What if the Internet had a body? In his DUMBO studio, artist Daniel Gordon photographs paper collages constructed from found images downloaded from the Web. "I like to think about what I'm doing as an optimistic version of appropriation," says Gordon, who wonders if he can transport digital images into real life by giving them a physical form. The artist's paper tableaus, rich in vibrant colors and vivid patterns, are transformed in the process of making a picture with large format cameras. "It's a fiction and a truth at the same time," says Gordon, whose early "Flying Pictures" series (2001--2004) created whimsical illusions of the artist in mid-flight. The film reveals the behind-the-scenes process of two of Gordon's recent works—a silhouette of Ruby Sky Stiler (the artist's wife) and the still life "Blue Watermelon and Shell" (2013)—from photographing in the studio to the final printing process with Anthony Accardi at Green Rhino in Williamsburg. Also featuring the works "Toe Transplant" (2006), "Blue Face" (2010), "July 15, 2009" (2009), "Portrait in Orange and Blue" (2010), "Crescent Eyed Portrait" (2012), "Portrait in Yellow Orange and Blue" (2012), "Tropical Still Life" (2012), "Portrait with Blue Hair" (2013), "Still Life with Lobster" (2012), and "Still Life with Fish and Forsythia" (2013).

Daniel Gordon (b. 1980, Boston, MA; raised in San Francisco, California, USA) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Learn more about the artist at:
http://www.art21.org/newyorkcloseup/artists/daniel-gordon/

CREDITS | "New York Close Up" Created & Produced by: Wesley Miller & Nick Ravich. Producer & Editor: Rafael Salazar & Ava Wiland. Cinematography: Rafael Salazar & Ava Wiland. Sound: Wesley Miller & Ava Wiland. Associate Producer: Ian Forster. Design & Graphics: Open. Artwork: Daniel Gordon. Music: 4 Elements Music, Thor Jonsson, David D. Mann & Darko Saric. Thanks: Anthony Accardi, Green Rhino, Ruby Sky Stiler, Henry Terepka & Wallspace. An Art21 Workshop Production. © Art21, Inc. 2013. All rights reserved.

"New York Close Up" is supported, in part, by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; The Lambent Foundation; Toby Devan Lewis; the Dedalus Foundation, Inc., The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and by individual contributors.