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Designer | Educator | Interdisciplinary Artist
“We become what we behold. We shape our tools, and thereafter our tools shape us.”
-Marshall McLuhan
This statement has become a guiding principle; my artistic aim is to evoke an almost flawed, imperfect, or even humane quality that is sometimes missing from certain modes of creative production. In other words, humans are able to conceptualize the idea of a perfect circle, but unable to bring this concept of a flawless form into the physical world without the aid of tools and machines. As a result, we are incapable of physicalizing these representations with mathematical precision and perfection without being aided by our own technology and instruments (I.e., utensils, rulers, plotters, and printers). That being the case, then why should artists and designers become dependent on creating solely with idealized forms and ignoring its complement – our own human touch and primordial errors.
Introduction to Mr.Cotton’s Virtual Learning Lab
(Online Teaching)
Created using P5.JS
Within Plato’s Republic, the Theory of Forms also explores the relationship between the physical world and our universal truths and mathematical ideals. I see technology more as a means to bridge these human ideals that can be represented with uncanny accuracy inside a virtual space and quite literally bring them into the physical world and vice versa. Simultaneously, my process begins to produce a feedback loop between machine generated modes of creating blended alongside more traditional mediums like drawing and painting to produce a well-rounded and dynamic aesthetic both online and offline.
More recently, I’ve taken inspiration from the work of Miwa Matreyek, Joanie Lemercier, Es Devlin, Phillipe Genty, Ellen Rutt, Erkka Nissinen, and Nathaniel Mellors. I’ve found myself needing to create objects and experiences that behave as totems to our human ideals and examine them through newer modes of collaboration and interaction. To find a balance between machine and human generated art that continues to influence each other especially within our increasingly interconnected experiences. It is critical for me to be a part of the next generation of theatre practitioners that can not only control these newer tools and technologies but understand the long-term implications of automation and integration within our society. Live theatre must continue to find a way to evolve alongside these technologies; and with this in mind, my mission is to be a part of the next wave of storytellers that must continue to adapt and transform through technology and the performing arts.
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