ARTIST EXPLORATION: Geoff Lillemon

Artist Exploration: Geoff Lillemon


For my artist exploration I chose surrealist web artist Geoff Lillemon who is the creator of www.oculart.com, which to my knowledge is done entirely in Flash. Oculart won in the art categories in the 2005 New York Flash Forward Film Festival. Oculart consists of different pieces created by Lillemon and has been described by some as "playful" and " visionary" and by others as "fear and loathing on the internet."

Using paint, collage art and poetry, and flash animation, Lillemon claims as his inspiration "The Moulin Rouge'ish Paris illustrations and the 1930 brothel house atmospheres." In his pieces he tries to obtain the shapes for characters and focal points by using the highlights or shadow forms of ordinary things, such as the shape of smeared lipstick zoomed up. Lillemon also makes use of sound to enhance the mood of his more surrealistic pieces. His images twitch and flicker, and the darker works are somewhat reminiscent of Flying Puppet.

Lillemon has collaborated with several artists: among them Margaret Penny of dream7 and Nando Costa (hungryfordesign), as well having worked on a collaborative project with www.Reflektions.com.

Lilllemon had his first solo exhibition last year at the Museo Tamayo in Mexico City, and this year he is scheduled to be one of the speakers at the FITC Festival (the Canadian version of Flash Forward) in Toronto. He has also converted his art into commercial success by working with award-winning advertising agency Modernista. Lillemon, who is based in Boston, continues to produce Oculart.