#ghostlyqa

Q&A: Sougwen Chung Maps the Landscape of the Mind

When the robots inevitably take over planet earth, visual artist Sougwen Chung will already have a head start. In her project Drawing Operations Unit: Generation One, Chung collaborated with a robotic arm which mimicked her style as she drew and then learned from it and adapted to it. The finished work was part human, part machine, but the differences between the two were often disconcertingly hard to discern. For her latest project, Topographies, Chung studies the overlap between natural physical terrain and the landscape of the mind -- a kind of collaboration between the concrete and the abstract. Prints from the series will be available via The Ghostly Store and, in conjunction with series, Chung is unveiling a new site to showcase her print work. To commemorate the event, we spoke with Chung about the ways environment figures into her work, and her dedication to finding the places where the emotional and the tangible intersect.

How much time do you usually set aside to work?

I love to work, I don’t really set aside time. I used to, but the lines have blurred over the years. The more I grow creatively, the more I find myself in a perpetual negotiation with the work I’ve done, and will do, through the work I’m making -- as if it’s a separate entity with its own centre of gravity, flaws, curiosities, and potential. It’s like an ongoing conversation I’m having. So time to work becomes more difficult to quantify. Even if my hands aren’t producing, I’m researching, or writing, or thinking about a project or direction which becomes part of it. Such is the nature of self-initiated work, I think. In general, my process has become far more compulsive — maybe I’m entertaining the notion that a sort of tempestuous immediacy is a viable life choice. It’s my own little rebellion against the younger version of me which was more into GTD, time blocking and to-do lists. Self-regulation taken to extremes can be kind of uptight. I admire the process, but it’s so austere. It leaves less room for spontaneity, immediacy, and mischief. A bit of order here, a bit of chaos there...

What is the ideal environment for you to create? As much variety as possible. It’s a sort of weird creative challenge -- or perhaps slight masochistic predilection -- to be able to work in a variety of environments. A few months ago I took a train across the country for a few days… that was a mobile-studio experience. Four days on a train. Quiet and roaming and weird and picturesque. And dramatic, because trains.   Our generation has collectively moved beyond the conventional notion of the artist or musician in her fixed studio as a norm. There are beneficial aspects of that, for sure, but I find the freedom and challenge of variety more exploratory, a bit more contemporary.

Ultimately, however, all I really need a stick of graphite and paper. My work may be formally maximalist but I’m a minimalist with materials, at heart.

This new series is called Topographies, which implies a focus on land and earth. What drew you to this subject matter? Topography is a study of terrain -- at its core, a practice of translation. It’s the visual representation of an environment, as opposed to a singular object. This series marks a shift in my Études series. There was an objectness to my previous compositions, a singularness. An object implies proximal relation, the response to it is binary. Topography is different, the details envelop you. Topography is about depicting systems, a type of terrain. As for what drew me to the subject matter -- I don’t know if I could say, directly, as none of the pieces are or seek to be representational of an existing physical land mass. Each piece is a result of a improvisational process of drawing and software. The compositions that end up being made may subconsciously reflect aspects of my thinking or my life at the time. In general, I’ve been engaging with and researching various social systems, negotiating a flux of geographic terrains. Each study of the Topographies series is a space for myself and the viewer to inhabit, the series is an atlas of imagined environments.

Can you tell me a bit about the process behind Topographies? As source material, I combined drawings from the road with digital sculpture to create a representation of place, constructed by hand-rendered marks. The marks are an expression of the immediate moment, which are then used as a tapestry for the final forms. If flow states as mark-making is a mapping of inner states and cognitive terrain, Topographies hybridizes the representation of physical and emotional terrain as a visual metaphor.   I try to ensure that my creative process accommodates immediacy and spontaneity so that potential for discovery is never occluded. In my explorations in drawing, I’ve found that intuitive creation of a form can often resemble natural landscapes. “High Tide” began as a study in abstraction and nascent tension in form that resembled a wave before its breaking point. It was non-representational in process, but resulted in a familiar, topographic form. I wanted to extend that notion into this new series of études, which led me to Topographies. 

