Tenure Dossier: Research Creative Production

7/24/2019 Tenure Dossier: Research Creative Production

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Evidence of

CREATIVEPRODUCTION


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ABOUT THIS BOOK

Due to the nature of t ime-based and site-specic art many of my projects cannot be viewed in

their original form. With this in mind, I chose to create a document that includes still images,

text descriptions and a short collection of videos in order to provide a simulacrum with the ap-

propriate contextual information.

Most of the descriptions in this document do not revolve around style or arrangement of

content but rather how the artworks came about. I want to demonstrate how my extensive

personal research, creative collaborations and various art scenes create the environment into

which an extensive collection of artworks in many media and multiple formats are born.

TABLE OF CONTENT

Introductory Essay:About My Creative Process..............................

Multimedia - Intermedia .........................................................................

Learning & Teaching Digital Art.............................................................

Chicago Art Scenes ...............................................................................

Collaboration .........................................................................................

LIST OF EXHIBITIONS ........................................................................

MOST RECENT & I MPORTANT PROJECTS ......................................

OBJECTS ..............................................................................................

Torn from Britannica

Film & Video Paintings

Video Art-Cade

Video Suitcase

Truck-Jector

Video Printmaker

Video Clothes

TV-Stick

Jigsaw Loop

PERFORMANCE ..................................................................................

Rook - TV

Rook @ CMGF

Lollapalooza

Earth Day / Earth Night

Fashion Shows

Transamoeba

Super-Fun Movie House

Musical Performance

Travel Show

DIRECTORIAL ......................................................................................

LOOPTOPIA

PRDF@MCA

Montana Artist Residency

Red Cabinet Theater

Workshift

Fear of Falling

Privacy

3.1

3.23.3

4

7

6

9

11

12

26

28

30

48

56

60

64

68

70

72

74

76

78

84

88

90

92

94

96

98

102

112

114

124

128

130

134

136

140


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INTRODUCTOR

ESSA

ABOUT

CREAT

PROC

3.

CREATIVE PREATIVE PRODUCTION


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EATIVE PRODUCTION - Introductory Essay Introductory Essay - CREATIVE PR

An important distinction necessary to discuss the t ypes of

artworks in this book is the difference between intermedia

and multimedia. Multimedia is commonly understood as the

combination of several digital art making processes. Most of

my classes are multimedia in nature. Students explore and

mix photography, video, sound, animation and interactivity

in different ways in every class. Most of my artworks are

also multimedia. One example is the DVD that accompanies

this book. DVD is a popular multimedia art-form combining

interactivity, video and sound.

Intermedia can be dened as the mixture of art making

process with the intention of creating a new hybrid medium.

There is an added focus on generating a new repeatable

technique. This crossbreed employs the most necessary

elements of the parent media. This often requires as much

invention in designing the process as the product. In many

cases I either created a machine or a group of people that

allowed me to produce additional artworks or performances

using the same new media.

There are two distinct approaches to intermedia. One is

collaboration the other is research and experimentation. If I

was composing a multimedia performance, and decide that

I want a viola, I have to either call a violist or buy a viola

and start practicing. In many cases I begin looking for a

specialist, to either collaborate or teach me. On more than

one occasion I have collaborated with acrobats, surgeons,

drummers, or fashion designers. I have, on other occasions,

taught myself how to sew, silkscreen, solder, or rock, (danc-

ing while playing the guitar and singing loud and fast).

Multimedia is the combination of digital media

is the creation of new media. It is far easier to

media because it involves teaching techniques

can be practiced and mastered. The intermed

quires the student to have studied many medi

are able to understand how or why to merge th

Through intermedia research and experimenta

explored a wide range of art forms, learning on

techniques in some media and mastering othe

is the area that I have studied the most and is

I feel the most comfortable teaching. Many of t

in this book are examples of intermedia but ev

this book uses multimedia techniques.

IN THIS BOOK

MULTIMEDIA

Rook-TV- video-interactivity p

Lollapalooza -video-sound-interactivity p

Musical Performance- sound - video p

Montana Artist Refuge - animation, video p

NTERMEDIA

Video Suitcase- video-chat-sculpture p

History Whistle - Video-printmaking p

Video-clothes- annimatied-garments p

Red Cabinet -tele-puppetry p

Fear of falling- video-trapeze-viola-dj p

MULTIMEDIA & INTERMEDIA


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nlike other professional artists that keep their style or

chniques tightly guarded as their trade secrets, I open up

y bag of tricks for my students every day in class. Most of

ese tricks are framed in lessons that teach my studentsw to learn. My approach is designed to offer basic prin-

ples and digital fundamentals that encourage my students

pursue a more sophisticated knowledge through personal

search. This allows my students to learn while discovering

w to learn. Students are then expected to teach the rest

us what they have discovered.

hen I graduated from Mount Mercy College in 1997,

gital art & design was in its infancy. Although the tools

ere available to create basic 2D digital compositions, there

as little or no technical training being offered. I taught

yself how to employ the theories of color and composi-

n discussed in class on t he few Macintosh computers

uipped with early imaging software. While studying these

gital visual tools, I was also exploring a wide range of

her approaches to art including music, sculpture, painting

d theater. I discovered early on that I was uninterested

studying these disciplines independent of one another. I

en created images, printed them out and combined themth paint and sculpture to create unique digital / analog

works. I had a unique roll model in this arena in a profes-

r named Jane Gilmor. Her artworks often mixed sculpture

th video and audience participation. She was also quite

eresting because she was a successful artist and instruc-

simultaneously. She taught us how to mix the structure

the academy with the improvisation that working with an

dience or other artists requires.

I was specically interested in pursuing a graduate degree

for two reasons. First, I wanted to continue my creative

research in the mixing of art media. I didnt want to just

study music or painting. I wanted to nd a place where theinstructors encouraged, or required, students to mix media.

Second, I wanted to follow in Janes artist / academic foot-

prints.

The University of Iowa offered me an expansive set of tools

but still relatively little technical training. The Intermedia

program was founded on the principle of exploring hybrid-art

forms through conceptual works of art. Media theory and

critical analysis occupied most of the classes. While I was

there, I taught myself how to animate 2D images in time

and I discovered the basic principles of web development

through an extensive period of trial and error. I shared my

research and technical knowledge with my colleagues nearly

every evening in the studio as we took turns directing major

collaborative projects. These collaborative and self-taught

lessons became my digital art courses and are the founda-

tion for the classes that I teach at Saint Xavier.

After graduation, I have continued to study, experiment andcreate artworks in many media. With every breakthrough in

my studio, a new lesson is formed for my classroom. Each

new lesson offers another distinct opportunity to evolve

that knowledge through the individual explorations of my

students. As they use my new knowledge, they nd new

directions in which that knowledge can be used and in turn

instigate further research.

EARNING & TEACHING DIGITAL ART

I moved to Chicago in 2001 to take a position teaching com-

puter graphics and web design at Saint Xavier University. I

was teaching only half time and was spending the rest trying

to gure out the complex workings of Chicagos many artscenes. I had spent the majority of the preceding years in

small rural Midwestern cities. I traveled to this hub several

times for eld trips and vacations. Each time I visited, the

depth of possible entertainment options afforded a Chica-

goan blew me away. Every night, it seemed, the museum,

gallery and theater options were endless. I was sure that

breaking into this creative scene was possible, but until I

moved here I had no idea how inviting it really was.

When I arrived in Chicago, I knew two people. Jayne Hile-

man and Ralph Barton. Jayne and I had worked on a sculp-

ture selection committee at Mount Mercy College in Cedar

Rapids, Iowa in 1999. When I began teaching at Saint

Xavier, we carpooled for two years and she introduced me to

both the inter-workings of Saint Xaviers academic structure

and the history of Chicagos creative neighborhoods. Ralph

and I studied together for several years at the University of

Iowa. He introduced me to his art scene. On the day that

I arrived in Chicago, he hosted an exhibition of my work athis Red Door Gallery in Bucktown. On that rst day, I met

dozens of artist with whom I still collaborate regularly.

