Inspired by Olafur Eliasson’s Studio alphabet, I wanted to try and approach the assignment questions through a visual alphabet. Each letter has a word and image associated with it, and answer most of the questions in a non-linear fashion.
In undergrad, I had a printmaking instructor who based her work on mapping infrastructure and systems that aren’t visible to us. This project got me thinking of her work.
All images were taken by me unless otherwise credited.
Art
I studied studio art in undergrad, focusing mostly on installation sculpture, and experiential work. Recently, I worked at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, where I built the marketing program from scratch. In addition to acting as creative director, I was also a designer, strategist, and oversaw day-to-day museum operations. While I don’t consider myself an artist these days, it’s fitting that art comes first on this list.
Black & White
I still lug a point and shoot film camera with me just about anywhere I go. There is a unique quality to b&w film grain that you can’t get with digital.
Code
I spent the last few months learning javascript, and am slowly getting the hang of it. Recently, I’ve been playing with P5.JS and am interested in generative art and creative coding.
Design
In my past roles, I did a lot of print and digital design work for the museum. I’m pretty comfortable with the Adobe Suite but am self-taught in almost every app. On the 3D side, I’ve been using Sketchup since it launched and can model most things in it. I haven’t kept up on the rendering technology though. I have experience with parametric modeling and took a parametric design class during undergrad. The course used Catia to design a generative bus stop that could reconfigure itself depending on the location.
Explore
Growing up, I read Calvin and Hobbes religiously. My wedding ring has the phrase “Let’s go exploring” engraved on it, as a reminder to not be static. Part of wanting to join this program was to keep learning and exploring new things.
Fabrication
I love to make things and feel pretty confident about working with wood & metal. This is a bar I designed and built for the Clear Fork Cider tasting room over the summer.
Gordon Matta-Clark
My all-time favorite artist. He reimagined the built environment through subtle and grand interventions. Anarchitecture. He also had prolific performance practice, including his artist-run restaurant FOOD.
“Here is what we have to offer you in its most elaborate form – confusion guided by a clear sense of purpose” – Gordon Matta-Clark
Habitat
I’m fascinated by the built environment, and how we interact with it. I’d love to work more on experiential spaces similar to Random International, Kimchee & Chips or Olafur Eliasson.
I’m also worried about our habitat-earth-as the planet continues to warm, and how we can slow or reverse that process through design.
Impact
Much of the work I have done up to this point has felt relatively insignificant. Sure it met the business objectives and maybe made someone some money, but the work didn’t seem to have much of an impact on the world around me. I hope to find a path that is more impactful through this program.
Kinetic
One of the reasons I left my prior role was that things became static and predictable. I’m not interested in solving the same problems over and over again.
Job?
By the end of the program, a job would be excellent, but a general path forward would be just fine as well. Right now, I could see myself working towards a role as a creative technologist or something to do with experiential installations. I’m most interested in the space where art, code, and the built environment overlap.
Light
Much of my practice-when I still made art-was centered around light. This was my senior thesis piece and consisted of 1100 freestanding plastic cups. 2009 @ Stanford.
Music
I still DJ on the side for fun, and occasionally try and produce music. My friend took this shot of me at The Church last Nov, opening for Jamie Jones. Photo: Eric Lake
Newness
For this course, I’m most excited to learn about physical computing, new 3d fabrication techniques, and new 3d modeling tools (fusion/c4d). Additionally, I’d like to refine my creative coding skills and start applying them to prototype ideas quickly.
Origin
I see CMCI studio as more of a point of departure than arrival. Last December I quit my job MCA Denver with no idea what I wanted to do next. What I knew: I was burnt out on marketing, I had set the museum up for success with or without me, and I needed change.
I spent the first two or three months after I quit, working on small projects, making random things, writing music, and DJing a little bit. My idle moments were spent thinking about what I liked to do, what I wanted to be working on, with whom, and how could I make a living off that?
I never really made much progress with those questions, but I hope that this program will start to help me answer those questions.
(tenacity) Prayer
From Tom Sachs’ Ten Bullets. I’ve kept a version of the Ten Bullets posted in my dorm/office/studio for the past ten years.
Question
What do I want to say? What is the best way of communicating it?
Reflection
Sometimes the unreal is more fun.
Snow
I grew up in Colorado. Winter is my favorite season. I wish it snowed all year.
Texture
I keep a folder of intriguing textures I come across. The best ones always seem to be the least intentional.
Uncertainty
I don’t know what is next, or what I want to do. That’s why I’m in CMCI Studio.