What are you working on now? Recently, I’ve been developing a drawing collaboration with a robotic arm. It’s a spontaneous process experiment in drawing, code and movement. I call the project Drawing Operations and the robot arm even got a nickname in the process (D.O.U.G._1; short for Drawing Operations Unit: Generation 1) I drew with the robotic arm as a performance at a group show alongside friends at NEW INC, a museum-led incubator I’m a part of, in New York a few months ago.   I couldn’t get the image of a robotic arm co-creating with a human hand out of my mind, and when it materialized it was so different from what I’d anticipated but also very familiar.

Drawing Operations was largely inspired by the instructive nature of Sol Lewitt’s Wall Drawings, my own process of mark-making, and perhaps a visual counter-argument to a dystopian fantasy about technology we, on some level, all entertain. It explores the expressive immediacy of drawing as an artistic collaboration between a human and machine. And I get to call a drawing robot D.O.U.G. so, there’s that.

Q&A: Olivia Locher Finds the Unusual in the Everyday In the work of photographer Olivia Locher, everyday items take on meanings that are sometimes ominous, sometimes ridiculous. In her latest series “I Fought the Law,” a trio of pickles hang in midair to illustrate a Connecticut mandate that all pickles must pass a bounce test. In “How to Apply Lipstick,” the mouth to which the lipstick is applied is surrounded by blue masking tape. And in one particularly arresting frame from “Another Day on Earth,” a melting popsicle is punctured, like a voodoo doll, with hundreds of pushpins. It’s all in keeping with a popular theme in Locher’s work -- finding the absurdities in everyday objects and tweaking them slightly to accentuate them. We spoke with Locher about her work, and how she finds inspiration in common items.

So much of your work relies on taking normal household items and making them seem either surreal or almost menacing by changing the context in which they appear. How did this theme develop? I’ve always been attracted to every day, really dumb objects -- the stupider the better, sometimes. I like this combination of high and low, where something can be really common, but you twist it to make it a little more special or to bring importance to something that’s maybe not so important. I’m interested in routines and objects we use every day -- things that are around and familiar and universally understood. I also like taking every day activities and interpreting them totally incorrectly. A lot of the times I’ll come up with a way to do something we do every day, but make it really “off.” You’re still accomplishing what you’re trying to do -- like put on a shoe or put on makeup -- it’s just not the universally ‘right’ way to do it. That idea came to me because I would go to parties and see a recipe and have someone tell me how to make it, and then I’d go home and make it, and it’s totally not right. That’s kind of what inspired the series -- doing that same thing with everyday items.

What attracts you to the medium of photography? I think photography is a good way to illustrate my ideas. Conceptually, it seems like the best medium to hash out what’s in my head. So that’s what excites me about it. I’m really drawn to conceptual photography in the contemporary art world. In my senior year of high school, I started trying to copy what I was seeing in fashion magazines, which is how I knew I wanted to take it further. When I came to art school here in New York, that’s when it really took off. In my second year, I started shooting these ordinary objects with a surreal twist, and one day it snapped into place and I knew that was the vision. Before that, I was just copying artists I liked. The first photographer I fell in love with was Ryan McGInley, so the whole first year of school I was just having my friends run around naked in the forest. I’m happy that I sort of twisted out of that and found what I really wanted to do. The kind of work I used to do in high school kind of came back around. Back then, I was shooting bizarre stuff -- peeling bananas and shooting them against color, morphing the face with makeup. All kinds of weird stuff. But I don’t restrict myself just to photography. I like building little sculptures, too. A lot of times if I get an idea in my mind for a photo, the easiest way to get it exactly right is to just to build whatever that object is. So for example, I just built an ice cream cone out of ice -- it’s actually still in my freezer. It’s another one of those pictures about doing something the wrong way -- it’s called “How to Make Ice Cream,” but it’s just someone pouring heavy cream over a cone made of ice.