Ralph also introduced me to the revolving door principle that

denes many Chicago scenes. An example of this can be

seen in the history of one Chicago rock band, the Smashing

Pumpkins. In the early 90s, The Pumpkins held a residency

at The Metro, a north side rock club. During their reign of

weekly rock shows, they played to larger and larger crowds

CHICAGO ART SCENES

as the Grunge style became popular. They helped

lish a stylized rock scene in Chicago that both ree

style in other American cities and evolved it. Their

helped import other bands of similar style to Chicaas Pearl Jam and Nirvana who were also just start

Eventually, they outgrew The Metro and moved on

venues like the United Center, Lollapalooza and co

rable sized venues in other cities, thus opening the

for new talent to occupy The Metro stage. The fac

venues constantly open up in Chicago is indicative

scene. Ralph told me that,Every Chicago stage c

yours sooner or later. The really interesting people

ally move up to somewhere else making room for t

artist to have a chance. This is not necessarily th

places like New York or Los Angeles, where stars c

cupy the same stage for twenty or thirty years.

Regardless of whether it is style driven, media de

venue specic, I cannot understate the value of the

scenes of Chicago to my development as an artist

instructor. The scene functions as creator, audienc

er and student. This is even more valuable in the c

digital art. First, and foremost, digital art is an eveart form. The digital art scene offers a regular opp

not only see this evolution but also to discuss the t

process with the artist. Many of the techniques tha

at SXU came straight out of conversations with dig

at these scene driven exhibitions.

A scene might begin as a niche clique of media or

specic artists, but through exhibition and critical e

these groups sometimes grow into scenes as othe


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inded artist s join in. One exampl e of this is PRDF, The

RDF (Peoples Republic of Delicious Food). was both

multimedia arts organization and a scene in itself. On

e hand, PRDF functioned literally as a list-serve, (An art

hibition opportunity would be fed in and 5 50 people

ould turn out to present artworks) but on t he other hand,

ere were dozens of situations in which PRDFs events

ould function as recruitment opprotunities. These events

eled an internal appreciation for the collective conscious

the group. By making art together, showing art together,

tically analyzing the artworks within a stylistic standard,

RDF established a style of improvisational multi-media per-

mance happening, in which, audience members became

rticipants and eventually members. On one occasion,

scribed later in this book, PRDF put out a call to action

at drew over one hundred creative participants - including

any rst-timers.

e PRDF scene was critical to my creative development

providing me with several of my most successful early ex-

bitions, but the VJ scene has given me the most useable

chnical insights. A VJ is a live digital video artist. I have

arned more about digital art, both theoretically and techni-

lly, from this scene than any other educational experience

at I have had. I see at least one new video performance

ery month. Each show promises an oprotunity to view

th new approaches to the media as well as each artists

ique techniques and style. I know that I will also get a brief

orial if I ask.

e artists and designers that make up the VJ scene are

ry important to one another for reasons beyond theory

d technical discourse. All of us are familiar with com-

ercial digital art. It surrounds us in the grocery store and

on TV. The photography in the advertisements that ll most

mainstream print publications differs in both function and

intent from the photography in galleries and museums.

This difference is the divide between popular commercial

digital design and contemporary experimental digital

art. As an instructor at Saint Xavier, I teach digital founda-

tions that can be employed in either of these arenas, and I

know distinctly different groups of artists that meet to exhibit

and discuss the nuances of each. It is quite necessary to

look at and discuss each slightly differently. Without an art-

ist community as robust as the one here in Chicago, these

conversations often get muddled in value judgments, as to

which is more pure, or more valuable. Both approaches

exist for important reasons and must be discussed on their

individual merit. I depend on two different groups of artists

to help me stay abreast of contemporary issues in both of

these categories.

I also rely on these artists as collaborators. As an artist with

a background in theater, music and art, I thrive on artist and

audience interaction. I often refer to it as creative gasoline

that fuels my production. The scenes described here are

only a few of the many artists and audiences that refuel me.

I must appreciate that not all artists or students have this

type of relationship with their audience, but for those who

do, I have both experiences and venues to share. During

the time that I have been at SXU I have learned how to use

these scenes and have taken every opprotunity to rst intro-

duce my artowrks into these venues and creative circles and

then introduce them to my students.

As I mentioned several times already, collaboration is a key

component of my art. Perhaps, I learned this growing up in

a small house with lots of siblings or maybe in the front yard

with a baseball. With only one person a baseball is ter-

ribly inert. If somebody else joins you, a game of catch can

ensue. As more and more neighbor kids pour into the yard,

a full baseball game can occur, and regularly did.

I enjoy painting by myself and making music with one or

two other people, but if I intend to create a live performance

dozens of collaborators are often necessary. With the addi-

tion of each new artist, it becomes increasingly necessary to

compromise. Not every body can play pitcher, for instance.

A good team, with a good coach (director) will choose the

best pitcher to play this role. Over the years, I have had the

opportunity to play many different positions in my collabora-

tions. Sometimes, I am the star, sometimes I am building

the stage, and sometimes I am the director. I n each project,

I look for the necessary balance between the scale of the

project and my creative contribution.

I have discovered in my studio that collaborators are not

only necessary to create large-scale productions. Some-

times, it is simply the merger of expertise that makes a

collaboration benecial. I have experienced this quite often

with music. Many times the person with the best rhythm

plays the drums in order to keep time, regardless of whether

that person is a drummer or not. A simple beat is sufcient

to drive the music. When a real drummer enters the scene,

suddenly his range of skills with the instrument can dramati-

cally alter the options available to the band.

This principle is often the driving force behind my atten-

dance at jam sessions. I can audition many musicians

while improvising. One example was the famous M

Trafc Jam. At ve-o-clock on a roof twenty yards

the freeway, ten to twelve musicians ranging in ski

bedroom-rocker to members of the Chicago symp

chestra collaborated to entertain stranded passeng

particular session taught me that t he most skilled m

is not always the best collaborator, the ability to sh

collaborative experience is equally important.

Learning how to collaborate and the ability t o ident

potential collaborators are lessons I want my stude

know. As many of my students intend to pursue di

design careers, they should understand that most

sional multimedia projects require dozens if not hu

artists to work in union with their egos in check. Af

in theater and multimedia events, the director / sub

method for producing large-scale productions is no

fective, it is often absolutely necessary.

COLLABORATION

Some

have the co

situat

re sp

Baptican m

enhan

other

Earth2006page


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CHRONOLOGICA

LIST O

EXHIBITIO

3.2


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1990s

2000

2001

2002

2003

International Electronic Arts Festival - Skopia, Macedonia

Video Screened - Drive Thru Fly Thru, Thassaloniki, Greece

Video Performance - Fear Show- Links Hall

Video Performance - Equalize the Arts- Wicker Park

Video Performance - UnderShorts Festival- Congress Theatre

Sculpture Exhibition - Faculty Show- SXU

Video Performance - Chicago Motion Graphics Festival- Society for t he Arts

Video Installation - Looptopia: Living the River Green- Wabash & Wacker

Director - Looptopia: Underground Art School- Palmer House Hotel

Photo Exhibit - Photo Frames- Chicago Art Department

Video Performance - The Last Analog - Galapagos Art Space - New York City

deo Performance - Zoo Station- Folsom Dance Hall - Folsom, CA

deo Performance - Zoo Station- 21st Amendment - San Francisco, CA

deo Performance - Gross Anatomy- 4Arts

deo Performance - Zoo Station- Slims - San F rancisco, CA

deo Performance - Chicago Motion Graphics Festival- Daily Planet - NBC Tower

deo Installation - Wander Lust - Cell Space - San Francisco, CA

deo Installation - Dressing Light - 1 North Wacker

deo Performance - Earth Night- with DJ Spooky - Hot House

ainting Exhibition - Around the Coyote- Flat I ron Building - Wicker Park

deo Screening - A+ Videos- Hyde Park Art Center

Video Performance - Zoo Station - Slims - San Francisco, CA

Video Premier - Privacy- DePaul UniversityPainting Exhibition - Faculty Show- Chicago Art Department

