Name and Year: Legarlin Li, SEAS’14 Hometown: San Diego, CA Major: Digital Media Design Website: http://www.legarlinli.com
Street: You define yourself as the “confluence of a programmer and a doodler.” How is this reflected in your creations? Legarlin Li: I’ve always been detail-oriented, but with the two combined, they’ve propelled me to a hyper-level of precision. I think it changes how I approach art. In CS, sometimes my implementations follow a recipe. It’s often first I accomplish this … then I accomplish that … then finally I get this. Sometimes, I expect the same linear ease in process when I go to my design projects. But I think art requires a higher level of abstract decomposition and rebuilding of ideas.
Street: What’s it like to have such a breadth of knowledge in so many different artistic media and programs? LL: They build on each other. I grew up with “traditional” art, working non-digitally. I think that gave me a really solid foundation and helped me in developing a style—not even a style of art, but a style of how I approach art. There are certain qualities of art–making that I wholeheartedly adhere to. Now that I’ve started working digitally, there are even more tools at my access. Frankly, the more tools, the more fun. And it’s really fun to paint digitally.
Street: Are you planning on specializing on one area of art or keeping yourself open to a broad range of artistic expression? LL: I’ll always keep a broad range. Each one serves as a different type of mood—and I go through many. Though career-wise, I plan on focusing on technical art. I want to work in 3D and simulate real–life in the computer screen.
Street: What’s your personal touch in your artwork? LL: In all my pieces, there’s a popping element of color. I rarely work in black and white, which contradicts my personal everyday look if you saw me walking down the street. I’m always wearing black on grey with a splash of white. But nothing’s more satisfying than watching colors dance on canvas!
There’s also a consistent presence of circular things in my pieces. I’ve done a lot of paintings with water and bubbles. In my digital art, the red balloon became a thing too. (Yes, first from the French Movie, which I fell in love with!). I like my pieces to be fluid. Both of those elements give a quality of nostalgia that I (subconsciously) like to bring back to my pieces.
Street: What currently inspires you? LL: Things like Paperman. Those overbearingly cute, but tastefully executed, often witty and whimsical animations that just squeeze your heart and make your insides all warm and fuzzy. I guess that’s the direction the wind is blowing me towards.
Street: What’s the DMD major like? Is it unusual to be both an artist and an engineer at Penn? LL: It’s awesome. Lots and lots of projects, but I don’t mind. I like making things, and being able to see things come together right in front of me. While the concepts can be abstract, I like that the ideas are fueled by a concrete application (which sometimes still feels really abstract, but then, I get to create something and call it my own).
I don’t think it’s that unusual to have that combination of interests. There are a lot of artistic people that I know here that are also technically and scientifically oriented, but I just think the percentage that pursues a combination of both interests in their academic track is less. I actually didn’t walk into Penn planning to pursue art or science, for that matter.
Street: What direction do you see your creations taking in the future? LL: I want to add narrative to my art. I don’t even necessarily think of myself as an artist, but more so that “I create.” I think the things (and companies, really) that inspire me are pretty indicative of who I am. I’m forever childish at my core, and I want to make things that protect that whimsical nature and simple charm that comes with childhood.
Street: In five years, we’ll find you… LL: Hopefully, you’ll see my name rolling through the credits on the big screen.
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