I first saw your work in Pheromone Hotbox, and I was really blown away by it. Do you always have a thematic thread to your work? Pheromone Hotbox was amazing - it was so cool to come together with those girls. The curator found us all independently, so it was really cool when we all met because we all are in the same age range all making work around the same subjects. For that show, the curator just picked a bunch of images from my body of work that fit the theme. Most of the work idea is part of larger series. I just finished a project of 50 pictures, and they’re all depicting strange laws in each US state. That started because I was photographing a guy once and he told me that it was illegal to put an ice cream cone in your back pocket in a certain state. I forgot about that conversation, but it started popping up in my mind months later. I started by shooting that picture, and then I realized there was one for every state. All of the laws are pretty surreal in their own way, which is why I think I was drawn to it. What are some of the laws? It’s weird stuff -- like, Sesame Street was banned from one state. In Connecticut, pickles have to pass a bounce test before they’re sold. When it came time to take the picture, I realized pickles don’t actually bounce too good. It must just be such an old rule that it never got erased. It’s stuff you wouldn’t think about or care about, because they’re so mundane. I just got so obsessed with finding them, and each one made a good picture, which was great. I thought about doing pictures of people breaking the laws in every state, but then I realized my style is always a flat color background with the action in front of it, so I just decided to just shoot it here in my studio. 

What are some items you need to have with you every single day? I definitely need to have my iPhone with my every day -- I shoot stuff on my iPhone when I’m out. And I need sunglasses -- I recently got the Warby Parker Ghostly sunglasses, and I love them. Headphones, for sure. And my camera, obviously. I’ve switched over to digital photography -- I use a Canon Mark 2, and some strobe lights. I used to shoot on film, but once I got out of school, it became too difficult to upkeep. I think my patience got smaller for waiting for the shot to develop, so the camera kind of revolutionized my life It’s the main way I express creatively what I’m trying to accomplish. And what about when you’re shooting in your studio -- what are some items you need to have there? Well, I shoot everything from my apartment, so it’s great. I love working from home, because I feel it gives the subject more comfort. Everybody can just ease into what you’re doing. Everything’s right here. So music is important for shoots, and I use strobe lights. If you were going to be living in a remote location for a long period of time, what are four things you’d have to take with you? Well, my camera is #1. After that, my computer, my phone, my headphones. [Pauses] And a bag full of costumes. 

Q&A: Nicholas Felton makes personal data look amazing

Though some of his inspirations may seem unusual at first, the more Nicholas Felton tells us about his work, the more it all makes sense in our everyday lives. Which is appropriate given that what he does encompasses everyday life's tiniest details. A designer, writer, teacher, and analyst, the Brooklyn resident transforms statistics and graphs made of collated minutiae into striking, informative images, and openly shares his tools and processes with anyone who is interested. He may be best known for his gorgeous series of Annual Reports—in which he uses a year's worth of personal data as the basis for colorful, intricate designs—and user-friendly data management apps Reporter and Daytum. (You may have also seen him profiled in The Wall Street Journal, Wired, or Fast Company.) We, of course, are intrigued by what Felton does, curious to find out exactly how and—perhaps most interestingly—why he creates in this way. What he shared with us was both educational and inspiring, and certainly had us looking at numbers in a new light.

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How did you first become interested in data collection?

Data collection is a means to an end for me. About 10 years ago, I discovered that I had a passion for telling stories based on data, but realized that there were not many great sources for that data. The website Last.fm could provide a detailed accounting of my music listening, but I had no other sources for high-quality personal data. To fuel my desire to examine personal stories in greater detail, I’ve had to develop new strategies and apps for data collection.

When were you inspired to transform these collections of everyday details into elaborate graphs? Why was it necessary for you to make them?

As a designer, I was searching for source material for personal projects that I could have ownership over. This search for unique content led me to my own life, and being more of a maths/science guy, this led me to try to capture it not in words, but in numbers. The success of my first experiment with this approach combined with curiosity about my own behavior has fueled their continuation.

What do you take into consideration when putting together the color palette of a piece?

I find developing color palettes really difficult. Much of the time I will simply ignore color until near the end of a project. Picking a palette up front can be useful and help move things forward quickly, but I may also tire of the initial combination if I work on it for too long. So it can be helpful to postpone that effort until the end.

Individually, I like colors that are a little unexpected, like a pure color that’s nudged off the grid, like teal cyans or coral reds. A set of colors needs to have opportunities for high and low contrast, so I can modulate the volume of elements. I also look for hues that are well-distributed, so that there are no artificial connections being made between the colors that might create false alliances among elements that are otherwise unconnected.

