Although my background is in visual arts (UCSD) and media studies (Brown), I have had a lifelong curiosity about science. Biological imagery and ideas are fundamental to understanding human identity and life on Earth; for many people they also inspire art and political discussion. Once obscure, a field has arisen around likeminded people called art-science, along with journals (Leonardo, SciArt Magazine), organizations (Art-Laboratory Berlin, Arts Catalyst), and exhibitions (Pacific Standard Time: Art x Science x LA planned for 2024).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My process for making art begins with researching a new field. For one multiyear project, Primate Cinema, I interviewed a bunch of primatologists including Jane Goodall, trained people in Los Angeles to act like baboons, made films for a chimpanzee audience in Scotland, and observed squirrel monkeys at a breeding center in France. The resulting videos showed at Sundance Film Festival, Sweeney Gallery at UCR, Ars Electronica, Berlinale, and elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My course offerings reflect these interests in art, science, and filmmaking. MS120 Animal Media Studies, MS170 Digital Cinema: Experimental Animation, and Art and Biology are each unique. I also teach MS182 Introduction to Video Art as part of the Intercollegiate Media Studies core program and HSA10 Critical Inquiry as part of HMC\u2019s core curriculum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n