• From Baylor to Paris: Alum’s work appears at prestigious modern art museum

    From "Optional Features Shown" by Zach Nader

    At first glance, the images in “Someone to See,” a video by digital photographic and video artist Zach Nader, BFA ’07, appear both familiar and a bit disorienting. There’s a reason for that — Nader takes images from the world of advertising and fashion and digitally manipulates them to help viewers see them in a new way.

    Nader is one of a new wave of artists who take existing photos and videos and re-imagine them through digital alteration. He has quickly made a name for himself, and his artistic imagination has taken him not only across the country, but across the globe. Last month, “Someone to See” was exhibited at Centre Georges Pompidou, a prestigious modern art museum in Paris, France.

    A recent description of Nader’s work highlights his complex images that “echo the unending barrage of pictures that saturate the contemporary experience and provide an opportunity for viewers to consider the role of the photograph within the new media landscape… (He) creates a unique visual language.” (Another prime example is his video “Optional Features Shown,” in which Nader has edited out the vehicles from everyday car commercials to focus on the outdoor scenery shown around them.)

    In addition to Paris, Nader’s work has been displayed at museums in Switzerland and New York, plus in a billboard installation in Times Square.

    Sic ’em, Zach!