Have you learned much about yourself and others through creating these projects?

It’s rare that I'm surprised by the findings in the reports. The awareness I apply to recording data for the finished product tends to give me a strong sense of what the results will look like. The most interesting events are when a visualization matches my hypothesis about a behavior, as when my suspicion that I don’t go to the West Village much was perfectly illustrated in a map from 2007.

What do you think draws users to apps like Reporter and Daytum?

The simplest attraction for these apps is that people are already quantifying their lives, but don’t have great tools for tracking and wind up making lists or spreadsheets. Both Daytum and Reporter are purpose-built to support self-quantification of any activity, like running, reading, eating, traveling, mood, or whatever. There is a journaling aspect to this behavior, a reconciliation of your accomplishments that is satisfying in a different way than the individual actions. Finally, there is a dichotomy between the way we think we are and the way we are. My favorite musician is not necessarily the one I listen to the most; my favorite person may not be the one I spend the most time with. Becoming aware of these discrepancies in our identities can be both informative and fascinating.

In your design lectures and classes, like the one on SkillShare, what are some of the most important points you hope to get across?

Q&A: Richard Upchurch keeps DIY alive at Brandnewnoise

Richard Upchurch knows the unique satisfaction of DIY craftsmanship, and he's slowly but surely spreading the word. Whether it's motivating his team of woodworkers and engineers at Brandnewnoise to think constructively, or teaching interns the joy of building their own instrument from scratch, the Brooklyn resident and business owner seems to inspire creativity at every turn. And the handcrafted "sound gadgets" his company produces are meant to do the same—Brandnewnoise's playful, easy-to-use products, like the Shaka-Khan and Loopy Lou, have caught the attention of everyone from Wired to Vice to The Flaming Lips. It says a lot about Upchurch and Brandnewnoise that one their best creations is actually an instrument that isn't finished; you have to put the thing together on your own.

Needless to say, Ghostly has also been inspired by the Red Hook-based brand, and so we had to collaborate with the crew on a gadget of our own. Thus the Ghostly Zoots was born, an ebony-stained version of Brandnewnoise's thumb piano device. We were so pleased with how our exclusive Zoots turned out that we had to learn more about the man who made it possible. Upchurch was happy to answer our questions—detailing exactly what got him into making these instruments, how Brandnewnoise operates on a daily basis, why his toy-like creations appeal to adults, and how he learns as much from his ongoing internship program as he aims to teach the kids. Here's a look at small business done with passion and ingenuity.

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How did you first get into crafting handmade, functional goods?

I grew up in a “try to build it before you buy it” environment. My dad enjoyed the challenge of finding solutions to problems, so we tried building things first. His main hobby is making leather goods, and I’ve always loved watching him work. It was here I learned patience, process, and craftsmanship.

I built one of my first sound objects after being on vacation with my extended family. All of the toys my nieces and nephews had were making a whole lot of noise—pre-recorded sounds that seemed lame and out of context. I thought, “What if you could input your own sounds?” So I set out to find a solution. I bought some parts and ended up making a voice recorder with pitch control. And well, here we are today, still building voice recorders and other creative sound gadgets.

Brandnewnoise seems to be a project inspired by toys and childlike creativity. Why do you think your gadgets interest older people, too?

Who doesn’t love turning knobs and pushing buttons? Really, I think it's the simplicity. Oddly enough, when you set really narrow limitations, you find yourself with infinite possibilities. Sure, you could do most of what my gadgets do on any device—smart phones, tablets, or laptops. However, I think we long to get away from our work, and the singular function of what we make at Brandnewnoise takes you straight into the realm of play.

What does a typical day look like for you?

Coffee, always coffee. Then I ride my bike down to the wood shop in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Mornings I try to keep the creative flow going with as few distractions as possible; I'm usually looking at new ideas, hashing out problems with new circuit designs, making adjustments to our manufacturing process. I love collaborating with other artists, so sometimes I’ll be working on various projects I have in the queue.

We have a different crew of staff and interns that are at the shop every day, and at some point or another we will usually walk over to the patio at Fairway or hit the Hope & Anchor for omelets to break for lunch. More coffee is often had at Baked before we buckle down in the afternoons for assembling and building units, filling orders, and shipping out. There is always music playing, people talking about their lives, what shows they’ve seen, something they saw on the train. And snacks, gotta have snacks.

