“In my work, I’m trying to elevate this history that has been forgotten of women being computer programmers and women being integral to the creation of computer technology.”
Episode 7: Becoming Visible, Being a Thorn, and Seeking Justice
Episode 8: Committing to Showing Up and Shifting Frameworks
Ahree Lee (born Seoul, South Korea) is a multi-media artist working in video, photography, sound, and interactive installations. Lee received her B.A. from Yale University in English literature and an M.F.A. in graphic design from Yale School of Art, where she studied under Sheila de Bretteville. Her many commissions include the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, the 01SJ Biennial, the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, the 2006 International Short Film Festival in Leuven, Belgium, the International Festival of Video Art of Casablanca, and the Sundance Channel. Her Webby-nominated video Me was shown by Steve Jobs as a demo for YouTube on Apple TV, and is in the permanent collection of the Museum of the Moving Image, New York. Me currently has over 9 million views. Lee’s awards include a forthcoming artist residency at Santa Fe Art Institute, a Rema Hort Mann Emerging Artist Award nomination, an Artist Fellowship Grant in film and video from the state of Connecticut, and an artistic career development grant from Asian American Renaissance funded by the Jerome Foundation. Lee lives and works in Los Angeles with her daughter and husband, Nathan Melsted, an electronic musician, who composes musical scores for much of Lee’s work.
You can also find Ahree Lee here:
Ahree is a member of the Southern California Handweavers’ Guild, a non-profit resource for new and seasoned weaving enthusiasts.
Read this 2019 LA Weekly Profile of Ahree.
We are Here: Contemporary Art and Asian Voices in Los Angeles features Ahree’s work at the USC Pacific Asia Museum.
Selected Work:
Ahree Lee, Permutation, 2015. Generative digital video with sound, infinite duration.
Ahree Lee, Ada, 2019. Cotton, linen, and wool on canvas, 22 x 12 in. Photo: Gilda Davidian.
Ahree Lee, Bojagi (Memories to Light), 2015. Single channel digital video with sound, 15 min.