- CV Detail -
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
Securing space for public art in crowded urban environments takes political skill, visionary concepts, and substantial funding. Starting small might seem like your only option.
Instead, try making art for vast procedural landscapes. There's room for everything in immersive worlds. Disperse your software defined environments right now on the Internet, or maybe someday throughout the cosmos with spacetime independent quantum entanglement.
I had a studio class in 1989 taught by sculptor Stephen De Staebler. Walking across campus, he asked about my day job and I told him I designed computer games. He wanted to know what was on the technology horizon and I said virtual reality. I speculated that artists would soon make sculpture not meant for the physical world. With a wry smile, De Staebler replied, "That's a scary thought, Tom."
For my day job in 2000, I was a part-time ironworker at Mark di Suvero's Petaluma, California studio. In the evenings, I prototyped I‑beam and plate steel sculptures with 3ds Max software by Autodesk Inc, my partner's employer. As a Technical Artist at James Madison University, I designed and developed virtual reality teaching and learning environments.
Today, I develop polygon mesh objects with 3D scans of handmade maquettes and clay figures, with digital sculpting, and solid modeling. With the Unity game engine, I develop novel VR user interfaces for navigating limitless landscapes sprinkled with art and roamed by conversational docents. In my upcoming book, "An Artist In Virtual Worlds", I chronicle the rise of this new art form and I imagine its future.
Securing space for public art in crowded urban environments takes political skill, visionary concepts, and substantial funding. Starting small might seem like your only option.
Instead, try making art for vast procedural landscapes. There's room for everything in immersive worlds. Disperse your software defined environments right now on the Internet, or maybe someday throughout the cosmos with spacetime independent quantum entanglement.
I had a studio class in 1989 taught by sculptor Stephen De Staebler. Walking across campus, he asked about my day job and I told him I designed computer games. He wanted to know what was on the technology horizon and I said virtual reality. I speculated that artists would soon make sculpture not meant for the physical world. With a wry smile, De Staebler replied, "That's a scary thought, Tom."
For my day job in 2000, I was a part-time ironworker at Mark di Suvero's Petaluma, California studio. In the evenings, I prototyped I‑beam and plate steel sculptures with 3ds Max software by Autodesk Inc, my partner's employer. As a Technical Artist at James Madison University, I designed and developed virtual reality teaching and learning environments.
Today, I develop polygon mesh objects with 3D scans of handmade maquettes and clay figures, with digital sculpting, and solid modeling. With the Unity game engine, I develop novel VR user interfaces for navigating limitless landscapes sprinkled with art and roamed by conversational docents. In my upcoming book, "An Artist In Virtual Worlds", I chronicle the rise of this new art form and I imagine its future.
EDUCATION
EARLY CAREER
MIDDLE CAREER
LATE CAREER