We also make it a point to have “creative hour” at least once a week, where the whole team stops whatever they are doing and we let our imaginations run. Sometimes we make videos, paint or draw, or have discussions like, “If you could invite anyone to visit the studio, who would it be?” The idea is to just do something fresh and out of the ordinary.

With your internship program, what do you aim to teach the kids that come to your workshop?

I tell the kids who come here that I will teach them some woodworking skills and a basic knowledge of electronics, but at the end of the day, I want them to take pride in their work and to leave with a sense of accomplishment. I want them to see a finished gadget and have a proud feeling of “I built that.” What I hope to teach them is that in our shop they are part of a community, they are respected and heard, and when they walk out the door, they feel empowered to be themselves. I can’t begin to tell you how important my whole team is and what I learn from them every day.

Have the kids taught you anything that has changed your approach or process?

Absolutely. I tell everyone who walks through the door that if they have a better way of doing something, they need to speak up. I am wide open to change, and I’ve realized sometimes my way of doing things might be best for me but not for the team or the process. For instance, we recently changed the order of installing our electronics after one of the interns said they thought it would be easier to install the black button before the output jack. Thank goodness, because it’s so much easier to install the black button first! So yeah, something like this happens and then the whole order changes. You get better processes when you find people who are willing to think for themselves and who feel confident to make suggestions.

In what ways do you hope to expand and grow Brandnewnoise in the future?

We are constantly working on new designs, along with working to reach a broader audience of musicians, kids, aliens, and all those who feel the need to make some noise. Long term, I keep thinking towards a vision of expanding the manufacturing to other cities in the US based on our operations here in Brooklyn. I think there is a way to replicate what we do here on a different scale, with various internship programs that create a positive impact so we have other communities who are able to say at the end of the day, “We built that.”

Q&A: Grain Craftworks on arts and community in Detroit

Founded by Josh Wilt, Grain Craftworks is a Detroit-based woodworking studio that specializes in handmade, custom goods for the home. Wilt and his partner Craig Hejka work hard to curate a rustic but modern design that appeals to an array of aesthetics. Which is exactly why Ghostly asked them to make us a specialized record crate for our Detroit/Ann Arbor Independent Initiative over Memorial Day Weekend. And now that we’re carrying the piece in The Ghostly Store, it felt like a good time to get to know the craftsmen a bit better. Josh was kind enough to answer our questions about his background and what it’s like to be a part of Detroit’s vibrant creative community, as well as give us a look into his studio.

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How did you initially begin crafting with wood?

When I was growing up, my dad had a really nice wood shop in our basement. We spent every weekend crafting tables, chests, lathing bowls and cups, etc. I fell in love with wood. There are so many possibilities offered with such a versatile medium. I have not stopped working with wood since, and I strive to continue crafting beautiful products, creating beautiful design, and pushing the limits of what can be done.

How does your work relate to your personal interests?

I have a Bachelors of Architecture attained out of my love for design and building. I have always been interested in architecture and woodwork alike. Having the opportunity to work with a medium I love and designing products I love only make this the perfect occupation for me. It is amazing to be able to build products that I am interested in at the time, and also have the chance to share them with others.

What is the best part about being a creative in Detroit?

Simply put, the community. It is truly amazing how tight-knit Detroit is in the creative community. Everyone is very receptive and helpful. It is a large group of friends, and it is a great experience being able to be a part of that.

Is there any room for improving the environment for creatives in Detroit?

I am honestly not sure it could get any better. There are cheap places all over the city to craft your products, rent is super low and the spaces are abundant. There are also places all over Detroit to get materials for what ever your needs may be. It makes things a bit easier not having to make a trip to the burbs.

Why do you think the Detroit art community is unique?

I think it stems from the history of the city. Living and working in Detroit, there is a love for the history of design and craftsmanship here. The creatives have always been here and love being here. I cannot think of another city that has such a large group of people who are as respectful and helpful as the people here in Detroit. Like I said earlier, it feels just like a large group of friends here.

