RESEARCH GROUPS: Hyperinstrument Group Computing Culture PORTFOLIO LOCATION: www.akamediasystem.com STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES: I am applying to the Media Lab with the hope that I can offer you as much as I think the Media Lab will offer me. My work aims to establish new and useful connections between the worlds of software, hardware, and performance. I create interfaces, spaces, and objects that facilitate easy interplay between these realms, so that anyone can take part in the action. For me, a successful project involves its participants in a transformative process - the work adds depth to a once-familiar medium, and demonstrates a new direction to be explored. I make a conscious effort to mix media because I believe experience cannot be limited to one dimension: designing a toy, tool, or performance is as important as designing the context in which it will be deployed. When I entered college, I was more or less certain I would split my focus between abstract algebra and poetry. Because my prior education had been spread all over the globe (USA, Ecuador, England, Canada), the last art class I had taken was in the sixth grade, and my musical experience was limited to professional boys choir and attempts at the French horn. Luckily, that winter I entered the cast of "Agamemnon," a radical multimedia performance/installation whose intensive three-month workshop rehearsals constituted my crash course in contemporary interactive art. Since then, I have been working with a core group of artmakers (the Reasonable People's League), making everything from web-based love letters to massive touring dance performances. Our associates hail from diverse backgrounds, and are unified by our dedication to collaborative, open-access projects that explore cutting-edge new media strategies. As my work progressed, I found myself naturally gravitating to audio as my preferred means of expression: music and sound are impulses both intimate and universal, and lend themselves gracefully to a multitude of applications and environments. Working first with the default realtime effects that came with my first computer's soundcard, I began recording hours of interesting noises, my friends' conversations, and room tone for later manipulation. During college I had the pleasure of working with several visiting artists (including Teresa Marrin Nakra, an alum of the Affective Computing group) and even meeting with Laurie Anderson (my hero since ninth grade) for an hour-long conversation about her development as an artist. Recently my work has focused on small-scale electronic pieces that I develop in response to interesting opportunities. My friend Michelle, a Peace Corps volunteer in Bame, Cameroon, mentioned to me that the kids in her village all stop and stare at the sky when an airplane files overhead; Michelle's LED flashlight is a similar source of wonder. I wanted to make a self-powered musical toy for them that did not require language or a familiarity with electronics to use, so I designed an adorable goat whose operation is intuitive: whisper a phrase or tune into the goat's ear, and an alterable loop of the phrase will replay through a speaker in the mouth. Two larger-scale works I am developing are pushing me in exciting new directions. My built-from-scratch live composition environment for Max/MSP is the largest software project I have tackled to date: it allows for real-time coding and integration with sensor-based peripherals, so you can improvise with hardware and software while performing. My ongoing "SyncWalk" practice (in which you lead a friend through a space to the beat of your own soundtrack) has generated a complementary effort to build a glove-based composition tool that will allow you to sample, loop, and play sounds while walking; your song's tempo will be determined by your pace, and SyncWalkers will be able to share sounds and songs simply by being near each other. In the next few years, I would like to expand my skills and devote as much time as possible to the creation of new interfaces and instruments. As a lifelong multidisciplinary creator, I see the Media Lab as a perfect fit for me - I thrive in an environment whose inhabitants are accustomed to producing superb results in short order, even if doing so requires venturing into an unknown field. Some of my most successful projects have combined diverse practices, whether in "PS04" and its complex immersive performance environment, or in a low-cost, robust musical toy for the kids in my friend's village in Cameroon. The Media Lab excites me in part for the unique space it creates for its students, both conceptually and physically. After several years in the private sector, I am eager for the opportunity to devote the energy and time of my work week to my own pursuits, and take on the larger ideas I have had to sideline in the past for lack of time or opportunity. Recent pieces like Vawter's "Ambient Addition" and Aimi/Weinberg's "BeatBugs" are good examples of the kind of projects I am looking to explore in the next few years; these artists began with ideal interactions or experiences and elegantly devised the proper containers for them. Similarly, my ongoing Cameroon toy project and the SyncWalk wearable interface design could really benefit from group involvement and collaboration, not to mention the rigorous design audit I would expect from the Media Lab. While I am eager to continue work on these current projects at the Media Lab, I am even more excited about the Lab environment's disruptive potential. When I visited the Lab in November I saw some projects that approached problems from directions I had never thought possible; it was the closest thing to magic I have experienced in a long while. I was blown away by Roberto Aimi's "Sampled Acoustics Percussion Instruments," a clever solution to a similar problem I struggled with a few years ago. The prospect of daily exposure to people with unexpected and innovative strategies is very attractive, and I believe I could make an important addition to this environment. Following my graduate studies I intend to pursue my practice full-time. I am not sure whether this will take an academic, commercial, or purely artistic form; I am certain, though, that the key to my future success lies in my ability not only to create, but to collaborate and share these creations. I am taking the next step. I think you and I can help each other: let's make beautiful things!