Video Performance - Earth Day: Edge of the Earth- Edgewater

Solo Exhibition - Analog Boy Meets Digital Girl - Mount Mercy College, IA

Video Performance - Flavor for Fashion- Chicago Cultural Center

Video Installation - Hostel Audience- Florence, Italy

Video Screening - SAIC MFA Fashion Show 2006- Marshal Fields

Video Exhibition - Dressing Light- Chicago Cultural Center

Video Performance - Gross Anatomy- Transamoeba / 4Arts Inc

Video Installation - Version 03: Rook vs. Rotten- MCA

Video Performance - Persistence of Vision- Buddy

Video Performance - ROOK vs. LOOL- Emory University - Atlanta

Video Screened - Philly from Philly (Her Coma Soars)- Philladel

Performance - Summer Solstice- MCA

Video Performance - Summer Media Jam- Helena, MT

Video Performance - Track Side- Billings, MT

Video Performance - Codes and Secrets- Basin, MT

Video Installation - Vision of Labor- SXU

Video Performance - Broken Clown Interlude- Buddy - Chicago /

Video Exhibition - Introducing ROOK- Red Door Gallery

Video Performance - BER-SETZUNG- Dortmund Germany

MFA Exhibition - The Sexton at Irish Valley- Museum of Art - Iow

Video Performance - Lenny Dee show - Old Brick Church - Iowa C

Painting Exhibition - Area Faculty Show- Cornell College - Mt. Ve

Video Composition - Reasons To Dream -Fred Woodard - Bucharest, Romania

Exhibition - BER-SETZUNG- Museum of Art - Iowa City, IA

CD ROM - Catalog - Science Fair Exhibition- Museum of Art - Iowa City, IA

Exhibition - Adjunct Faculty Show- Mount Mercy College - Cedar Rapids, IA

Installation - Composite- The Checkered Space - Iowa City, IA

Installation - Temple of Rites/ Rights- Iowa City, IA

Performance - For the Earth- music by Misha Burstein - Studiolo - Iowa City

Installation - 2 Rooms- Bridge Space, U of I (main art building)

Installation - 5 Ways to Exhibit Hanging Bricks- Bridge Space - Iowa City,

Painting Exhibition - Jurors Choice - Purchase Prize- Perpetual Bank - Ce

Installation Exhibition - Jurors Choice- Davenport Museum of Art - Davenp

Solo Painting Exhibition - Introducing Nathan Peck- Live Wire - Tipton, IA

Performance - close open close- Mount Mercy College - Cedar Rapids, IA

Exhibition - Regional College Art Show- Cedar Rapids Museum of Art - Ce

Solo Sculpture Exhibition - DOORS- Mount Mercy College - Cedar Rapids,RONOLOGY OF SIGNIFICANT EXHIBITIONS

NATHAN PECK

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

Video Performance - Version 02: PRDF vs. Mercaba- MCA

Video Performance - Workshift - Farmstead - Cedar Rapids, IA

Video Installation - SOFA - Navy Pier

Video Performance - Spundae- Vision

88

88

88

88

8888

88

88

88

88


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GEOGRAPHY O

SIGNIFICAN

EXHIBITIO

3.2


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1) BEVERLY

- Saint Xavier University

6) SOUTH LOOP - Transamoeba - Hot House

10) WICKER PARK / BUCKTOWN - Rodan - Flat Iron - Smart Bar - Sonotheque - Subterranean - Society for the Arts

13) LINCOLN PARK

- Chicago Historical Society - Park West

7) DOWNTOWN - LOOP

- Grant Park - NBC Tower - Palmer House - Marshall Fields - Wacker & Wabash - Chicago Cultural Center - Museum of Contemporary Arts

3) BRIDGEPORT -Texas Ballroom - Zhou Brothers

2) HYDE PARK

- Old Hyde Park Art Center - New Hyde Park Art Center

5) BRONZEVILLE - Illinois Institute of Technology

9) NORTHLOOP - Kaleidoscope - Le Passage -Funky Buddha

8) WEST LOOP - Fulton Market

4) PILSEN

- Chicago Art Department - Drive Thru - Pilsen Lumalive

14) LAKEVIEW / WRIGLEYVILLE - Lake Shore Theatre - Links Hall

15) SHERIDAN PARK

- Loyola University

16) EDGEWATER

- St. Andrews Greek Orthodox

11) HUMBOLDT PARK - Catalyst

12) LOGAN SQUARE

- Congress Theatre - Logan Square Auditorium

10

1211

2

3

6

4

5

16

15

9

7

8 13

14

1

VENUES WHERE I HAVE CUREXHIBITED OR PERFORMED

VENUES WHERE MY STUDENALSO EXHIBITED OR PERFO

HICAGO VENUES

EOGRAPHY OF

GNIFICANT EXHIBITIONS

Y NATHAN PECK

In many cases we hain the named venue m

NOTE:


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MY CHICAGO STUD

GEOGRAPHY OF

SIGNIFICANT EXHIBITIONS

BY NATHAN PECK

1608STUDIOS

600 SQ. FT.S

studio

CHICAGO ARTDEPARTMENT

1,000 SQ. FT.M

TRANSAMOEBASTUDIOS

4,000 SQ. FT.L

CATALYSTSTUDIOS12,000 SQ. FT.

BACKGALLERY

XL

upper

upper

upper

upper

1608 STUDIOSWEST PILSEN - STUDIO / RESIDENCE

Established 2003

aprox. 600 SQUARE FEET

3 STUDIOS - 3 RESIDENCES

MAX. CAP. - 30

CHICAGO ART DEPARTMENTEAST PILSEN - GALLERY / STUDIO

Established 2004

aprox. 1200 SQUARE FEET

3 GALLERIES - 2 STUDIOSMAX. CAP. - 150

TRANSAMOEBA STUSOUTH LOOP

STUDIO / RESIDENCE / GALLERY /

Established 2000

aprox. 4,000 SQUARE FEET

5 STUDIOS - 4 RESIDENCES - 3 G

MAX. CAP. - 300

CATALYST STUDIOSHUMBOLT PARK

STUDIO / RESIDENCE / GALLERY / TH

Established 2007

aprox. 12,000 SQUARE FEET

6 STUDIOS - 4 RESIDENCES

MAX. CAP. - 1000


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EATIVE PRODUCTION - Introductory Essay

BILLINGS, MT

HELENA, MT

BASIN, MT

SAN FRANCISCO, CA

FOLSOM, CA

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA

OSHKOSH, WI

NEW YO

ATLANTA

LOUISVILLE, KY

CHICAGO, IL

IOWA CITY, IA

PHILADELPHI

DAVENPORT, IA

AMERICAN GI

GEOGRAPH

SIGNIFICANT EXHIBIT

BY NATHAN P

IFORNIAOMation - Folsom Dance Hall

RANCISCOation - 21st Amendmentation - Slims

er Lust - Cell Space

NTANANna Artist Refuge& Secrets - Basin Cafe

NAa Summer Media Jam - Helena Quarry

NGSSide - Billings Rail-Ampound

AR RAPIDShift - Frmstead Meatpacking Plantg Boy Meets Digital Girl - Mount Mercy CollegeCollege Faculty Show - Cornel Collegeout Town - Jurors Choice - Perpetual Bankopen close - Mount Mercy Collegenal College Art Show - C.R. Museum of Art

RS - Mount Mercy College

CITY-SETZUNG - Museum of Artexton at Irish Valley - Museum of ArtDee show - Old Brick Church

ce Fair Exhibition - Museum of Artation - Composite - The Checkered Spacents - Studiolo & International Centere of Rites/ Rights - International Co-op Housee Earth - music by Misha Burstein - Studioloms - Bridge Spaces to Exhibit Hanging Bricks - Bridge Space

NPORTation Exhibition - Jurors Choiceport Museum of Art

CONSINKOSHFurther - Osh Kosh Grand Opera House

ILLINOISCHICAGOChicago Motion Graphics Festival - Society for the ArtsLooptopia: Living the River Green - Wabash & WackerLooptopia: Underground Art School - Palmer House HotelPhoto Frames - Chicago Art DepartmentChicago Motion Graphics Festival - NBC TowerWander Lust - Cell Space - San Francisco, CADressing Light - 1 North WackerEarth Night - with DJ Spooky - Hot HouseAround the Coyote - Flat Iron Building - Wicker ParkA+ Videos - Hyde Park Art CenterPrivacy - DePaul UniversityFaculty Show - Chicago Art DepartmentEarth Day: Edge of the Earth - EdgewaterFlavor for Fashion - Chicago Cultural CenterSAIC MFA Fashion Show 2006 - Marshal FieldsDressing Light - Chicago Cultural CenterGross Anatomy - Transamoeba / 4Arts IncVersion 02: PRDF vs. Mercaba - MCASOFA - Navy PierSpundae - VisionFear Show - Links HallEqualize the Arts - Wicker ParkUnderShorts Festival - Congress TheatreFaculty Show - SXUVersion 03: Rook vs. Rotten - MCAPersistence of Vision - BuddySummer Solstice - MCAVision of Labor - SXUBroken Clown Interlude - Buddy - Chicago / Atlanta

KENTUCKYLOUISVILLEPRDF vs the Chef - Lower Louie Loft

PENSYLVANIAVILLANOVAPhilly in Philly - Villanova University

NEW YORKNEW YORK CITYThe Last Analog - Galapagos Art Space

GEORGIAATLANTABroken Clown Monologues - Red Cabinet TheaterROOK vs. LOOL - Emory University


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DORTMUND, GERMANY

BER-SETZUNG2001

FLORENCE. ITALY

Hostel Audience2006

THASSALONIKI, GREECE

Drive Thru - Fly Thru2004

SKOPIA, MACEDONIA

International Electronic Arts Festival

2004

BUCHAREST, ROMANIA

Reasons to Dream2000

BUCHAREST, ROMANIA

Reasons to Dream - 2000Video Composition for Fred Woodard, Chair of theAfrican American Studeis Program at The Universityof Iowa. The video / annimation accompanied hispoetry in a performance in Bucharest. I was unableto attend.

