Patrick May to be the next Director of Technology

Hi everybody,

Last November, I notified the Rhizome community that I would soon be
stepping down as Rhizome's Director of Technology. Today, I'm very
happy to announce that our next Director of Technology will be Patrick
May.

Patrick comes to Rhizome with an exceptional background in both
technology and in the arts. His previous position at the publishing
company Source Media gives him extensive experience with developing and
maintaining large, content-driven sites with limited resources, and
this experience will come in handy at a highly dynamic,
community-oriented website like Rhizome. He is also active in the free
software and Ruby communities: He is the creator of the Ruby-Web
library, and has presented at the International Ruby Conference.

Patrick is also the cofounder and Director of Programming at the
Williamsburg-based artists' collective Open Ground, helping to guide
the consensus-based curatorial process that furnished Grand Street with
four years' worth of always surprising group shows. He is an artist
himself, and his creative practice incorporates a software library he
created that automatically publishes consecutive iterations of images
to an artists' blog; he discussed this tool at Rhizome's second
"Blogging and the Arts" panel discussion.

Being Rhizome's Director of Technology, of course, requires more than
just a knowledge of programming, and more than a familiarity with new
media arts. Rhizome has always been an undersized organization with
oversized ambitions, and we continue to explore ways to deepen the
nascent connections between art and technology. Patrick's resume hits a
lot of the right topics, but what's most important is that he's able to
think of the big picture–not just in terms of artworks and lines of
code, but also in terms of organizations and communities. I'm confident
that he will make the perfect partner for Lauren and Marisa as the
three of them lead Rhizome in the future. We've accomplished a lot in
the last year, and I'm excited to see what changes will come in the
years ahead.

We are expecting the transition process to work like this: Patrick will
come in on February 2nd, and he and I will work side-by-side throughout
February as I train him in. My last day will be March 3rd, but even
after then I'll still be available to Patrick & the organization in
general.

I'm quite happy to leave this job in Patrick's capable hands. I hope
you all welcome him as kindly as you welcomed me.

Francis Hwang
Director of Technology
Rhizome.org
phone: 212-219-1288x202
AIM: francisrhizome
+ + +

Comments

, Jason Van Anden

welcome and good luck!
j
On 1/26/06, Francis Hwang <[email protected]> wrote:> Hi everybody,>> Last November, I notified the Rhizome community that I would soon be> stepping down as Rhizome's Director of Technology. Today, I'm very> happy to announce that our next Director of Technology will be Patrick> May.>> Patrick comes to Rhizome with an exceptional background in both> technology and in the arts. His previous position at the publishing> company Source Media gives him extensive experience with developing and> maintaining large, content-driven sites with limited resources, and> this experience will come in handy at a highly dynamic,> community-oriented website like Rhizome. He is also active in the free> software and Ruby communities: He is the creator of the Ruby-Web> library, and has presented at the International Ruby Conference.>> Patrick is also the cofounder and Director of Programming at the> Williamsburg-based artists' collective Open Ground, helping to guide> the consensus-based curatorial process that furnished Grand Street with> four years' worth of always surprising group shows. He is an artist> himself, and his creative practice incorporates a software library he> created that automatically publishes consecutive iterations of images> to an artists' blog; he discussed this tool at Rhizome's second> "Blogging and the Arts" panel discussion.>> Being Rhizome's Director of Technology, of course, requires more than> just a knowledge of programming, and more than a familiarity with new> media arts. Rhizome has always been an undersized organization with> oversized ambitions, and we continue to explore ways to deepen the> nascent connections between art and technology. Patrick's resume hits a> lot of the right topics, but what's most important is that he's able to> think of the big picture–not just in terms of artworks and lines of> code, but also in terms of organizations and communities. I'm confident> that he will make the perfect partner for Lauren and Marisa as the> three of them lead Rhizome in the future. We've accomplished a lot in> the last year, and I'm excited to see what changes will come in the> years ahead.>> We are expecting the transition process to work like this: Patrick will> come in on February 2nd, and he and I will work side-by-side throughout> February as I train him in. My last day will be March 3rd, but even> after then I'll still be available to Patrick & the organization in> general.>> I'm quite happy to leave this job in Patrick's capable hands. I hope> you all welcome him as kindly as you welcomed me.>> Francis Hwang> Director of Technology> Rhizome.org> phone: 212-219-1288x202> AIM: francisrhizome> + + +>> +> -> post: [email protected]> -> questions: [email protected]> -> subscribe/unsubscribe: http://rhizome.org/preferences/subscribe.rhiz> -> give: http://rhizome.org/support> +> Subscribers to Rhizome are subject to the terms set out in the> Membership Agreement available online at http://rhizome.org/info/29.php>

