Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do. I’m a Chicago based artist working with video, animation, VR, sculpture, installation, sound, photography, performance and the internet. I’m interested in how presence and the uncanny manifest when polarities are collapsed; such as physical/virtual, abstraction/representation, space/structure, human/machine. I also teach 3D animation at SAIC.
Top 3 favorite or most visited websites and why? Lynda.com or youtube for daily software tutorials. www.ustream.tv/petespond – Pete’s Pond streams on my TV 24/7. Plants.fm for plant music.
What is it like living and working in Chicago? An ideal day begins with me leaving home by 8am, grabbing a coffee and walking to the lake to birdwatch. After an hour or so I’ll head back, make some superfood and work in the studio. In the evening, I’ll practice yoga and then go to a noise show with friends. If I haven’t destroyed my ears, I’ll work for a couple more hours when I get home.
What is influencing your work right now? Everything I post on my secondary IG account, Tnj Bamboo.
What are you reading right now? Fun things: Researching sedimentary rocks, ancient mountains and World’s Fair architecture. Dry things: When the Machine Made Art : The Troubled History of Computer Art by Grant D. Taylor and 3D : History, Theory, and Aesthetics of the Transplane Image by Jens Schroeter.
What are some recent, upcoming or current projects you are working on? I’m working on a sound installation in Chicago that opens in July, details TBA. I’m also working on a long term contemplative VR environment and new animations for an upcoming Wallpapers exhibition. The most recent project was a music video I made for my friend, Steve Hauschildt.
If you were a drink what drink would you be? Watermelon juice.
Who are some of your favorite artists? Bowerbirds and Volcanos.
What is your process like? ½ Archaeology, ½ 3rd eye.
Favorite Chicago hangouts? The water taxi, Berger Park, and the Chicago Botanical Garden.
What do you want a viewer to walk away with after seeing your work? To have simply connected with themselves and the world in a different way.
What’s your absolute favorite place in the city/the world to be? Being in a body on Earth is pretty great.
Describe your current studio or workspace. I converted my dining room into a studio. It’s cozy, full of plants and a VR room scale area.
What were you like in high school?
What are some of the best or worst reactions you have gotten as a result of your work? When numerous people told me how Dream House felt oddly familiar to them.