DORTMUND, GERMANY

BER-SETZUNG - 2001Video Composition created for BER-SETZUNG(german word for translation) exhibition in Iowa.The exhibition, including work by Iowa and Dortmundartists was presented in both cities. I attended this

screening and worked at the Universitat Dortmundfor one month during the summer..

SCOPIA, MACEDONIA

International Electronic Arts Festival - 2004Several videos from the gallery that I co-curratedwere selected for inclusion in this eastern Europeanmedia festival. Several members of the galleryattended this event, although my wo

rk was shown, I did not.(see IEAF - Research book page 108)

THASSALONIKI, GREECE

Drive Thru - Fly Thru - 2004While attending the International Electronic ArtsFestival in Skopia, our gallery members were invitedto guest curate a night of video in a Greek perfor-mance space. Several of my videos were amongthose shown.(see Drive Thru - Fly Thru - Research book pg 108)

FLORENCE. ITALY

Hostel Audience - 2006Three 45-minute improvisational Video perfor-mances in Florence, Italy.(see Hostel Audience - Research book page 106)

UROPEAN GIGS

OGRAPHY OF

GNIFICANT EXHIBITIONS

NATHAN PECK


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MOST RECENT

IMPORTAN

PROJEC

3.


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OBJECT

Torn from Britannica ..............

Film & Video Paintings ............

Video Art-Cade .......................

Video Suitcase ........................

Truck-Jector ...........................

Video Printmaker ...................

Video Clothes .........................

TV-Stick .................................

Jigsaw Loop ...........................


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TORFrom BritaA giant stack of picture frames and

inspired me to create the largest se

/ collages that I have made in over

series that has driven this increase

called TORN from Britannica.

All of the content in these works are

form or another from the Encyclop

Text and image are glued to canva

stained with a rich brown and blue

information from the encyclopedi

able and ironically interesting and

the data seems to be of little or

as your eye is drawn over the sca

gets its pattern from the books ar

(columns, binding, page numbers

Recycled messages and scraps oform the textured surface of these oil-c

Each one is a unique Intermedia Encyclopedia R

Take a Number2008

Objects - CREATIVE PREATIVE PRODUCTION - Objects


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Time



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EATIVE PRODUCTION - Geography Geography - CREATIVE P

invited by my friend, Justine to show paintings in her

during the annual Wicker Park Art Festival,Around The

eat the famous Flat Iron building. I decided to use this as

portunity to test drive this new TORN series. Thousandsnting enthusiasts visit the Coyote festival every year. I

ndreds of conversations, sold most of the paintings and

terviewed for a television show.

One of the key factors in the evolution of this series was a

studio change. I shared a 1200 square foot SouthLoop

loft with 6 artists for several years. In the past year, I moved

into a much larger space on the north side of Chicago, in

which I have approximately the same amount of space all

to myself. The paintings have grown. The rst paintings

were small 5 inch by 5 inch squares. And the most recent

are 5 foot by 5 foot monster canvases.

I have exhibited these paintings extensively. T

shown at Catalyst (Humbolt Park), Flat Iron Bu

Park), Park West (Lincoln Park), Transamoeba

some cool little coffee shop downtown that cturned into a Starbucks, and nally a solo exh

cago Art Department (Pilsen). Many of my c

students came out to join the regular 300+ S

crowd.

Solo Exhibit: Chicago Art Departme

Over the past three years, I have created over one hun-

dred paintings in this series. I decided that I would pur-

sue this series as long as I still had raw material from this

one particular 1968 volume of encyclopedias. I have

experimented with variations in size, subject, matter and

have developed 5 distinct sub-series.


19/73


36

Series Two: Little MTHE SOLDIER S

The uniform and medical illus

always my favorite part of my

clopedias. I decided that I ha

experiment with them.

These paintings are about 4 x

eries One: Small SquaresHE SURFACE SERIES

ese were the rst studies for the Torn from

tannica Series. These paintings rely heav-

on the use of the drilled binding holes, text

umns and page numbers.

ese paintings are 5 x 5 inches.


20/73


Turn LWindo2007


21/73


Series Three: The A

THE WINDOW These were the rst large paint

Torn from Britannica Series. I s

painting by choosing a frame a

ing backwards to the painting.

agenda with this series was to

tive and negative space. I wan

like you were in a brown room

window into a blue world.

Knob Creek 2006

Mike Portal 2006


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Tabloid Part Two - Micr oscopeSuper Size Series2007

Tabloid Part One - MicrophoneSuper Size Series

2007



23/73

EATIVE PRODUCTION - Objects Objects - CREATIVE PR

Series Four: ZoomSUPER SIZE SERIES

This series involved blowing up some of the

images from the encyclopedia. My large

drawing overlaid a surface composed with

much smaller text. This created an effect

of readability from very different viewing

distances.

Series Five: IronyREMIX & TWIS

This series also started with th

Each of the paintings uses pag

illustrations from the encyclop

an ironic or sarcastic twist. Th

the rst series to include a cou

tronic paintings, one that empl

and the other video.

Thirty Year Cockburn

Internet Part OneTelephone 2007


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Superrnaturalism Suppl

Remix &

Court of Hundredsx & Twist Series



25/73


For several years, my friend Trevor Arnholt has hosted the C

derSHORTS Film Festival at the Congress Theater. The ca

asked for short underground lms. Trevor was very famil

video paintings that I did in Montana, (see TRACKSIDE BILL

asked me to design something with a similar sensibility for th

I decided to play with the idea of duration. In Montana, the i

present videos like paintings, projecting very short video loo

ten little gallery walls designed for paintings. For the Unde

Festival, I decided to ip it. This time, I showed paintings fas

of lm and video paraphernalia on the walls at a lm festival.

FILM & VIDEO PAINTING

ies: Short Round Films

Title: VERY DIGITAL

ale of analog to digital)

2006



26/73


Each painting in the Short Film

started with a still frame from a

collection. I cut the image to t

of the round canister and then a

dial that gave the image a score

from analog to electric to digita

one image to t each score. My

was for this series of paintings t

range of artistic approaches in m

So, in addition to being a series

ings, they were also a series of

of my videos.

The Short Video Series was a l

different because the paintings

presented in two very different w

some exhibitions, I present them

on a wall like a painting. I n oth

have them closed and shelved

collection. Each one has a prin

like movies at a video store and

case is opened the viewer sees

a two page spread, like a book,

combination of photos and pain

After the Undershorts lm festiv

vited to my Alma Matter to exhib

during their annual Reunions W

presented the same series of pa

and photos packaged in video c

lm canisters and called the se

Round Films and 11 Short Vide

time I also include a few new on

ing several electronic paintings

a video screen mounted inside others had little USB keys that I

and glazed. These USB keys h

video from which the still image

taken and inferred another leve

tion. Several computers in the

allowed the viewer to plug in an

rest of the painting.