Q&A: Jacob Escobedo talks conquering boredom and creative dry spells

As Vice President of Creative Design, Jacob Escobedo has been an integrated part of Cartoon Network and Adult Swim since 1999, acting as a compass for each brand's ever-changing and uncompromising visual aesthetic. The Nevada-born, Atlanta-based illustrator and designer doesn't call it a day there, however, always with another side project or two in the works. He's the man behind a number of iconic album covers (Broken Bells, Vampire Weekend, The Shins, Danger Mouse), commissioned New Yorker illustrations, eye-popping tour posters, and any number of varied personal projects. And his stylistic vision seems to shift with every new wrinkle added to his repertoire (David Lynch once emailed him about a joint project, simply writing, "TRY HARDER"). It may not always be immediately apparent where Escobedo has lent his talents, but that only speaks volumes of his versatility and vast experience.

Ghostly got back in touch with Jacob recently, working with him on the art and design for our latest Adult Swim collaboration, Ghostly Swim 2. After the ink dried on his cover, a florid interpretation of the iconic ghost logo, we decided to shoot over a few quick questions about his background and artistic process. Friendly and forthcoming, Escobedo wrote back to us with some fantastic advice, as well as a bit of insight on his influences and inspirations. He tells us how music, cartoons, and his father's art directed his path, why distractions like Facebook and boredom are a creator's kryptonite, and how his Ghostly Swim 2 design came to fruition.

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When did you realize you wanted to do art and design professionally?

I don’t know if it was ever a conscious decision to go into this field of work. The desire to be creative was so consuming, I had no choice. As a kid growing up in a remote town in Nevada, I realized that I could either tile bathrooms for a living or I could draw and paint. Those were the only things I was any good at. I didn’t want to be stuck cutting tile around a toilet for the rest of my life—nothing wrong with it, but not for me.

My dad was an outsider artist who was always experimenting with materials: abstract washes and surreal drawings of amazing themes, like angelic fantasy women fighting dragons and elaborate Aztec fight scenes on erupting volcanoes. Think R. Crumb and Henry Darger mashed up with Jesús Helguera. He had a huge collection of art books, Mexican magazines, comics, and a sizeable record collection acquired from thrift stores or yard sales. This was my real education. I would sit next to him, drawing on a makeshift desk made from an old door propped up on cinder blocks, and we’d listen to records.

Music really played a big part in my decision to go into design specifically. The thoughtful combination of art, typography, and photos put into albums was so inspiring. I would pore over all these details, trying to understand what kind of statement they were trying to make. Later in my teenage years, I was exposed to Peter Saville’s work with Joy Division and New Order, and that changed everything. Wire and Sonic Youth albums were also incredibly memorable. These all might seem like obvious choices of inspiration, but to me as a kid, they were everything. I also loved classic literature, the covers were important. It was remarkable to me that a single image could represent the heavy themes contained in these books. I consumed everything I could get my hands on: Vonnegut, Steinbeck, Poe, Bradbury, Dahl, and all the classics my Lit teacher made us read.

Lastly, I have to mention Saturday morning programming in the '80s. Cartoons were so good then, [like] Looney Tunes and Hanna Barbera! All of these fragments I was exposed to gave me such a boost. I ultimately wanted to be a part of the world they were coming from.

How do ready yourself for projects with new clients?

All projects are so different, [so] I don’t have any secrets to readying myself for new clients. I try to bathe every day and brush my teeth. Cleanliness helps new relationships. Research also helps. Figuring out why they came to me is important. What work have they been exposed to from my past that they’re identifying with? That usually gets me moving in the right direction.

What are some of your secrets to overcoming creative dry spells?

Drawing is such therapy for me. The world goes away and the focus of line on paper makes everything better. I try to encourage a bit of experimentation with the designers I work with: lots of handmade stuff, drawing, painting, and photography. You can see some of that playing into projects like the Adult Swim Singles covers we do every year and a lot of the packaging for Cartoon Network.

Do you have any rituals or special preparations that help you work?

