Lee Walton

Lee Walton is an artist working in new media, social practice, video, performance, net art, drawing, and social media. Walton collaborates with numerous participants and practitioners from diverse fields and across disciplines, and has led commissioned projects for museums, institutions and cities both in the US and internationally. He is also Associate Professor of Art at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Director of Social Practice.

Momentary Performances

On his website, Lee Walton writes: “For Momentary Performances (2008-2010), I used vinyl text on city walls to announce ordinary moments that will take place. These texts are installed throughout the city weeks prior to each performance. Nearly 20 of these public works took place in Minnesota and Atlanta.

After acting out the script exactly on schedule, actors casually disappear into the city as if completely unaware of the descriptive text. Unexpected public is left to wonder about the reality of the serendipitous occurrence.”

 

Birthday Wishes (For Friends I Don’t Really Know)

“Birthday Wishes (For Friends I Don’t Really Know) (2002 – present) is an on-going series of intimate videos wishes for people I don’t really know. Personal information is culled from the recipient’s social media feeds and used to create the feeling that we are close friends. These videos are delivered to recipients on the day of their birthday. … These videos also question privacy and how social media is changing the way we define and understand our relationships to one another.”

 

Father and Daughter View the Exhibition

“Father and Daughter View the Exhibition was an artwork I created for the exhibition “More Love: Art, Politics, and Sharing since the 1990s,” at the Ackland Art Museum in Chapel Hill, NC.

For this performance, I scheduled 43 actual father and daughter pairs to view the exhibit each day – precisely from 4:00 to 4:30 p.m. throughout the run of the exhibition. Pairings of all different ages participated. A text piece inside the museum informed viewers of the performance.

The intention of this work was to create a unique, unforgettable art experience Fathers and Daughters. Turning the traditional function of the art museum inside out, the viewing of the exhibition became the art experience. By framing this activity, the event was elevated to the relevance of the artworks in the museum, thus giving value to the ephemeral moments of our lives.”

 

Video Performances

“My video performances are often situational and involve interactions, altercations and musings with (and through) public spaces.”

 

Average Point of Interest

The Average Point of Interest in San Francisco is a piece Lee Walton made where he took the mathematical average of all 287 points of interest according to the Official Visitor’s Map of San Francisco. Using the map coordinates of each point, he found that this “average point of interest” is located on Flint Street off 15th avenue near Corona Heights.