Category / Artwork

Full portfolio entry » Thinking about how we as humans develop specific responses to stimuli based on our instinctual and procedural memory led to a questioning about my own originality and uniqueness. Inspired by some interesting readings, I began thinking about how what seems to make the human race dynamic is the limitations of social memory, that we forget and generationally have to relearn and directly experience everything ourselves. So, in my opinion, originality and creativity become a rediscovery of some latent imagery within the social collective. The notions of rediscovery began to intrigue me and I began doodling using some random gestures I happened to have sitting around as reference, something previously created with feverish intensity and subsequently forgotten. Quite possibly, this could be considered meaningless doodling, yet I feel that doodling is closer to the innocent, unpolished state of creativity, untainted by conceptions of tutelage and procedural memory. Somehow, this analysis of unrelated information constitutes something closer to originality. P’u is a total of three drawings, each on a 64 x 48 in. piece of 500 lbs. watercolor paper. The drawing was rendered in pen and pencial and then worked back into with markers, watercolor and acrylic.

Full portfolio entry » Personal meaning is often a derivative of the processes we create for ourselves and our work. The methodologies that we define ourselves by, whether instinctual or learned, become starting points for our acceptance and/or rejection of beliefs and ideas. I began this project with the intent of visually interpreting the properties of instinctual memory and in contrast, the systematic formulation of identity based on individual experience and procedural memory - essentially, trying to conceptually represent for myself what it is that makes us individuals. The contrast led to the development of two pieces and a third as a derivative of the first two. The three pieces are listed below; please follow the links to read about an individual piece.

1. latent contagion (instinctual/generational)
2. relational stimulus (procedural)
3. relational stimulus outputs
4. p’u: pages from coloring book (derivative)

The show installation itself was a collaboration between myself and artist Tim Elek. We divided our allotted space in half with a 16 x 10 in. black cube. The cube had cutouts at specific points to allow for outward facing projections and televisions. Equipment was hidden inside. The entire show was four computers running relational stimulus II, a computer running latent contagion, two computers running a portfolio piece and one running websites. This was along with one large print, the twelve printed relational stimulus outputs, and the three drawings of p’u: pages from a coloring book.

Full portfolio entry » These were a series of experiments leading up to Relational Stimulus II. The idea revolves around recreating images by entwining them with unrelated data. These were essentially about getting a “look” nailed down. I eventually fell in love with the “hairball” look and pursued that in the thesis work in a way. Some of the following images were created through PHP/Flash and some were rendered using a combination of images and release 62 of Processing.

Full portfolio entry » We develop identity based on pre-formulated ideas and beliefs which, as a result of our experiences, we choose (consciously or subconsciously) to accept or reject. This piece is about conditioned learning and procedural memory (defined by Webster as “learning connections between stimuli and responses”), and how we subtly change based on these “decisions.” Technically speaking, relational stimulus begins when the user selects a set of variables from the control interface. The interface then accesses PHP scripts which utilize the Google search engine to find an image most related to the user’s selected search word. This image is then broken down into pixels using PHP and the resulting data is parsed back into Flash. Flash then “redraws” the image following the guidelines that the user previously set in the interface. I use the Google search engine here to represent the multitude of information and experience available to us. The piece filters the data, which I see as representative of the methods we use to interpret and make meaning of experience. Through the capturing and recompiling of data, the user is given a glimpse of the nature of the collective processes inherent within a system of collected data. This interaction between sources enables the user to retain ownership of the output created. I see relationships within the outputs with identity and how specific interactions and experiences shape our identity. The final output may be similar in form at times, but it may change subtly based on what a specific user submits. This reflects the subtle change in identity I spoke of before. The installation was a wooden box enclosing a computer displaying the interface. The outputs were projected on three screens inside a central cube. Three computers controlled the output; two projected outputs using code produced in Processing, the third large projection was produced through a combination of PHP/Flash.

Full portfolio entry » These are a series of twelve prints (13 x 11.5 in.) that accompanied many piece in my thesis show. The prints themselves are “outputs” from rs2 (relational stimulus II), an interactive installation that created “Procedural Paintings” based on user input. The output prints were grabbed with a screenshot and then juxtaposed next to the “data” that created them (including pieces of images used and color information). I wanted a documented, tactile version of the outputs generated to have on display during the show for those who wouldn’t appreciate an interactive installation. Technically speaking, relational stimulus begins when the user selects a set of variables from the control interface. The interface then accesses PHP scripts which utilize the Google search engine to find an image most related to the user’s selected search word. This image is then broken down into pixels using PHP and the resulting data is parsed back into Flash. Flash then “redraws” the image following the guidelines that the user previously set in the interface. I detail my ideas behind this piece somewhere over here.