Short Video: GRIME- 2006

Short Video: MISS NG HISTORY- 2006



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ERACTIVE

2005

Objects - CREATIVE PROATIVE PRODUCTION - Objects


28/73


SoloExhibition

Analog Boy Meets Digital Girl Mount Mercy College, Cedar Rapids

MountMercy

College



29/73


First live vidsoftware resea

with Matthew But@ University of Io

First performan

using live video softwa@ Old Brown Church in Iowa C

with DJ LennyD

Move to Chicaconnect with seve

video artists & sculptu

First MIDI resea

using piano keyboawith VJ MINDTR

aka Myles Fag

Several performancusing MIDI and live vid

First research w Arkaos VJ (softwa

Artist residen@ Drive Thru Stud

Video-Art-Cade - VERSION Debut @ SOFA - Navy P

Video-Art-Ca

@ SXU, AVEqualize the A

& Undersho

Video-Art-Ca

@Transamoeba Studfor dozens of eve

including ResF

Video-Art-Cade - VERSION

redesign usmuch sma

Mac M

Video- Art-Cade is part

Analog Boy Digital Girl

Mount Mercy Collein Cedar Rap

Video-Art-Cade - VERSION redesign us

Mixman (hardwa

This sculpturesinteractivity is the

result of years of investigation, starting in

998 at the University of Iowa. Matthew Butler and

designed a program that would let a user call up

deos from a library using the letter buttons on a

gh powered computer. Each key had a different

ideoand the videos changed as rapidly as the

ser typed.

When I arrived in Chicago, I met VJ

MINDTRAP, (Myles Fagan) who had

been doing similar research in New York

City. His system used MIDI, a hardware

language usually used by musicians for

assigning sounds to piano keys. The

advantage of MIDIis that it opened up

the doors to a wider range of interface

devices.

VIDEO-ART-CADE2003 - 2008

Video-Art-Cade isnot really a gameit is more like a funstory telling device.



30/73


Version

1.0

Version

3.0This sculpture debuted at SOFA, the

Pier sculpture showas part of the ART BO

hibition that took viewers on a 3 hour yacht cruis

Lake Michigan.

Art-cade has also been a part of several other scu

and digital art exhibits including Persistence of Visi

UnderSHORTS Film Festival, AVIT, The Chicago I

tional Video Performance conference, SXU Facu

Show and Analog Boy Digital Girl at Mount Mercy C

in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The Video-Art-Cade is made

of two principle parts:the exterior - cabinet

and the interior - electronics

The cabinet was constructed by sculptors, Eric M

and John Dae, using wood, plastic and metal. It wa

from scratch using blueprints downloaded from the

I designed the interior. I connected a TV to a com

via a scan converter. I then connected a small pian

board & Phatboy knob box to the system by using a

switch.

The Video-Art-Cade hasseen 3 distinct versions.

Each offers more user coand requires less hardw

the fall of 2003, I was invited to be a resident

tist at a Pilsen gallery called Drive Thru.

created a regular monthly VIDEO JAM fea-

ring local video artists and electronic musi-

ans. I also had a solo exhibition of my paint-

gs and videos at the January Pilsen Gallery

pening.

Another product of the Drive Thru Studios residency was a collabora-

tive video sculpture project undertaken with the studios Artistic Direc-

tor, Eric Medine. Video Art-Cade is an interactive video art game that

allows the viewer to perform and modify a series of video clips that

I prepared. Designed to imitate a 1980s video arcade game, this

sculpture entices the viewer to interact because it is an icon for play.



31/73


I had just purchasedtwo tickets for a Smashing Pumpkins

concert in San Francisco, (they had just

reformed the band after 5 years off), when I was

reminded that I had agreed to contribute to the

Language of Travel exhibition at CAD. I decided

to capitalize on the conceptual twist that I would be

in a San Francisco on the evening of the Chicago

travel exhibit.

I immediately began exploring video, software and

network systems. I wanted to nd an efcient and

portable way to create an interactive communica-

tion sculpture. I chose to use old suitcases as an

obvious icon for travel. I installed a computer, video

monitor and a telephone handset into

the suitcases and began testing consis-

tency of communication from different locations in

my house to different locations in the city. I arrived

at a suitable solution and then installed one in the

CAD gallery on 18th street in Chicago and got on

an airplane.

In San Francisco, I contacted a friend of mine in

The Mission District. She arranged an exhibition at

the arts education gallery called Cell Space (which

coincidentally is also on 18th street). All evening,

audience members in Chicago got live reports from

my vacation. from 1500 miles away two 18th street

educational art galleries were connected via tr avel

sculpture.

LANGUAGE

TRAVELof



32/73


THE VIDEO SUITCASETelecommunication Sculpture

(((1500 MILES)))

mac

mac

Objects - CREATIVE PR


33/73


truck-jector live performers

recycled sculptures crowds

Chicago River - Wacker & W

May 2ndving the River Green- Looptopiaroducing a multi-media inter-agency recycling program


34/73


RUCK-JECTOR

was a very ambitious project and its potential lies

p within its conceptual construct. Tom Laport, with the

of Chicago Water Department proposed a large-scale

-arts celebration of the natural elements in the city,

ically the Chicago River.

ontacted me (a video artist and art professor), Dominic

son (an orchestra leader), Koko Pauli (a clothing de -

er), and Steven Kishmohr (an architect and chairman

hicagos AIA, American Institute of Architecture). We

with the Chicago Loop Alliance, United Parcel Service,

ng The River Green LOOPTOPIA, Wacker & Wabash

the Mayors Ofce for Special Events and the artistic direc-

tors of the annual Looptopia all-night downtown art event.

We were trying to hatch a plan in which, we would create

an artwork about recycling that kicked off a functioning

recycling partnership.

By the end of the meeting, we came up with a very simple

plan. UPS would use its trucks to pick up recyclables

from Loop Alliance businesses (that they already drop off

packages to) and deliver them to a nearby blue bin. Loop

businesses would preparethe returns, UPS would deliver

them, and we would tell everybod

it. We made a simple change that

functioning loop, and we wanted to

it communicate it and encourage

We would demonstrate the proces

UPS drop off the rst loads of r ecy

turned into sculptures by artists an

on the riverfront for the Looptopia

sights and the sounds of artists ce

natural beauty of the city would su

sculptures. My contribution was a

Truck-jector (interactive video truc

provided the big brown trucks and

the back gate with projection mate

hid a video projector in the cab. I

several local video artists to compo

for the vehicles. I also asked stud

classes at Saint Xavier University

Two trucks were installed outside

of Wacker and Wabash. Inside on

trucks was Chuck Prysbl, a local V

artist, the other, a group of UIC gra

The video in the rear of the trucks

time with the music and performan

on around it. Although it rained th

hundred of people braved the elem

our sculptures and the accompany

music performances.



35/73


I refer to this process as video-printmaking because

it incorporates the multiple plates often necessary to

create a complex printed image and the dimension of

duration, intrinsic to the video medium.

Many printmaking techniques involve the use of sev -

eral individual plates, often one for each different color.

When these plates are each inked and their individual

parts are brought together on the paper, you see the

completed image. In video printmaking, the different

layers function a bit differently. Instead of each plate

offering a different color, each plate offers a different

plane of focus. As t he cameras auto-focus jumps from

layer to layer, the viewer sees each plane for a mo -

ment and their mind completes the image.

How it WorksIn order to create the focus shifting effect, two things

are necessary. First, it is necessary for the plates to

be at different distances from the camera. Second, a

strobe is necessary to trigger the cameras focus jump.

I designed several different versions of an apparatus

that would accomplish this. The rst was little more

than a CD rack and television with bad vertical hold.

The plates were CD JEWEL cases with parts of the

image printed on transparency. The TVs scrolling ver-

tical lines created a throbbing light that made the cam-

era reconsider which layer to focus on, and did so to a

consistent beat. By adjusting the V-hold knob on the

TV I could reset the speed of the throb and therefore

the tempo of the video. I have since fabricated a 5

foot wooden version and have assisted in the creation

of a clear three-foot table top model made from plexi-

glass.

History Whistle and BeyondThe rst video I created using the video-printmaking

technique was titled History Whistle. The image wasdissected into many layers. When brought together, it

resembled a dial or clock. It was originally a painting

that I made for Ralph Barton for Easter. I chose to

translate that one because he had made the strange

statement that it would make a really great video. I

decided to take the challenge. I have since made

several videos using this strategy and the throbbing

focus shift has become a trademark style of Rook-TV

(see ROOK-TV). I have also taught this process to

several other artists and have seen it utilized in both

gallery and commercial applications.

VIDEOPRINTMAKING



36/73


VIDEO CLOTHESessing Light Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago

several years, I have collaborated on art and design projects with Belgium Fashion Designer and School of the Art

tute Fashion Instructor Anke Loh.

initially contacted me after seeing my video at the Chicago Cultural Centers Flavors of Fashion Exhibition (see Food

ashion). She asked me to help her catalog her students projects in my VJ style for a fashion show at Macys at the

of the semester. I designed 3 videos that played between each of the runway projects. The videos received very fa-

able reviews from her colleagues, students and families instigating several conversations about future collaborations.

