troy /courses /210 /artistic

I see the digital world as an arena for intellectual discourse about the flatting of the world, a medium for creative exploration of a new media, and a venue for presentation of creative works.

To paint a complete picture of my background it is important to understand that I come from a small industrial town in southeast Michigan. The majority of the graduating class of my high school went on to become un-skilled, union, and factory laborers. My father for example, worked for General Motors in an assembly plant for 18 years before he was laid off. This knowledge combined with distain for the all too common assembly line approach to education influenced my decision to leave high school in the 9th grade.

I left high school to pursue my own D.I.Y. approach to learning I spent many late nights rebuilding engines and dissecting electronics. However, during this time I grew more aware of the social traps I was falling into, realizing that if I wished to satisfy my desire to create things of meaning, I would need to broaden my education. In a search for structured education, I embraced the encouraging small junior college environment. I spend the next few years studying math, engineering, science, religion, and society. The knowledge I gained inspired my decision to enroll at the University of California Santa Cruz. With a history of being a showcase for progressive, cross-disciplinary undergraduate education, UCSC is an environment in which I could have a more direct mode of creative expression.

Through a fusion of technology and art one my upset the influence of major corporate power while inspiring resistance to dominant government institution. If I can use my background in computer engineering to achieve these goals, the accomplishment would be twice as sweet; I would be biting the hand that has fed and taught me.

I am now a graduate student in the Digital Arts and New Media MFA program at UCSC. I feel I am just starting to use my ability and knowledge to start working on accomplishing my goals. The Internet spans legislative borders, enables global commerce and empowers the individual in a way past mediums have been unable. I long to help create a productive artistic /academic/creative environment.