OK. Now what.

Here I am at the end of the semester and I contemplate this blog.
Nobody reads it.
Next semester I'm going to change the format. 

Short & Sweet

OK, I have to brag about my game design students. They were featured on WV public radio, sounding all smart and kewl. Idit Caperton of Globaloria fame also was featured, making it something  you should really listen to.

Phew. That's off my chest and I feel so much lighter.

Who knew?

 If you thought games were solely for entertainment, think again.

"Seventy percent of major employers utilize interactive software and games to train employees according to... the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). The study data also showed that more than 75 percent of businesses and non-profits already offering video game-based training plan to expand their usage in the next three to five years. And more than three-quarters (78%) of organizations not utilizing this technology today are likely to offer it in the next five years."    - from the Entertainment Software Association's website.

Creating a Body of Work

I'm currently collaborating with Kitty Clark and Colleen Tracy on a dance/multimedia work called Mood House. Mood House is a multi-disciplinary performance for proscenium stage that will premiere in April 2010 at Shepherd University and at Berkeley Springs High School auditorium. It will include original choreography (Kitty), ‘artfits’ (Colleen) and video projections(Me). This project is funded by the West Virginia Commission on the Arts.

We're organizing our thoughts on a wiki... everything from what the house layout will be, to documenting our influences. I'm not sure how well this will work. Colleen and Kitty are traditional artists in that they work with physical assets. Things like bodies and fabric and movement. Contact on the wiki goes in fits and spurts. I can't know if this simply reflects our progress on the work as a whole, or if it is reflecting the awkwardness of translating a process for the first time onto an online workspace.

Looking for inspiration, last night I spent a lot of time revisiting the music video work of Spike Jones and Michel Gondry. The latter is my absolute favorite. The video he did for the Chemical Brothers' Let Forever Be achieved a beautiful blend of music, dance, sculptural objects and video integration. I'm hoping to create a similar spirit for Mood House.


While watching exceptional work inspires me, last night I was also filled with a deep sense of sadness. Will I find the time to make an artistic work? I look at some of my old friends and see they have created meaningful pieces. I have spent my time making commercial efforts... not the things that will stand the test of time I'm afraid. My entry into the academic world will hopefully support my aspirations.

Fun Factor Kicks into Gear

Confessions of a Digerati

Of late I have found myself limiting the time I spend online. I read my email twice a day now: once upon arriving at work, and once when I'm leaving. I log into Facebook only once a day.

While this may seem a conflicted message for an i-phone wielding teacher of new media, it nonetheless seems to be a trend in my life. And a trend for others.

I think designer Stefan Sagmeister would understand. For those of you unfamiliar with his work, Sagmeister is a respected designer perhaps most famous for an AIGA poster where he carved the information into his own flesh. Recently Sagmeister closed his studio for a year-long sabbatical, explaining the time would be used to "refresh his creative outlook."

Teaching five classes, all intensive in computer use, leaves me at the end of the day appreciative of the non-digital world. The touch of paper in a fine book... the smell of beets roasting in the oven, and the din of children after a soccer game ground me.

Do I want to play a Wii, or PS3? Read up on the latest advances in technology? Loath as I am to admit it, no. I want to create, and use the computer as my tool, but the constant influx of media messages has reached a saturation point.

Humbled by beauty and cleverness

This animation amazes me. It is a reminder to me how much more I like hand-crafted items over slickness.

COMBO a collaborative animation by Blu and David Ellis (2 times loop) from blu on Vimeo.