The most interesting of t hose collaborations was Video

Clothes, wearable art that included LED screens

sewn into shear black evening dresses. She made the

dresses and I composed a series of animations about

Chicagos Red line train.

As the models moved around the room, red lines and

text streamed across their bodies. The show premiered

at ONE NORTH WACKER a downtown ofce build-

ing with a 3-story glass atrium. Our models moved

from one sculpture stand to another while large videos

projected a city montage. The show then moved to the

Chicago Cultural Center in downtown for a month long

exhibition. Routers covered the show and stories ap-

peared on NPR and in Chicago Magazine.



37/73


V-STICK is a puppet or a mask or a staff or a weapon

ding on what image is on the screen and how you are

ng it. I have carried it in parades, displayed it in galler-

d choreographed it for dancers.

nated in a series of sketches leading up to a perfor-

e, in which we were mixing tribal drummers with danc-

d video projection. The TV STICK mirrored a weapon,

or tribal staff.

months later, PRDF took part in the Museum of Con-

rary Arts Version>03 Digital Arts Festival. PEOPLES

REVIVAL OF DIGITAL FAITH was the PRDF contribution

and it used the TV STICK in a different way. This time, it

became a spiritual video offering to the revival crowd, (see

PRDF@MCA).

Later that year, the TV STICK was re-purposed once again

for involvement in a site-specic video installation / perfor-

mance at Wilson Farmstead Meat Packing Plant in Cedar

Rapids, Iowa. In this piece, the TV STICK operated as a

mask, or puppet displaying the faces of past workers as

they told stories of their trials and tribulations.

The video transmitter is the most effective strategy and the

research was the direct result of working as a stage techni-

cian on a large multimedia production called MERCY, which

featured two art legends Ann Hamilton and Meredith

Monk. In the performance, video cameras were located

all over the stage and performers. Some were in the ac-

tors mouth, others on the tips of pencils. All of the video

was then transmitted backstage mixed and projected

back out to a large screen. The technology was new

and unpredictable but over the course of the production,

I learned many tricks and strategies for the best use of

video transmission within performance.

Other plans for the TV STICK include A TV FAMILY with

different sticks of different heights conversing around

a dinner table. And THE TV SOLDIER, a project that

would include several TV STICKS in a gun rack or

marching with soldier faces on the screens.

This is How it WorksThe TV-STICK is a very simple sculpture

television is xed to a wooden pole via sim

joints. The TV is battery powered and t

feed can come from several different so

Video Transmitter

Wireless video input from DVD, laptop, o

Portable Video Device

Cable from the performers belt or pocke

Small Live Camera

Battery Powered & Fixed to the top

formance Sculpture

TV-STICK



38/73


JIGSAWLOOPPuzzles made from

photos of paintings

made from puzzles

I was asked to attend a class that Mike Nourse was of -

fering at CAD, designed around creative presentation of

photography. This was a departure from our usual theme

driven classes so I decided to see what he was up to. The

exhibition requirement for the class stayed the same. We

had 4 weeks to workshop our projects before the regular

Second Friday gallery open-house.

I wanted to explore interactive output of photography. I

decided to try printing photos as jigsaw puzzles so that

people could assemble them during the exhibition. My

rst impulse was to photograph some of my newest paint-

ings because the way I assemble them is very similar to

the process of assembling a jigsaw puzzle. I wanted the

viewer to have the same experience with the puzzles that

I had creating the paintings.

During the weekly critiques, I had a difcult time commu-

nicating that idea and most of the students in the class

thought I was trying to stretch a concept that most viewers

would miss. I thought back to a project that I had done

several years back. I assembled a jigsaw puzzle, ipped

it over, did a painting on the backside, broke the puzzle

into several quadrants and xed them to masonite. Most

of these puzzle paintings were distributed to friends but

one remained on my wall. I decided that this painting was

far more appropriate subject matter for this photo series

than the Britannica paintings. I photographed t

above from several angles and utilized an onl

service to print them. The nal pieces were cal

Loop: a puzzle of a photo of a painting on a puz

Interesting true fact: A group of 5 women, all tea

different neighborhoods in Chicago, met for th

at the puzzle table that evening and spent an h

half completing one of my puzzles.



39/73

EATIVE PRODUCTION - Performance Performance - CREATIVE PR

PERFORMANC

Rook - TV ..............................

Rook @ CMGF ........................

Lollapalooza ..........................

Earth Day / Earth Night ..........

Fashion Shows ........................Transamoeba .........................

Super-Fun Movie House ...........

Musical Performance ...............

Travel Shows ..........................


40/73


create artworks in many formats. My most prolic

edia are painting, video and song writing. I have

omposed nearly one hundred paintings this year and

ave sold many. I am currently nishing an album of

5 new rock songs and have performed them live at

alleries and open mics all over Chicago. Yet, I am

ill known best in my community and am afforded the

ost travel opportunities as a VJ. A VJ is an artist that

erforms (remixing, recomposing and effecting) video

real time with live musicians (often DJs).

his type of artwork happens to be an interesting com-

nation of music and painting. A VJ is responsible for

omposing in length and width like a painter, and in

me like a musician. The reactionary editing of the VJ

akes their art form different from that of a lmmaker,

s much more improvisational.

I have used the tools and techniques of the VJ to create

either massive immersive video environments that ll the

viewers entire periphery or simple contextual backdrops

for multimedia performances. This art form changes

dramatically based on the venue. When I am compos-

ing for a theater, fashion show or rock stage, I might be

in charge of delivering important plot points or in some

cases, the entire narrative versus when composing for

a nightclub / party environment, I must consider my art-

work moving dcor for the room.

My video content and the software technology that I

teach in Computer Graphics and Multimedia become

very portable when driven by a laptop, Oxygen8 (a small

2 octave MIDI- USB keyboard), and a video projector.

This system can be set up in about 5 minutes in nearly

any venue with electricity and an empty wall or screen.

This style of fast cutting video mixes very nicely withmany different types of music provided by the venues

DJ or band. During the past years, I have performed in

countless venues, bringing this unique (though recently

widely accepted) art-form to the public. I do shows rang-

ing from the high paying corporate gig, to the pro bono

fund-raiser.

The name ROOKTV began as a name associated with

my strictly commercial projects, in order to differentiate

between projects where I had complete creative control

and those where I am just designing somebody elses

idea. However, since being hired full time at SXU, I do

my best to receive as much creative liberty on every

project that I take, ROOK-TV and Nathan Peck are now

essentially synonymous in my creative circles.

Two recurring themes in my classrooms are collabo-

ration and the mixing of analog and digital art forms.

Both of these elements also appear in my personal re-

search and creative development. I have worked, in

the past year, with singers, dancers, acrobats, graphic

designers, programmers, cameramen, art historians,

surgeons, violinists, re spinners, djs, models, curators,

gallerists, ceramicists and more.

This marks the end of my 7th year teaching at

my 7th year of relentless exhibition based in

Below is a summary of the highlights from the

Not included are dozens of one-night engage

nightclubs, private events and parties all ove

wherein, I was the featured visual artist. I hav

ed a brief description of each of the events hig

a particular aspect of each multi-faceted colla

or exhibition. I dont necessarily consider th

the only interesting creative activity, but hap

have garnered the most publicity and peer rev

ROOK-TVIVE VIDEO PERFORMANCE

This system can be set

up in about 5 minutes innearly any venue with

electricity and an empty

wall or screen.

Performance - CREATIVE PREATIVE PRODUCTION - Performance


41/73


Y-SOUTHSIDE-SWITCH

Y-GRAFFITI-ITI

Y-DIVISION

Y-ASHLAND-ARMITAGE

Y-BOY-GIRL-TRAIN

Y-SOUTHSIDE-BETTER

PEIDAY - SOU

A VJ has many options for collecting video. Some-

times, I do an entire show using only live cameras.

Usually though, I like to have prerecorded content to

mix and scrub (to adjust the speed of fast forward and

rewind in time with music).

I enjoy shooting short lms. I dont, however, enjoy lm festivals. I enjoy the ability to perform the sa

short lm in a different way every time I present it. The two things that change the meaning or mood

video more than anything else, are tempo and the sound track. The images on this page switch from

len to belligerent, depending on whether you have U2 or 50 Cent on the speakers. At every performan

I am able to tell very different stories with the same content by reacting to the music and choosing

best order and speed to perform them.

