Medium: Interactive digital sculptures, sound installations and musical compositions.
Latest development: Creating the soundtrack for Inigo Manglano-Ovalle’s video “Alltagszeit” (In Ordinary Time) now appearing in “Mies in America” at the Museum of Contemporary Art (through May 26).
Past life: Played in Chicago band Joan of Arc.
Favorite artist: Charles Ray (today)
Inspiration: Talking and interacting with people, and then having time to absorb that and understand what’s going on. It took a while for me to discover the outlets of art and music. Now that I know, I don’t have a choice. There’s an opening and I have to keep going.
Balancing act: I move back and forth between art and music. I don’t think I could get everything I want from doing just one or the other. My art is more informed by the original concept, while my music resides in formal terms, like the relationship of one sound to another sound. One of the things I’ve been exploring is finding ways to integrate art-making and music-making.
Scale: Small, at times minuscule. I’ve been interested in the idea of sampling, especially guitar solos. I look at them in a micro way, isolating 100-millisecond segments from different recordings. Then I stretch them and process them until they become their own thing. My soundtrack for “Alltagszeit” was based on the opening and closing notes of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” taken from a recording for children.
Payoff: Finishing an artwork or composition. I usually make things I enjoy and that’s the reward at the end — being able to enjoy it, because the process is difficult and not necessarily fun.
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Prized possession: My 1990 Honda Civic, even though it’s given me trouble lately. It represents my mobility.
Best decision: Moving to Chicago in 1996 on the spur of the moment after dropping out of college.
Favorite spot in Chicago: The Dominick’s parking lot on Roosevelt Road. I stop there after driving all night from my current home in Pittsburgh. I work on my computer in the car and then go inside to eat.
Acts of rebellion: Studying engineering at Washington University before leaving to make art. Growing up, my mother always encouraged me to do more art, so I studied math and science instead. Also, not smoking. I could never understand why my parents smoked.
Definition of success: I would always question success. Figuring out what it means will be a constant challenge.