1. The CoA
Mixed-Use Entertainment Venue
(2011)"
Seeing a need to combine technology, art and entertainment in a more permanent
installation, I came up with the concept of the CoA – a mixed use entertainment
venue for the Mid-Market neighborhood of San Francisco. Plans included a “video
cube” completely covered on all four sides with LED paneling at the center of the
space, a rooftop sculpture garden/bar/ performance space, two restaurants, a
speakeasy club and rehearsal space for local theater and dance groups. Over the
course of several months I worked with the mayor’s office, a local architect, and
various partners in the hospitality and entertainment space to investigate the
viability of the project. I secured funding commitments from a diverse team
including nightlife and tech entrepreneurs, and we worked towards a bid for the
property. Although the project at that particular location fell through when a
competing bid from local business owners was accepted, we are continuing to
explore ways to carry my vision at other sites in San Francisco. You can view the
entire prospectus at bit.ly/thecoa"
2. Setting Controls for the
Heart of the Sun
(2011)"
For a New Year’s Eve party I hosted at my San Francisco home I decided to pay
tribute to one of my most significant musical events of 2011, LCD Soundsystem’s
final shows in New York City. Knowing frontman James Murphy’s affinity for vinyl, I
decided to head to a local record shop and recycle a bunch of sleeveless and
scratched records that were going to be thrown away. Adding a little bit of spray
paint and a couple of black lights, the room was transformed into an art piece which
both sparked ample conversations among the roughly 300 people in attendance
and served as an excellent location for late night revelry. You can view more
pictures of the permanent installation at bit.ly/lcdart"
3. Glowman Dance
GSB Show
2011"
For the annual GSB Show at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, I
worked with the show producers to bring my love of wearable lighting
technology to a group who had never experienced a lot of technology-
based art. Using EL-wire stick figure suits, we created an experience
that wowed the audience and was the most talked about piece of the 2.5
hour show. The dance not only highlighted the talent of the remarkable
dancers at the school, but also provided a drastically different visual
experience to the rest of the show. You can check out the full-length
video at bit.ly/gsbglow"
4. Various Costume Projects"
2011"
Inspired by the costuming process for 2010’s Burning Man, I took the opportunity in 2011 to experiment with
various costumes for numerous events I attended.
"
Needing to more easily find a group of 20 at this year’s Coachella festival, I created tie-dye overall cut-offs for
my friends and which we illuminated with strings of EL wire. The tie dye made smaller groups of people more
visible during the day and the EL wires illuminated us at night, even allowing friends to find us just in time for the
orb drop during Arcade Fire’s Wake Up by using the our image on the Jumbotron to find our location.
"
For The Rapture’s show in San Francisco, I created a sequined suit that resembled a disco ball. After being an
incredible hit at this show, I expanded the concept for Halloween, covering a motorcycle helmet with mirrored
tiles to create a wearable disco ball. I also created similar costumes for friends, creating a traveling group of
disco balls the illuminated every dance floor we visited that evening. "
When My Morning Jacket came to San Francisco in early December, I decided to play homage to the band by
creating a costume that combined the band’s bear mascot with their album logo for Circuital. Using EL wire I
created a copy of the green image, that when put under the hood of my bear hoodie, mimicked with an eerie
glow the cover of the album. I knew I had nailed this form of artistic expression when at the Soundcheck party,
the first words out of Jim James’ lips were “We spent the day touring the DeYoung museum and Region of
Horror (Legion of Honor) and saw a lot of beautiful things there. But nothing is as beautiful as that (pointing to
my bear costume)”."