Prerecorded content comes in three varieties: pop cul-

ture, personal footage, and friends video art. My col-

lection includes hundreds of examples of each. The

images on this page are from one series of personal

footage called PEIDAY.

There are several obvious benets to each type of

content. And I believe that it is a purely stylistic de-

cision left up to the artist. Andy Warhol and Robert

Rauschenberg opened the door to commentary on pop

culture through creative remixing in the 1960s. Hip

Hop took off a decade and a half later and sampling

has been a part of the creative menu ever since.

VJ ARTISTRY:

CREATION vs

COLLECTION



42/73


s page describes my favorite Rook-TV shows not

ntioned elsewhere. This list includes exhibitions at

leries, nightclubs and studio lofts around Chicago.

LOCALE SUNDAYS

cation: Rodan - Wicker Park

as invited by Caton Volk, video producer / curator /

omoter, to perform at the live video night at Rodan on

elve different occasions over its two-year run. I was

o invited to perform for the 100th anniversary of the

ekly event.

s particular weekly became synonymous with fresh

sic, art, and conversation. The room became more

d more crowded every week, with the most exciting

ctronic artists and curious Wicker Park scensters.

t of all the events that I have done in Chicago, this

ular opportunity to plug into my chosen audience

ovided me with the most consistent critical feedback

d enthusiastic appreciation for my artwork. This

ent was also pivotal in introducing a large audience to

medium of VJ. In the time since Locale started and

entually ended, dozens of nearby, Wicker Park ven-

s have introduced video projectors and opportunities

visual artists to perform.

2. MF CHICAGO

Location: Subterranean Wicker Park

I was also excited to perform at my other favorite Wicker Park

venue, Subterranean, (recently remodeled to include video

projection). In the time since Rodans LOCALE event ended,

this has become the new venue to serve as a regular summit

for like-minded video artists and often spurs new technical or

artistic projects.

3. BIG IN TEXAS

Location: Texas Ballroom - Bridgeport

7 DJs were scheduled for one evening at Texas Ballroom and

I was asked to nd 7 VJs to match up with the musicians. Two

huge video projections would occupy the walls of this 6000

sq ft, two and a half story loft. Two Saint Xavier students,

Laura Dagys and Stephen Lewkow, were among the seven

VJs that I collected. The event was a unique teaching envi-

ronment because although the students had rehearsed their

performances, they had never performed them outside of the

classroom. At Texas, they had a chance to perform in front of

several hundred people.

4. REMIXERS LOUNGELocation: SmartBar - Wrigleyville

I was invited by Galina Schevechenko, video artist / promoter

to guest host several evenings of video at t he uptown Smart-

Bar (the nightclub below The Metro, rock venue). Each eve-

ning was entirely different as the events upstairs often brought

a very different crowd down with them after the show. My

personal highlight was performing video with the members of

LCD Sound System (top 40 rock /dance fusion band).

5. SPECTACLE - with Creative Chaos

Locations: Funky Buddha, Sonoteque Near North

On many occasions, ROOK-TV and Creative Chaos ( Aaron

Edwards - Tim Shoen) work together. Creative Chaos has

a very similar video performance strategy as ROOK-TV but

chooses to secure more long-term venues. Funky Buddha,

and Sonoteque offer regular weekly events that Creative

Chaos hosts.

Over the past 6 years, I have performed with Aaron more

than any other VJ. We taught each other many tricks and

collaborated on shoots and share a lot of footage. At one

particular performance of his, in which I was not perform-

ing, I walked into Grant Park at dusk to see him projecting

a video that I had created years ago. The video was of the

Sears Tower from several different angles around the city.

He was projecting this pulsing video on two 40-foot screens

and the Sears Tower was framed perfectly between them.

6. IMVF - Independent Music Video Festival

Location: Subterranean Wicker Park

Video curator, Caton Volk was presenting an evening of

progressive independent music videos. He decided that

he also wanted to include live video artists as they often

perform video for music. I was invited to perform with one

of the bands.

7. SPUNDAE

Location: Excalibur / Vision night club - Loop

Five different occasions, I shared the stage with world class

DJs at Chicagos Largest night club. Thousands of people

danced below the $10,000 video system under my control.

8. URBAN DIALECTIC

Location: Congress Theater - Logan Squ

The Congress Theater is a 3000 seat con

Urban Dialectic was a 3 day music and ur

culture conference. The kick-off to the c

was held at Congress Theater with 20+ mus

was invited to enhance both the theater as w

grand entryway with video.

I called Creative Chaos and a number of s

take part in the planning and performing. C

from Saint Xavier University and Pei San

Rives from Chicago Art Department, all took

evenings performance.

9. IGNITE: a GEN-ART Event

Location: Kaleidoscope - West Loop

GEN-ART is a leading arts and entertainm

nization dedicated to showcasing emergin

designers, lmmakers, musicians, and visu

With ofces in New York, Los Angeles, San

co, Miami, and Chicago, Gen Art produces

events annually ranging from week long lm

to massive star-studded fashion shows, DJ

tions, art exhibitions, multimedia events, a

For the IGNITE event, I was in charge of

artists that were going to perform. Three C

Department students were among the artists

10. Entheon

Location: Various

Chicago Burning Man Community Events

TOP TENROOK

VJGIGSTV



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ROOKLocation: Daily Planet NBC Tower - Loop

This annual festival in its 5th year, took place in several different big name post-production studiosaround town, arriving at Daily Planet in NBC tower for the nal night. I was invited by video curator and

Art Institute motion graphics professor, Mason Dixon, to perform f or the closing reception.

I arrived to discover that I was performing in an all-red video cave. There were about 30 video monitors

and hundreds of switches and I was wearing a red-hooded sweatshirt, so was the DJ. We performed

with our hoods on for about three hours on the 23rd oor, with a view of the lake and a blizzard outside.

We featured lots of videos of re, re-spinners, replaces and reworks, attempting to keep the video re

stoked for our winter guests.

Chicago Motion Graphics Festival 2007

Location: Society for the Arts - Bucktown

The following year, My good friend, Mason Dixon, hosted his annual Motion Graphics Festival agcalling on all the local, national and international talent that he could corral. The event spanned 10 d

and culminated in an Interactive Installation showcase at The Society f or the Arts in Bucktown.

This event served as both a showcase and a summit for some of the most interesting, creative inven

and collaborators. I was invited to VJ on the monster main screen and connect our event with an e

in Los Angeles via Video Chat. Caton Volk, the cofounder of LOCALE Sundays, weekly VJ exhib

started a similar event in L.A. He was also breaking new ground in the area of online performance

his project called Top Floor Live. Our Chicago event was connected with his L.A. event and arti sts

audience members in both cities could chat and mingle.

CMGFChicago Motion Graphics Festival 2008

@ Performance - CREATIVE PREATIVE PRODUCTION - Performance


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MGF WORKSHOPS - Guest Instructor

ansamoeba South Loop

ddition to performing at the nal event of the CMGF, I

also tapped to lead several workshops. Most of the

cipants in these workshops were professional motion

gners, my job was not to cover foundational material.

s responsible for showing these video composers the

erground art form of video performance (VJ).

nsformed our downtown studio into a multistage ani-

on creation center and video performance laboratory.

lected a wide range of the industries best interactive

o software and tried to draw conceptual lines between

tools that they are already familiar with and these new

he-y approaches. Although the products of this one-

workshop were not quite museum-ready masterpieces,

attendees learned quite a bit and several have linked

to projects in which they utilized the information that I

vered.

Electronic Sophistication: Series 3Lake Shore Theater - Lakeview

To promote the CMGF08 events, Mason Dixon also organized a screening / lecture series

Lakeshore Theater. For each event, he brought in a different video artist or motion desig

discuss their current projects and the state of the art.

I presented my most recent interactive video sculptures and cross-country-video-drawing e

ments that I did in San Francisco / Chicago in the previous summer. I also discussed my C

Art Department projects and their role as community arts projects. The evening wrapped u

a discussion of a proposed community action between organizations such as CAD and SX

Masons afliatio ns with SAIC and MIT. This project is called SCRIBBLE TV and is desig

an Internet television project where students contribute time-based artworks and help sea

the best of the net video and motion graphics. The ideal output would be on kiosk style mo

where users could not only watch the content curated by students but also contribute / u

content for consideration.



