Biography
Todd Blair is an artist, independent curator and educator of technology mediated arts. He is currently Adjunct Professor in the Media Arts Department at the California College of the Arts. Together with Department Chair Barney Haynes and Associate Professor Don Day, he has been involved in the development and implementaion an art and technology curriculum for the burgeoning Media Arts department at the College. His research, creative and theoretical persuits include technology-based art, science infused art, emerging technologies and kinetic art. Currently, he is developing a commissioned work for the City of Oakland’s Channel Reconstruction Project at Lake Merritt that will visualize the energy of the estuarine tidal flow. For the International Society of Electronic Arts (ISEA) in 2006, he produced 70 juried new media projects as part of the ZeroOne Global Festival of Art on the Edge. As a transdisciplinary specialist he has been invited as an advisor on a number of panels and charettes for public art and new media projects. For phæno, a science center designed by Zaha Hadid in Wolfsburg, Germany, he selected and oversaw the acquisition, design and fabrication of 40 interactive works from artists in seven countries. Other projects have included “Urge,” an interactive outdoor sculpture in San Francisco, and "Rearview Mirror to Reality" featured in the 1996 Ars Electronica Festival in Linz, Austria. As a creative consultant he has collaborated with many artists to design and realize projects and fabricate artwork. He has worked with Survival Research Labs, Amorphic Robot Works, Matt Heckert, Lynn Hershmann, Laura Kikauka, Jim Whiting, Just Merrit, Gordon Monahan, Barry Schwartz, Nicholas Baginsky and Tim North.
Artist Statement
For the past 18 years my passion for new media and technology-mediated art has resulted in a wide variety of experiences with exhibitions and art projects in the U.S and abroad. My expertise in the field of emerging genres and cross-disciplinary art practices is founded on a broad base of experiences ranging from project management and curatorial practice to the design and fabrication of large-scale technology-based exhibitions installations, and public art projects. My administrative and curatorial work in the arts is further supported and informed by the Media Arts and Sculpture courses I teach, and my experience in creating both my own work as well as collaborating on creative projects with other artists.
As a result of my involvement as a creative and technical consultant for artists and my role as machinist/fabricator for the Exploratorium and others, my working knowledge of materials, fabrication and construction techniques is extensive. My technical aptitude gives me the capacity not only to design and manage complex installations, but also the ability to translate complex technical information as an aesthetic intermediary. This experience has fostered my proficiency in developing and maintaining professional, collaborative relationships with artists, arts organizations, public officials, architects, engineers and project managers to successfully design, create and implement exhibitions. Strong communication, organizational and interpersonal skills allow me to effectively coordinate the myriad tasks required to administer large-scale projects.
In my dedication to creative pursuits, my capacity for self-direction and my comprehensive understanding and deep personal connection to the current trends in new media and emerging arts, I have developed a unique perspective in the creation and presentation of interdisciplinary contemporary art. Through my collaborative projects and work with alternative, cutting edge exhibitions coupled with my extensive technical experience, I am prepared to be a valuable asset to the broader goals of many project to come.