Dominican-American artist Lisa Erdman has worked in variety of multimedia-related environments as a digital media artist, writer, educator, and performer. Using corporate parody and satirical humor, Lisa's multimedia art explores the politics of gender, race, and cultural identity. Since 1992, her videos, poetry, and multimedia performances have been presented in such venues as The Kitchen Performance Space in New York City; "Root '98 Electronic Arts Festival" at Hull Time-Based Arts in Hull, England; 1997 ISEA International Symposium of Electronic Arts in Chicago, Illinois; "Cine Estudiantil" Latino Film Festival in Enseñada, Mexico.

Drawing from her own Dominican-American heritage, a good portion of Lisa's writing and artwork examines the politics of consumerist culture and ethnic identity in the United States. Throughout her life, she frequently traveled between the cultures of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic, to spend time with relatives in both cities. As a young woman growing up in a bicultural environment, Lisa was often faced with questions involving the ambiguity of her ethnic identity. Out of a desire to explore the nature of her mixed heritage, and in an effort to integrate elements of her two cultures into her life, she began to address these questions of identity in her work.

In fall of 2003, Lisa received a grant from the Washington D.C. Commission for the Arts and Humanities, for her poem, “Café con Leche: The First Cup”. The poem explores the nature of Dominican-American identity. In October of 2003, the poem was included in "Our Voices, Our Images – A Celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month", an exhibition of painting and poetry at the Inter-Cultural Development Bank in Washington D.C.

From 1998-2001, Lisa served as a Web designer and Art Director for the interactive division of Harte-Hanks, Inc., an international direct marketing company located in Lake Katrine, New York. In 2000, she received an Outstanding Achievement Award for her graphic design work and managerial efforts at Harte-Hanks.

Lisa Erdman holds a Bachelor of Science in Dance and Interarts & Technology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. In 1997, she earned a Master of Fine Arts in Electronic Arts at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.

 

Photo by Rick Runion.
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