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ArtsPiece: Death and Life in the Work of

Jae Rhim Lee and Joe Mullins Our most current theme of study is the "body" and we will find that contemporary artists find the human body a fascinating, contemplative subject. We will also find that the ways in which the body is explored by contemporary artists as both subject and medium pushes the boundaries of how we conceive actions and objects to be "art." This ArtsPiece brings together very different conceptions of the body in art.

Joe Mullins: Forensic Artist and Teacher

Artist Joe Mullins conducting a Forensic Sculpture Workshop

The first artist, Joe Mullins, is a renowned forensic artist whose work helps to "bring the dead to life" in order to identify unidentified victims and to help solve cold cases (see "Forensic Artists Bring the Dead.... (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/a0868c1d7f814ee4987e7080f7674d6b/forensic-artists-bring-dead-back- life-cold-cases) ") Mullins works with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to sculpt facial reconstructions; he also conducts workshops with students around the country to teach the technical and artistic skills necessary to recreate accurate reconstructions from a victim's skull. Last year, Mullins conducted a "Forensic Sculpture Workshop" with at the New York Academy of Art where the students began their work with a replica skull of an unidentified crime victim. The students then "sculpt a

students began their work with a replica skull of an unidentified crime victim. The students then "sculpt a face, using a block of clay and whatever information they can glean from the ongoing investigations -- such as age, height, gender and race. They also included grimmer details, such as the locations of bullet holes or crushed bones" (see "This Is Forensic Sculpture... (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/09/forensic-sculpture_n_6631724.html) "). The two videos below provide brief discussions of how the forensic sculpture process works and how Mullins's students work to learn the "art and science" of forensic sculpture.

The Art of Forensics at the New York Academy of Art

Video 1: Forensics Workshop at the New York Academy of Art

From Cold Cases to Positive IDs: A Forensic Art Class Helps Unc…

Video 2: Forensics Workshop at the New York Academy of Art

Jae Rhim Lee: Mushroom Lover and Artist

Jae Rhim Lee combines art, science, and culture in her work. She is a visual artist who is profoundly

interested in how we engage as humans with the idea of death and decomposition. She is also a mushroom lover and it is through this love that she presents to audiences her most provocative manner of work. In her TED biography, Lee's Infinity Burial Project is described as "explor[ing] the choices we face after death, and how our choices reflect our denial or acceptance of death’s physical implications. [And that Lee has] been developing a new strain of fungus, the Infinity Mushroom, that feeds on and remediates the industrial toxins we store in our bodies and convert our unused bodies efficiently into nutrients" (see TED biography (https://www.ted.com/speakers/jae_rhim_lee) ) Lee's Infinity Burial System converts corpses into clean compost. You can find out more about this project at the Creative Capital: Artist Projects (http://creative-capital.org/home) site, where Lee's project (http://creative- capital.org/projects/view/317) is featured. ......She was in residence at the MAK Center in Los Angeles this fall working on the project. And if this vision of life after death appeals to you, sign up to become a Decompinaut (http://infinityburialproject.com/) yourself. The video below

Artist Jae Rhim Lee at TED

Jae Rhim Lee My mushroom burial suit