist.
LHT: Can you define the term "installation artist" for us?
Birnbaum: The term came about in an effort to describe artists who use a mix of materials and typically have to install their art pieces for exhibition. My installations are very sculptured, and I construct them with a number of objects - many of which help me convey bold, sometime shocking, statements.
LHT: Your most recent show, Never Can Say Goodbye, offered you the opportunity to showcase your performance art, however. Tell us more about that.
Birnbaum: In this show I was able to portray my alter ego, Ice Ice Maybe, a character based on the 1980's rap artist Vanilla Ice. The event has been far more successful that I'd ever have thought, and I enjoyed it tremendously because it gave me the opportunity to put my living art on display. It was a really intense experience. (Below are photos from the opening night.)
LHT: Tell us a little about the journey that's led you to develop your art in these ways.
Birnbaum: I'd have to point to the book POPism, by Andy Warhol. His perspective of pop art from the 1960's really struck a chord with me. While reading it, I realized that this was how I view the world. As a senior at the University of North Texas, majoring in Interior Design, I began making art in my garage. I became very interested in materials and how I could combine them. I spent a year at the American School in London, followed by 9 months in Boston on scholarship at the Boston Museum School.
I came to New York in 2004 for grad school and, as is very common in NY masters programs, began participating in open studios. This is an opportunity for an artist to display their work in their own studio, as people come through over the course of a weekend maybe, to view and purchase art. It's a great way to get exposure and get some great art on the cheap, as new, young artists emerge on the scene.
It was during one of these open studios that I was invited to display in a gallery show and received some good press from the Boston Globe. Along with networking, the process is a very slow build, but each year I've been able to display my work at different galleries, and I'm constantly finding new influences and ideas from the art world around me.