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LOLLAPALOOZAGRANT PARK, CHICAGOI returned from a performance in San Francisco last year to nd an invitation, tickets and wristbands for all of Lo

Chicagos lake side summer rock spectacle. The annual Lollapalooza event invites several hundred musical an

dozen visual artists to Grant Park to engage and entertain hundreds of thousands of rock and roll fans over thre

My job was to project video onto two 40-foot geodesic half-domes created by a group of Burning Man artists. I h

the enormous architecture, complete with parachute skins, and each night would install multiple video projection

congurations to both enhance the sculpture and draw interest to our camp. The primary function of these eno

tures was to provide a space for people to get in and out of the sun or rain. Two out of the three nights it rained

and during the days the thermometer climbed well over one hundred degrees. Needless to say we had enormo

EATIVE PRODUCTION - Performance


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EDGE OF THE EARTH

St. Andrews Greek Orthodox Church - Edgeview

This event was both an Earth Day celebration and a fundraiser for

Pilgrim Baptist Choir (who recently lost their church to a re).

I performed video on two large screens while another VJ controlled

ceiling projections and still another performed on a screen in the

center of the stage. The piece came to a nale when our video

spectacle met a viola, ute, and turntable trio, performing with the

Baptist Choir and the SPUN re dancers.

DAISY WORLD with DJ SPOOKY

Hot House - South Loop

I was invited to VJ at an Earth Day event by some of the same promot-

ers of last years EDGE of THE EARTH show in Edgewater. This year,

the event was at the Hot House, a South Loop performing arts venue.The

event featured the internationally renowned Hip Hop and Electronic artist,

DJ Spooky - also a music professor in Switzerland. Several artists and

musicians performed a composition based on James Lovelocks Daisy

World. I followed with a 45-minute improvisational video jam trying to

keep up with the super fast cuts of DJ Spooky on the turntables.

EARTH DAY2006

EARTH NIGHT2007.



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FLAVOR FOR FASHION

Chicago Cultural CenterDowntownThe city of Chicago operates a center downtown

where people can come and experience master-

pieces of art, theater, music, food, and fashion from

a variety of cultures. I was very attered to receive

a phone call from the Chicago Cultural Center ask-

ing if I could contribute my art-form to one of their

presentations. I performed live video art on a screen

while a DJ performed live music for a runway show

based on collaborations between fashion designers

and chefs. Several TV news stations covered the

event.

Svedka FUTURE FASHION

West LoopAfter my rst, very eclectic, foray into fashion I

was pleased to be invited by the director of Flavor

for Fashion, to work on a commercial project with

SVEDKA VODKA. They were producing an event

that would introduce their product and ad campaign

to the Chicago market and buyers. I was in charge

of a creating a video fashion show, using their aes-

thetic of retro-future-chic and animating imagery that

their design team had generated for print ads.

SAIC FASHION 2006

Marshal FieldsLoopAnother off-shoot of the Flavor for Fashion event

was a call from the Fashion Department at the

School of the Art Institute. They had seen my perfor-

mance at the Chicago Cultural Center and wanted

me to help them with a documentary project. I found

dancers to model the garments and shot the video

in the same room it would be presented in. The fast-

paced video montage debuted at a runway event at

Marshal Fields in April of 2006.

LUMALIVE: Design - Style

PilsenUsually a couple of times a year, I get a call from

one of my favorite clients, Anke Loh, a professor

of Fashion at the School of the Art Institute. In

the past, we collaborated on several experimental

art / fashion projects, such as video-garments and

contextual video installation. I have also produced

several video portfolios and documentaries of her

work as design jobs. In winter 2007, she con-

tracted me to design a video narrative for a series

of garments that she had recently created. The

interesting part of this project was the interaction

between the collaborators. This project was done

almost completely over the internet. I never met

the photographer, layout designer or models. Most

of them lived in Belgium. Anke was the modera-

tor and translator. I was the motion designer and

the projectionist . The video was shown in a giant

warehouse in Pilsen, along with two-dozen furni-

ture, fashion and graphic designers. It was also

on display on 3 giant plasma screens for a month

at the Chicago Tourism Center, in downtown.

ASHION SHOWS


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When I rst moved to Chicago, one of the few people

that I knew, Ralph Barton, suggested that I check out

Transamoeba as soon as possible. He likened this

space to Warhols New York Factory of the 1960s. I at-

tended several art events there and realized what Ralph

had been trying to explain. This studio seemed to be

the center of a very substantial art scene in Chicago.

Artists of many different skill and media met regularly

to swap art and stories, and share the responsibility of

entertainment.

Two years later, a completely unrelated project brought

me back to Transamoeba, (see Workshift). Since then,

this 3000 square foot loft in the South Loop has been

MY creation factory. The studio is shared by as many

as seven different artists at any given moment and the

Event: Salon DelavoOn many occasions, the resident artists at Transamoeba

hosted art-making events. We called them salons after

the French tradition, in which the participants sought to in-

crease their knowledge through conversation, participation

and readings, often consciously following Horaces deni-

tion of the aims of poetry, to please and educate (aut de-

lectare aut prodesse est). The Stein Salon was The First

Museum of Modern Art, by James R. Mellow.

Our salonnire was Deb Vogt, best known for her jewelryand martini menu. Each Salon centered around a different

combination of artists / media and always drew a wide vari-

ety of participants. These salons were pivotal in keeping our

reputation as a create space as opposed to a party venue.

People gured out fairly quickly that they were supposed to

make something if they came to Transamoeba.

Event: ARTEC painting and video eventThis event brought together two very interesting art scenes,

the Transamoeba & CAD group and the Buddy & Heaven

Gallery group. The result of this collaboration has since

spawned an organization called EQUALIZE THE ARTS,

dedicated to bringing together members of many other art

organizations to create citywide art events.

Event: RES FEST - Opening Night ReceptioRes Magazine sponsors an annual world tour o

tive digital artwork. The tour has two main ai

goal is to promote the t ime-based artwork tha

lease on DVD with their magazines. The othe

is to nd up-and-coming digital talent from a

the world to promote in future events.

I was invited by video curator, Mike Nourse,

sent Chicago in an evening showcasing the

and DJs in town. Each VJ was paired with a Daudio / video collaborations were presented o

screens and speakers throughout Transamoe

Audience members leaving the RES FEST eve

Museum of Contemporary Art received free a

to our exclusive opening night reception. Seve

tors, directors nd presenting artists were in att

I also displayed my interactive video art / gam

TV. Res contacted me after the event and e

interest in showing ROOK-TV as part of the 06

Fest Tour.

crowd changes regularly. This room plays host to crowds

of 300 or more, fairly regularly and the audience always

expects the place to have changed dramatically every

time. Among the events, there have been fashion shows,

gallery exhibitions, open mics, salons and several very

non-traditional weddings. Electronic musicians and digital

visual artists consider this place a second home. Many

of the large-scale events listed in this book were con -

ceived, executed, or staged at Transamoeba. Many of the

collaborators discussed in this text, met for the rst time

at Transamoeba. I formed my rst rock band there (see

ROOK ROCK) and have since recorded dozens of tracks.

In the winter of 2005, we designed an art school out of the

eclectic art tools that were unlike any traditional art school

anywhere (see CAD). Listed here are several of my favor-

ite Transamoeba events.

TRANSAMOEBASouth-Loop Intermedia Studio & Creativity Factory

Performance - CREATIVE PR


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SUPER FUNMOVIE HOUSE

CHICAGO VJ SUMMITTransamoeba: South-Loop

During the two-year long, LOCALE, Sundays residency at Rstrong community of VJs formed in Chicago. After over 100

weekly events ,the founders of LOCALE were abruptly reloc

Angeles and LOCALE left with them, enjoying an additional

The vacuum created by their exodus, left the need for altern

mits. The weekly event, in addition to being a visual showca

a teaching and learning situation in which artists swapped s

hardware advice. Super Fun Movie House was an event tha

ll this gap. Dozens of VJs showed up to swap clips and le

tricks.



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MUSICALPERFORMANCEIn the fall of 2003, I invited a student, Colin Luce to

my studio to work on a faculty Student Collaborative

Grant project. At the end of our meeting, he asked

to use the drum kit set up in the corner. Within min-

utes, several other resident artist materialized and a

band was quickly formed. Mike Nourse brou

Documents

Tenure Dossier: Research Creative Production