Reflecting California Institute of the Arts'(CalArts) experimental ethos, the Institute’s Digital Arts Expo rolls out its latest projects integrating cutting-edge engineering and computer science with visual and performing arts. Highlighting new student and faculty projects made over this last academic year, the DAE’s exhibitions and performances run from early afternoon to late evening in the ROD Music Hall, MOD Theater, Main Gallery, Wild Beast, Machine Lab, and Lund Dance Theater. The DAE reflects the latest practices in technologically sophisticated arts, involving viewers in interactive experiences, bringing artists’ perspectives to computer games, forecasting future directions of digital performance, animation, and projection mapping, and exploring the latest in software and hardware as a means of commenting on our increasingly connected world.
CalArts has long been at the forefront of arts and technology practice, and is uniquely positioned to develop such a curriculum. The Institute’s Music Technology curriculum is unique in the world, engaging students in custom software design, circuit design for human-computer interfacing, and the use of robotic mechanical systems and artificial intelligence in musical and artistic practice. CalArts’ School of Film/Video, with its renowned animation program, has been a global leader in innovations in computer graphics and advanced digital media technologies. And the newer Digital Arts Minor program offers opportunity for inter-disciplinary collaboration between students of all the schools within CalArts and provides students with the skills and knowledge to create digitally driven works of art.
On May 7, the public is invited to experience the Digital Arts Expo’s exhibitions and concerts on the CalArts’ campus featuring creatively adventurous and technologically imaginative new work from across all disciplines of the Institute.
A special thank you to our lighting sponsors 4Wall Entertainment for their generous support of our 3rd annual Digital Arts Expo.
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CURATORS
Colin Honigman
DAE Director
Colin is a new media and sound artist whose work focuses on interactivity and augmented spaces. He is an alumni of the CalArts Music Technology BFA and MFA programs. His MFA thesis focused on the idea of “Next Music” which he conceived as music made in/for/with the augmented space. Currently he is working as a Creative Technologist at a tech startup, teaches in the Music Technology program at CalArts, and is collaborating on several projects with other LA artists.
Madeline Falcone
DAE Executive Producer
Madeline Falcone is a performer and producer interested in the interpretation of music ranging from traditional classics to experimental contemporary works. A versatile collaborative artist, Madeline is active in Los Angeles and New Orleans and performs regularly with the Isaura String Quartet, violin/viola duo Story Water, and with cellist Aniela Perry. Madeline was Associate Producer for the 2014 Digital Arts Expo and has served as Executive Producer for large-scale musical productions, festivals, educational productions, and recording events.
James Hurwitz
Main Gallery Curator
James Hurwitz is a Los Angeles native artist who practices sound engineering, digital fabrication, projection mapping, interactive design and event production with his design company Blueroar. His passion is to create transformational experiences through immersive interactive environments. His work has been featured at music and art festivals including Lightning in a Bottle, Lucidity, and Burning Man. To learn more, visit his website at blueroar.com
Kozue Matsumoto
Student Producer
Born and raised in Tohoku area in Japan and having lived in Tokyo and Vancouver, Canada as well, Kozue now lives in the Los Angels area in California. She has played koto since she was three years old under Ikuta-ryu Miyagi-kai (生田流宮城会) and holds a semi-master (準師範) title. She has also played shamisen (三味線) and shinobue (篠笛) since she was small. Kozue has performed in various occasions both in Japan and North America.
Jackson Duhon
Curator for Machine Lab
Jackson Duhon is a musician and digital artist from Austin, TX. He is currently working on a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Music Technology. His work primarily concerns itself with how the modern world obfuscates what is important with what is superficial, thought he isn’t above making art about the Simpsons. When he isn’t in school Jackson spends his time with his wife Elizabeth in Seattle.
Amber Lepley
Curator for Modular Theatre and Lobby
Amber Lepley is a theatrical engineer and instillation artist currently based out of Los Angles. Graduating this May with her MFA in Technical Direction under the guidance of Michael Darling and Paul DiPietro, she received her BFA in Theatrical Design and Production from Point Park University in 2012. Amber is currently working Thinkwell Group as a Technical Draftsman.Her current artistic work is focused on digital fabrication, interactive sound installation, and the visualization of sound.
Bruce Dawson
Curator, Contributor
Bruce Dawson’s academic career at CalArts (MFA, Music Technology) has focused on the research field of, “Computer-Aided Algorithmic Composition,” a synergistic infusion of algorithmic designs within digital compositional environments. Work available online.
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Noha Khashoggi
Lead Designer
Noha Khashoggi is a motion designer in the MFA Motion Design program in CalArts. Originally from Saudi Arabia, Noha is interested in intersecting cultures and language in her work. She enjoys working in different medias, such as video, animation, illustration, and stop motion. Always learning new skills to create versatile multimedia projects. For her undergraduate studies she went to the Corcoran College of Art + Design in Washington DC, receiving her BFA in Digital Media Design.
