MFA at UCSC, Digital Arts and New Media + OpenLab

Jennifer Parker will run a collaborative research cohort to create interactive art and design projects as part of OpenLab: a collaborative Art + Science research initiative at UCSC.

Art+Science based projects developed by the Mechatronic’s project group will stem from a systems based approach for fabricating functional experimental art devices that combine principles of sculpture, kinetics, electronics, motion control, sensors, actuators, motors, and other control devices with Arduino Boards using Max/MSP/Jitter and Processing as the primary programming languages. The fabrication methods include, woodwork, metalwork, moldmaking, and rapid prototyping to build and advance iterations of the mechatronic platform. The conceptual framework of the projects created by the Mechatronic’s group will be developed in response to the art and science research topics chosen by the cohort.

The project group will meet weekly to focus on the design and prototyping of tangible user interfaces to create meaningful correlations with user gestures, controller interface, and the output of that controller as it relates to the project theme. Interaction design concepts include perceived affordances, translation of physical action into digital information, and user observation. Prospective students applying to the project group should have skill in 3D modeling and animation, art, music, gaming, programming, video, engineering, robotics, and design.