Voice
I’m not sure I’ve found my ‘voice’ yet. I’ve spent many years helping others communicate their voice and vision, but never my own. I want to begin defining my voice during this program.
Work
My first job out of college was with Red Bull. Initially, I was only working on sampling, collegiate marketing, and small events. Over my six years there; however, I went on to produce large-scale sports and music events, and eventually oversee all music and culture events for the West Coast. This image was from an event I produced called Red Bull Ride + Style that combined street art and fixed gear bikes in Justin Herman Plaza, SF. In 2014 I got to commission artist Above (Tavar Zawacki) to paint the course.
image: Red Bull
X-acto
My favorite tool. Growing up, I loved making stencils.
image: 4 Layer self-portrait in mylar, 2007.
Yes
I tend to be slightly pessimistic and stubborn at times. One of my personal goals during this program is to say ‘Yes’ to everything that might be thrown at me and give it an honest shot.
Zero
A blank starting point.
Love
Cordless Nailgun
- A battery-powered nailer that uses an onboard mini compressor to fire the nails. Highly portable, lightweight, and easy to use.
- The first nailgun was developed by Morris Pynoos while working on Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose. The plane made of wood that wails nailed and glued together; once the glue dried, the nails were removed. Bill Burnison developed a more commercial version in the 50s. The battery-powered one was invented towards the late 90s but have only recently come into style as the Lithium-Ion Battery began to dominate the tool market
- I love these because they are a significant labor saver and incredibly accurate. There is a particular physical joy derived from firing a nail into two pieces of wood and fastening them together. It’s quite pleasing.
Sharpie
- The ubiquitous permanent marker. I keep one on me almost always
- The Sanford Ink Company created the marker, and in 1964 the sharpie was introduced. It was the first “pen-style” permanent marker. (via Sharpie website).
- I find the shape of sharpies to have excellent tactile quality. They write consistently and last for what seems like forever.
MP3s & DIgital Audio Formats
- Musical information converted into computer-readable data, allowing for easy sharing, storing, and playback of music.
- The MP3 was developed by a German company Fraunhofer-Gesellshaft in 1987 and received a German patent in 1989, and the US in 1996. 1999 marked the first portable MP3 player, and also the year the first label-Sub Pop-released tracks in the mp3 format. While the mp3 is technically a lossy format, the vast reduction in size made it the preferred format for most consumers. (source)
- I love digital audio formats because they allow me to own a massive library of music, without having to dedicate an entire room of my house to hold it. They don’t degrade over time, like records or CDs, and can be easily shared. Additionally, they reduced the barrier of entry for new musicians to publish music.
Hate
On Demand Scooters
- One day, a few years ago, they just magically arrived, and have caused havoc since.
- Depending on the city, the scooters launched sometime in 2018, and there are 6+ major players in the space. The scooters are dockless, meaning they can be parked and picked up anywhere, and are owned by VC backed tech companies. Their purpose is the solve last-mile transportation challenges, and reduce reliance on cars.
- Conceptually, I love the scooters. However, the way they were rolled out and integrated into existing people flow makes me hate them. Rather than work with cities to find the best way to weave them into the urban fabric, the scooter companies took a brute force approach and dumped them across the city. Even after months of fine-tuning, the scooters still seem like a nuisance, and not integrated into traffic patterns.
Crowds
- Large masses of people are trying to do or see the same thing at the same time. I’m not talking about large gatherings like concerts, but rather overcrowded museums or public spaces, poorly organized lines and people circulations, airports, etc.
- They seem to exist as a result of enormous demand for a space or experience coupled with issues of spatial design that cannot accommodate the demand. You could also say that they are the result of poor service design and inefficient pricing.
- I strongly dislike them because they significantly detract from your ability to experience and see whatever it is entirely. Also, crowds seem to bring out the worst in humans, in terms of how they interact with others.
Push Notifications
- What’s their story/Who made them and why?
- In 2008, Apple decided to add app push notifications to their iPhone. While they didn’t event the idea of push messages (thanks to email), I think we can point the finger at them for making them ubiquitous.
- Why do or did they exist?
- To maximize our screen time, DAUs, and monetize our attention, under the guise of providing useful informational alerts in real-time
- Why do you find them intriguing or despise them?
- There are VERY few things that are so urgent that we should disrupt our current activity to handle immediately. They artificially accelerate our lives, and add a base layer of urgency to the mundane, while fracturing IRL social interactions.
1 Comment
FABULOUS!