statement

Why is 'virtual' often synonymous with 'digital'? I suspect that the term 'virtual reality' had something to do with it, as when it was coined in the early 1990's new visions of digitally-driven immersive experiences invaded popular culture. Star Trek: The Next Generation's Holodeck, The Lawnmower Man, Max Headroom, and similar media exploited early digital technologies to imagine a future of complex virtual environments.

But "virtuality"—the systematic approximation and representation of reality—existed long before computers. Ancient Greek philosophers used shadows to measure the universe and establish mathematical principles. Renaissance artists created a formula for vision when they applied linear perspective to art and architecture. Lenses and mirrors gave artists and scientists new imaging powers for centuries leading up to the 19th century. And photography and cinema ushered in the media age of the 20th century. The computer—"digitality"—is wholly dependent on several millennia of virtuality. The human condition is so wrapped up with virtually, that at times it may be difficult to see that digitality is merely one small subset—a new means to that virtual end.

What would a renaissance artist do with a computer? How would a computer learn about its ancestors? What does the digital teach us about the difference between the virtual and the real? How can we use the past to shape future narratives?

bio

born: 1975, New York, New York

education

Princeton University, Master of Architecture (M.Arch) 2003
Cornell University, Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) 1998

selected awards/honors

Lucian and Rita Caste Professor of Architecture, Carnegie Mellon University, 2009-2012
Muschenheim Fellow, University of Michigan 2007-2008

selected group shows

Eyebeam Art & Technology Center, F.A.T. GOLD, NY, NY, 2013
The Mattress Factory Art Museum, Intimate Friction, Pittsburgh, PA, 2012