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Samantha Lee
Curator Main Gallery
Photo Media Major
Digital Arts Minor
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Katie Barger
Graphic Designer
D1G174L GR4PH1C D351GN based in Los Angeles.
Eric Heep
Curator Wild Beast
Eric Heep is a creative technologist and sound artist living in Val Verde, CA, and is pursuing his MFA in Music Technology at the California Institute of the Arts. Eric has produced works as a composer, as a sound artist, and as a creative coder. Currently, Eric is researching sonification, information retrieval, machine learning, as well as the methods in which one can incorporate such fields into a working art practice.
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Mina Shoaib
Design Team – Signage
Mina Shoaib is a Los Angeles based graphic designer, currently studying at California Institute of the Arts. Her interest range from motion design, print design, as well as experience design.
Monique Wilmoth
Design Team – Signage
Hi! I’m Monique Wilmoth, born and raised in Los Angeles. I’m currently working on my BFA in graphic design at CalArts. I enjoy type, lettering, editorial design, and imagemaking – working in both analog and digital methods. I like spending time with my dog & taking naps.
JP Yepez
Curator Machine Lab
Juan Pablo Yépez is a digital artist, musician, composer, arranger and educator from Quito, Ecuador. He graduated from Universidad San Francisco de Quito: College of Music (Bachelor in Arts – Contemporary Music), and Bridgewater State University (Master of Education). Since 2006, he has worked as a freelance musician, and has been involved in live performance projects such as Jesus Christ Superstar at Teatro Nacional Sucre (2009) and Aftersoul Elektro Project (2007). He is currently working on integrating technology tools into contemporary composition and performance techniques for the digital arts. Juan Pablo Yépez lives in Valencia, California, where he is currently pursuing an MFA in Music Technology at the California Institute of the Arts.
Liz Huth
Curator – Main Gallery
Liz Huth is a BFA 3 in the Photo and Media program at Calarts. She has an interest in combining art and music within her work and has created several multimedia pieces that have been displayed in multiple shows. After being exposed to the expo last year, she felt a need to participate in some way for this years.
Lucas Garrity
Lighting Designer
Luke is a first year student at CalArts working towards obtaining a Masters of Fine Arts in Lighting Design. After graduating from Northeastern University with a B.S. in Business Administration Luke worked in purchasing for several years at Raytheon Company. Following his time with Raytheon Luke worked as a full time freelancer in the greater Boston area for the American Repertory Theater, Boston University Theater, Emerson College, Institute for Contemporary Art, High Output, Event Illuminations and other companies. He helped found the Vagabond Theater Group and has been creating lighting designs for small theater and opera in Boston for over 5 years. Luke started his lighting career with designs for theater, but over time has branched out to work on opera and event lighting/production. Luke is very excited to work on the Digital Arts Expo as it allows him to further develop his lighting skills in a non-theatrical setting.
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Jaime Van Wart
Lead Designer
Jaime is a first-year MFA in the Motion Graphics track in the Graphic Design program at CalArts. In 2008 she received a Bachelor of Graphic Design from NC State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, where worked as a User Experience Designer for IBM until 2014. Under the studio name Ketchup and Mustard, Jaime continues to freelance and design personal projects, specializing in lettering and illustration.
Nathan Villicaña-Shaw
Curator – Main Gallery
Nathan Villicaña-Shaw is a digital artist, composer and creative technologist. He is passionate about engineering, physical computing, interactive technology, music and collaborating with creative people to fabricate amazing experiences for others. He enjoys designing and programming custom interaction hardware and creating synesthetic installation environments that are dynamic, engaging and memorable for their interactees. His work draws inspiration from glitch-art, cybernetics, physics, astrology and information technology. Before he came to CalArts to pursue his BFA in MTIID, where he will be continuing his studies as a graduate student, Nathan hailed from Oakland where he played Bass in various Surf, Punk and Jazz bands. As a builder, maker and digital artist, Nathan is thrilled to be curating for the 2015 Digital Arts Expo!
More info about Nathan and his work can be found on his website : https://www.bitdeph.com
Mint Park
Curator – Roy O. Disney Concert Hall and Lobby
Newly emerging artist of the Los Angeles music scene, Mint Park is an electronic musician from Seoul, South Korea. Mint has performed and realized her works in several different locations in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seoul, South Korea. Her artistic approach lies on top of conceiving and apprehending existential qualities of time and space with sound and visuals. From using traditional instruments to digital sound bytes of nature and machines, her artwork explores and encompasses the idea of finding different ways to portray multitude of realities and their relationship to contingency. Not only in music but also in projects including dance, film, visual art and curation, she collaborates with different trajectories and people.
Zach Crumrine
Curator – Roy O. Disney Concert Hall and Lobby
Zach Crumrine is a multimedia artist who works mainly in digital mediums. His work explores the relationships that arise between technology and its user, and aims to foster mutualistic interaction between the two.
