In WebSight, George Blaha draws our attention to the parallel between the computer’s virtual environment and our own inner, subjective world. For the past twenty years he has been exploring the digital process and using both 2D and 3D software to build images of paintings, assemblages, sculptures, and interior spaces. By mostly avoiding the physical construction of object-making, Blaha gives himself greater leeway to philosophically explore and blur the boundaries between the real and the virtual.
Referencing a broad range of interests and research including history, cosmology, physics, science fiction, sacred geometry, philosophy, and world religion, Blaha depicts seemingly "real" photographs of "real" artworks or other unidentifiable phenomena being shown in "real" spaces (often galleries). But the more we look, we realize that none of these layers of "realness" exist; and our exploration of his imaginary worlds provokes new perspectives on both the act of observing and our desire for tactility.
A practicing Buddhist for 30 years, Blaha’s practice is deeply informed by a daily spiritual discipline of meditation and contemplation, and his work is infused with the essence of this passage from the Samadhiraja Sutra:
Know all things to be like this:
A mirage, a cloud castle,
A dream, an apparition,
Without essence, but with qualities that can be seen.
His work has been exhibited at museums, art centers and galleries across North America. He currently lives and works in Chicago.