courses /winter 10 /danm 249 /projects

Faculty Researcher Interview/Analysis

Please post your name and the name of two-to-three Faculty Researchers you wish to interview - indicate which of the four DANM research focus areas you think their research relates to and include a very brief statement of the significant research question they are addressing within this area of focus.

• Meredith Drum:
  
  

  1. Mark Carr, EEBiology Professor UCSC. The purpose of Carr's research lab program is to better understand the structure and dynamics of populations and communities of nearshore marine organisms and their ecosystems. The underlying themes of this research are two-fold; firstly, to further conceptual understanding of marine populations and communities by conducting empirical studies motivated by the evolving theory for these systems, and secondly, to apply these concepts to fisheries and conservation problems in innovative ways.
  2. Constance Penley, Professor, Department of Film and Media Studies, UC Santa Barbara. Penley is part of an exciting new collaboration between scientists and media artists at UCSB titled Digital Ocean. Digital Ocean is a virtual commons that connects people and provides them with resources to advance ocean sustainability and protect Earth’s ocean ecosystems.
  3. Helen and Newton Harrison, Professors Emeritus UC San Diego, Visual Arts. The collaborative team of Helen and Newton Harrison have been making innovative ecologically focused work for forty years. Pioneers of the eco-art movement, their work involves extended, often multi-year discussions with biologists, ecologists, engineers, urban planners and other artists with the intention of uncovering ideas and solutions that support biodiversity and community development.

Though I interviewed all three professors (and a few others, as I was feeling the need to engage one-on-one with researchers and producers this quarter) I decided that the best interview to include for 249 is the one I conducted with the Harrisons; and my reason is that they have a strong connection with DANM and will be leading a collaborative research group with the next cohort. So here is the link which includes some text as well as video.
The Harrisons

• Phoenix Toews:
  
  

  1. Barry Sinervo, Biology Professor at UCSC - Participatory Culture and Playable Media : Barry's research is in "developing media to illustrate the principles and behaviour of evolution". He uses landscapes and 3D models and object oriented methods to create games that teach science and evolution ideas. I am interested in discussing with him ways that digital media can be used to illustrate and contextualize complex ideas in a way that is accesible to a wide audience.
     
     
  2. Irene Lusztig, Assistant Professor of Film and Digital Media - Participatory Culture : Irene uses film and video to work with the intersection of past and present, reframing histories by engaging with ideas around historical memory. She uses hybrid forms and combines multiple types of media in her work. While my work is not specifically film, I am engaging in a work that combines multiple types of media, as well as engaging with history and historical memory, and it's the continual remapping of history for contemporary consumption. I am interested in discussing ways in which she has succeeded (and failed) in engaging with these ideas.
     
     

• My interview with Zoe Kroll (I ended up choosing to interview someone other than my 2 choices above)

  1. Full Interview (MP3) -- 1:00:26 (58MB)
     
  2. Snippet of Interview (MOV)
     
  3. Written Synopsis
  4. Images of Zoe and her garden

• Andrew Pascoe:
  
  

• Paul Nauert, Music Professor. Nauert's work involves mathematical models of the composition process. This combines two of my interest areas. Interview was conducted on March 5, 2010.
  

  1. Full Interview (MP3) -- 1:05:46 (31.6MB)
     
  2. Snippet of Interview (MP3) -- 4:54 (2.4MB)
     
  3. Written Synopsis

• Dustin Raphael:
  
  

  1. Ben Carson, Assistant Professor of Music. Understanding musical psychoacoustics as a way to inform composition.
  2. Michael Mateas, Associate Professor Computer Science. Looking at new ways to create Interactive art based systems
  3. David Cuthbert, Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts. Aesthetics of lighting and projection setup for performance
  4. edit of ben carson interview
  5. write up for interview

• Dustin O'Hara:
  
  

  1. Melinda Stone, Professor of Film Studies and Environmental Studies.

narrative bio about Malinda Stone soon to come http://dustinohara.com/sound/interview/Malinda_stone.mp4 Howtohomestead.org

• Fabiola Hanna:
  
  

  1. Edmund Burke III, Professor, Presidential Chair, and Director, Center for World History. http://history.ucsc.edu/directory/details.php?id=5

  2. Beshara Doumani, Professor, History Department at Berkeley. http://history.berkeley.edu/faculty/Doumani/

     Both professors have research interests in Middle Eastern History, specifically Lebanese History, from a social point of view, giving value to the "ordinary" people's stories and biographies.

  3. Written Interview+Analysis

• Levi Goldman:
  
  

  1. Sri Kurniawan, Assistant Professor of Computer Engineering. I'm interesting in her findings with interfaces for disabled folks.
  2. Dominic Massaro. Just seems interesting work. I'd like to know more about cognitition.

• Aaron Reed:
  
  

  1. Margaret Morse, Professor, Film and Digital Media. Participatory Culture / Playable Media. Her work focuses on cultural change as seen through the lenses of mercurial media.
  2. Dion Farquhar, Lecturer, Literature. Playable Media. Poet and interested in experimental writing.
  3. Dominic Massaro, Research Professor, Cognitive Psychology. Participatory Culture / Playable Media. Studies new interfaces between humans/computers, including intelligent agents.
• Final Projects: Interview with Dominic Massaro

• Elaine
  
  

Three people whose works consider and complicate what it means to produce and participate in "culture".

1. 1. Ana Tsing - Anthropology (focus on Southeast Asia)
   2. Stefan Gandler - History of Consciousness (focus on Latin America)
   3. Miriam Greenberg - Sociology (focus on urban studies)

• Joe
  
  

  1. Gordon Mumma - Professor Emeritus UCSC - His compositions which often consist of self made circuitry, exemplify one of my interests: the dynamics between the fixity and ephemera in music and media. http://brainwashed.com/mumma/music.htm
  2. David Cope - His work in algorhymic composition includes data sonification, which is one of my interests. http://artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/cope/index.html
  3. Donna Haraway - Her background in both the History of Science and Social studies may be useful in exploring what Don Swanson called "undiscovered public knowledge". http://histcon.ucsc.edu/directory/details.php?id=6

Brief synopsis and full interview with David Cope

• José
  
  

  1. Jennifer Parker - DANM FACULTY, Assistant Professor of Art, M.F.A., Rutgers University. Jennifer Parker’s sculptures, performances, and installations are inquiries into the essential nature of things. She employs a wide range of media to develop the limits of and context for her sculptural practice.

INTERVIEW WITH JENNIFER PARKER

1. 1. Dee Hibbert-Jones - Assistant Professor . Sculpture and public art at UCSC. Her projects mix art and sciences, working along with people from other areas such as engineers and doctors.