I have to block out distractions. I think that’s one of the things that stops people up. There are so many distractions: habits, rituals of boredom, Facebook scrolling, Twitter updating, selfie pics... I was just reading David Foster Wallace’s last novel, The Pale King, and stumbled upon this quote which explains everything. "The key is the ability, whether innate or conditioned, to find the other side of the rote, the picayune, the meaningless, the repetitive, the pointlessly complex. To be, in a word, unborable… It is the key to modern life. If you are immune to boredom, there is literally nothing you cannot accomplish." I want to frame it and nail it to my kids' walls.

Tell us about your concept for the Ghostly Swim 2 art.

This was one of those moments where I sat down to clear my head with a drawing and it turned into the cover. I presented Sam [Valenti IV] with a couple different options. One was this organic take on the ghost icon and the other was a collage of sunken ships. After he saw the initial organic drawing, he kept asking me to go back and consider it for the final cover. I think it felt the closest to relaying the feeling and textures of the compilation, solemn with a bit of optimism. It’s really just an interpretation of the Ghostly logo in my own style, which is perfect for this. It’s Ghostly through an Adult Swim filter.

Q&A: Julia Kaganskiy on the vital overlap of culture, tech, and community

The resume of Julia Kaganskiy reads like a checklist of dream jobs for any young professional hoping to make their mark in the art and tech worlds. Museum curator, editor-in-chief, incubator director, journalist, community builder, event producer, teacher, spokesperson, art producer—it seems impossible to think up a relevant position she hasn't occupied or couldn't effortlessly tackle. And we haven't been the only ones to take notice: Kaganskiy has been named "one of the most influential women in technology" on multiple occasions, and was more recently featured on the 40 Under Forty list at Crain's New York Business, profiled in Protein magazine, and asked to speak on a SXSW Next Stage panel about her development of New Museum's incubator program. Suffice it to say that we count ourselves lucky Julia managed to find time for answering a few questions we had about her work and ideas.

Having previously overseen Vice and Intel's The Creators Project, Kaganskiy now spends much of her time managing NEW INC, the first museum-led incubator for art, technology, and design. This 8,000-square-foot extension of New Museum in Manhattan is a place of learning and collaboration, where "a highly selective, interdisciplinary community of one hundred members [can] investigate new ideas and develop a sustainable practice." Julia is also the founder and organizer of #ArtsTech Meetup (fifth anniversary event pictured below), a nationwide network of innovative individuals whose goal is to explore how best we can spread art and culture through technology and social media. You can imagine the number of things we'd like to pick her brain about, but decided to home in on a few foundational concepts. She was gracious enough to talk about why the overlap of art and technology can be so inspiring, how vital community is to expanding the practices she explores, and what she's learned from the cross-pollination of her varied professional background.

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Why is the connection of art and tech necessary for both worlds?

I'm a big believer that the most interesting things happen in the liminal spaces where worlds collide. Bringing different communities, perspectives, and disciplines in dialogue with one another, helping them find a shared language and mutual understanding, is not only fertile ground for new ideas, it can also yield surprising results. As far as art and tech go, I think that art and artists can play an important role in introducing new, sometimes critical, perspectives in the conversation around technology, or translating complex or abstract ideas into something that is emotional or visceral.

What does community building do to foster that connection?

It's funny because I never set out to "build communities." I just had things that I was interested in and sought out other people who were also interested in those things. I was looking for someone to have a conversation with, someone smarter than me, someone I could pose questions to, because that's how I learn. I put this inquiry process on the internet—via Twitter, Tumblr, Meetup.com—and ended up connecting with a much bigger group of people than I initially imagined. But what was most valuable, and something I didn't plan for, was that I became a catalyst for those people to connect with one another. Community building is about bringing groups of people together around a common interest and giving them an opportunity to build relationships. Those relationships then go on to take on a life of their own and produce collaborations, projects, maybe even businesses.

What do you look for when accepting artists into NEW INC?

A clear vision and sense of purpose. A proven track record of artistic excellence and the ability to execute ideas at a high level. Curiosity and the willingness to learn. Generosity and a desire to teach others.

How has your #ArtsTech Meetup influenced your work at NEW INC and elsewhere?

In some ways, NEW INC (pictured above) is like a never-ending #ArtsTech Meetup. The meetup taught me how to bring people from different groups together and facilitate connection, collaboration, conversation, etc. Now I'm doing that on a much, much bigger scale with NEW INC. #ArtsTech also equipped me with a great network, but that was something I built from scratch by doing the meetup. More than anything, it taught me that you should never be afraid to ask. Often times, you end up being surprised with how willing people are to contribute to something they believe in.