–Jason Van Andenhttp://www.smileproject.com

, Lauren Cornell

I'd like to second Francis' enthusiastic support of Patrick May as our new
Director of Technology. Patrick's excellent programming skills, arts
background and commitment to open source systems and community building,
makes him uniquely well-qualified for the position. I'm really excited to
start working with him.

I also wanted to highlight the temporary impact the transition will have on
Rhizome's tech department.

During the next month, the response from the webmaster account will probably
be slower, and tech projects big and small will have to be put on hold.
Particularly, refinements to the new site and the name-change to Net Art
News, two matters people have generously contributed ideas to, will have to
wait until Patrick has settled into his position in early March.

Thanks for your patience, and all best,
Lauren



On 1/26/06 12:44 PM, "Francis Hwang" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Hi everybody,
>
> Last November, I notified the Rhizome community that I would soon be
> stepping down as Rhizome's Director of Technology. Today, I'm very
> happy to announce that our next Director of Technology will be Patrick
> May.
>
> Patrick comes to Rhizome with an exceptional background in both
> technology and in the arts. His previous position at the publishing
> company Source Media gives him extensive experience with developing and
> maintaining large, content-driven sites with limited resources, and
> this experience will come in handy at a highly dynamic,
> community-oriented website like Rhizome. He is also active in the free
> software and Ruby communities: He is the creator of the Ruby-Web
> library, and has presented at the International Ruby Conference.
>
> Patrick is also the cofounder and Director of Programming at the
> Williamsburg-based artists' collective Open Ground, helping to guide
> the consensus-based curatorial process that furnished Grand Street with
> four years' worth of always surprising group shows. He is an artist
> himself, and his creative practice incorporates a software library he
> created that automatically publishes consecutive iterations of images
> to an artists' blog; he discussed this tool at Rhizome's second
> "Blogging and the Arts" panel discussion.
>
> Being Rhizome's Director of Technology, of course, requires more than
> just a knowledge of programming, and more than a familiarity with new
> media arts. Rhizome has always been an undersized organization with
> oversized ambitions, and we continue to explore ways to deepen the
> nascent connections between art and technology. Patrick's resume hits a
> lot of the right topics, but what's most important is that he's able to
> think of the big picture–not just in terms of artworks and lines of
> code, but also in terms of organizations and communities. I'm confident
> that he will make the perfect partner for Lauren and Marisa as the
> three of them lead Rhizome in the future. We've accomplished a lot in
> the last year, and I'm excited to see what changes will come in the
> years ahead.
>
> We are expecting the transition process to work like this: Patrick will
> come in on February 2nd, and he and I will work side-by-side throughout
> February as I train him in. My last day will be March 3rd, but even
> after then I'll still be available to Patrick & the organization in
> general.
>
> I'm quite happy to leave this job in Patrick's capable hands. I hope
> you all welcome him as kindly as you welcomed me.
>
> Francis Hwang
> Director of Technology
> Rhizome.org
> phone: 212-219-1288x202
> AIM: francisrhizome
> + + +
>
> +
> -> post: [email protected]
> -> questions: [email protected]
> -> subscribe/unsubscribe: http://rhizome.org/preferences/subscribe.rhiz
> -> give: http://rhizome.org/support
> +
> Subscribers to Rhizome are subject to the terms set out in the
> Membership Agreement available online at http://rhizome.org/info/29.php

, Eric Dymond

well, I remeber Ruby showing up on the developer network around 1999.
It had a following in Japan, and I thought, "looks like python, but a little goofier!"
good luck with that though, are we Ruby on Gems now?
why not…, open source and fun to touch.
good luck Patrick!
Eric