Life Outtacontext is both an archive of my work and a showcase for what I’m doing now.
Donald Trump’s Inauguration, © 2017 Jeff Gates
As an artist for over four decades, my art has grown yet contains many shared themes and ideas. When I first started, I often worried about running out of ideas. It finally occurred to me that as long as I remained curious about the world, that would never be a problem. And that has served me well over the years. With a political science and art background, I’m always looking to comment on that world.
I grew up in Los Angeles but now live in Washington, DC. My graduate education in graphic design and photography at UCLA gave me the time and resources to experiment with new technologies. I took the first computer graphics class ever taught at the university, led by experimental filmmaker John Whitney, Sr. Mits Kataoka, a friend of video artist Nam June Paik, brought the first portable video recorders to UCLA, allowing me to experiment with that new medium. Art historian, T. J. Clark, opened my world to art’s connection with social movements throughout history. And Robert Heinecken pushed me to consider new notions of what photography could be.
I’ve created this site to document my art practice and writing, both past and present. Look around and let me know what you think.