Where do you see the connectivity of technology taking art and artists as it evolves?

Creative Commodities w/ Jad Abumrad of Radiolab

He may be best known as an insightful, energetic Radiolab host and producer, but there's more to Jad Abumrad than his unusual job. The Oberlin College grad was actually first interested in music and creative writing, scoring films before he started to work on radio programs for Studio 360 and NPR. And it's his passion for music and audio that helped make Radiolab the unique public radio show and podcast it is today, one which the MacArthur Foundation has said "[experiments] with sound to find ever more effective and entertaining ways to explain ideas and tell a story."

Now a husband and father of two, Abumrad is a celebrated leader in his field, an inspirational creative force who has been awarded on numerous occasions for his work in the field of radio and journalism. As fans of his show, we were curious to find out what tools help the broadcaster with his daily routines, both in the studio and at home. Jad was gracious enough to answer our queries, as well as invite us into his Radiolab headquarters. ————— What are the three objects you touch the most each day? 1. My iPhone 5. It’s like a detachable limb at this point. 2. Do my kids count as objects? A lot of my non-working hours are spent hugging them, picking them up and putting them down, carrying them up and down stairs, and also stepping between them so they don't pummel each other. 3. Headphones.

What is the significance of each object? Could they be replaced with another? 1. My iPhone cannot only be replaced, but is designed to be replaced every few years in a ceaseless soul-corrupting series of upgrades. 2. My kids are singular. 3. My headphones… Because we're becoming more and more a podcast first and a radio show second, these days we mix for headphone listening rather than speaker listening. So I spend a lot of time with these headphones clamped around my head. They're fine. Not the best sounding cans ever, but not terrible. And they're durable. I regularly accidentally roll my office chair over them by accident, and they don't seem to mind.

What are some of your keys to staying organized as your day transitions from your role at Radiolab to being a husband and father? One of the main keys to me staying somewhat organized is that I don’t work normal hours, so I’m able to divide my day into irregular chunks. I’ve worked it out with my wife and with my team that I work late a couple days a week, and then the other days I leave early to get the kids—but then log back on after they’re asleep, from 8PM to 1AM. And I have a home studio, so I’m able to work at home a lot so I can be closer to the family.   

In terms of keeping it all organized, I lean on Omnifocus and Evernote. Omnifocus is a to-do list manager and Evernote is a giant, cloud-based, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink note-taking program that occasionally makes me want to marry it. I throw everything in there. I have a folder for story ideas, talks I give, one for the kids' medical records, another for interview notes. It’s brilliant.  

And everything these days gets scheduled through Google Calendar. We used to use Outlook, but it’s a stupid program and should go to hell. In Google Calendar, I have one calendar for work, which my staff can add appointments to, and one for home and kid stuff, which my wife Karla can add things to. The iPhone and Google Calendar are still learning to play well together.

What tools are essential to your day-to-day responsibilities at Radiolab? Pro Tools, obviously. I spend whole days looking at the little color blocks inside the Pro Tools edit window. I have Pro Tools dreams at least once a week.

And Google Docs. For all it’s chunkiness, Google Docs is like a sci-fi dream come true. It’s amazing to be able to have two people in two totally different parts of the globe work on the same script at the same time. Our longtime producer Soren Wheeler recently moved to Madison, Wisconsin, so during script edits, we’ll dial up a video chat with Soren on Google Hangout and then open up a Google Doc and write together.

Do you have any items essential to your daily commute? I had a pair of etymotic headphones that did a great job of blocking out the subway, but they’re on the fritz. Besides that, the phone.  

How do you unwind after a particularly busy or stressful day? I’m still figuring that one out. It makes me sad that I don’t have an immediate answer to that question.

What keeps you inspired and motivated when the going gets tough? What motivates me is my wife, my kids, my family, my work family, and that even on the suckiest days the work is still interesting. Plus, I know that I’m lucky. To be able to gather a team of brilliant people together to chase stories that we choose, that aren’t forced on us, is a gift.

All photography by Jessica Miller