Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops

BEN SAKS is the co-creator and producer of the documentary ‘Float’, exploring the craft of handmade free-flight model airplanes. Ben Saks is in his second decade with indoor free-flight aircraft and has competed in National and World Championships. He holds a Bachelors of Architecture with Honors from Carnegie-Mellon University. His work has been displayed and published internationally, and can be seen at bensaks.com

Workshop: Paper Airplanes – The Form of Flight Sat 14 April, 2:00pm Come explore physics, design, engineering, and craft to win a prize at the Paper Plane Design Contest. Transform something ordinary into something extraordinary. Find pictures and plans with descriptions at http://paperplanedesigncontest.blogspot.com/

NINA MARIE BARBUTO is founder and director of Assemble, a community space for arts + technology. Assemble envisions a diverse community that creates, connects and learns through the experience of art and technology. Nina’s own media includes architecture, film, sound, and art installation, often with the idea of recycling noise into a system or elevating the vernacular to the spectacular.

Workshop: Hacking Objects Sat 14 April 3:00pm Do you like to reuse things? Change the way you use things? Do you imagine that you could rethink an object or thing to be better or just something else? In the HACKing workshop, you’ll do just that! Work with things from recycled elements to LEDs and circuits, transform something old or discarded into a new thing that YOU define!

NORTD LABS is an international research and development studio founded in New York City by Addie Wagenknecht and Stefan Hechenberger. Over the last half decade, nortd’s open source hardware has been built and used by thousands of people, labs, hacker-spaces and universities worldwide. We believe that people should think globally and build locally. Nortd was founded as an international open source collaborative in 2006, outputting artistic research and scientific development for humanity. More information at nortd.com

Workshop: Lasersaur Sat 14 April 4:00pm This workshop will give participants a brief overview of the open source laser cutter system Lasersaur developed by Nortd Labs. Nortd will also give a brief overview of how to build, run and code a living Lasersaur as well as user modifications and hacks. We will demo livecuts (so please bring your SVG files). More information can be found at lasersaur.com. Cosponsored by the STUDIO for Creative Inquiry

Transformer Workshops

Paper Airplanes, Hacking Objects, Lasersaur Workshop

Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops
Transformer Workshops

BEN SAKS is the co-creator and producer of the documentary ‘Float’, exploring the craft of handmade free-flight model airplanes. Ben Saks is in his second decade with indoor free-flight aircraft and has competed in National and World Championships. He holds a Bachelors of Architecture with Honors from Carnegie-Mellon University. His work has been displayed and published internationally, and can be seen at bensaks.com

Workshop: Paper Airplanes – The Form of Flight Sat 14 April, 2:00pm Come explore physics, design, engineering, and craft to win a prize at the Paper Plane Design Contest. Transform something ordinary into something extraordinary. Find pictures and plans with descriptions at http://paperplanedesigncontest.blogspot.com/

NINA MARIE BARBUTO is founder and director of Assemble, a community space for arts + technology. Assemble envisions a diverse community that creates, connects and learns through the experience of art and technology. Nina’s own media includes architecture, film, sound, and art installation, often with the idea of recycling noise into a system or elevating the vernacular to the spectacular.

Workshop: Hacking Objects Sat 14 April 3:00pm Do you like to reuse things? Change the way you use things? Do you imagine that you could rethink an object or thing to be better or just something else? In the HACKing workshop, you’ll do just that! Work with things from recycled elements to LEDs and circuits, transform something old or discarded into a new thing that YOU define!

NORTD LABS is an international research and development studio founded in New York City by Addie Wagenknecht and Stefan Hechenberger. Over the last half decade, nortd’s open source hardware has been built and used by thousands of people, labs, hacker-spaces and universities worldwide. We believe that people should think globally and build locally. Nortd was founded as an international open source collaborative in 2006, outputting artistic research and scientific development for humanity. More information at nortd.com

Workshop: Lasersaur Sat 14 April 4:00pm This workshop will give participants a brief overview of the open source laser cutter system Lasersaur developed by Nortd Labs. Nortd will also give a brief overview of how to build, run and code a living Lasersaur as well as user modifications and hacks. We will demo livecuts (so please bring your SVG files). More information can be found at lasersaur.com. Cosponsored by the STUDIO for Creative Inquiry

2012: TRANSFORMER

wats:ON? 2012 looks not at cutting-edge technological magic but at amazing transformations from the most humble beginnings.

Spike Wolff
Festival Curator
Pablo Garcia
Festival Curator
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SPIKE WOLFF

Curator, Artistic and Executive Director

https://soa.cmu.edu/spike-wolff

lwolff [at] andrew [dot] cmu [dot] edu

Spike Wolff is Special Faculty in the College of Fine Arts and School of Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University. In addition to her work as Artistic and Executive Director of the wats:ON Festival, Spike is Curator of the School of Architecture Lecture Series and has curated exhibitions for the Miller Gallery on Carnegie Mellon’s campus. Spike assumed directorship of the wats:ON Festival in 2010 and has been instrumental in its revitalization, bringing an eclectic and diverse range of internationally acclaimed and emerging artists and their work to Carnegie Mellon. Spike’s work and interests are interdisciplinary in nature. Recent design projects include ‘Shadow’ an installation for the Mattress Factory Museum, ‘The Hurricane’ a temporary jazz club for the Hill House of Pittsburgh, and exhibition design for ‘Contrarreloj, Felix de la Concha’ at the Frick Art Museum. Spike holds a Master of Architecture from SCI-Arc and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon University.
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CASSIE HOWARD

Curatorial Assistant

cmhoward [at] andrew [dot] cmu [dot] edu

Cassie Howard is a student in the School of Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University entering her fourth year. Cassie has been an invaluable member of the festival team since 2017 and is Curatorial Assistant for 2019: NOW. Cassie is interested in the intersection of contemporary practice and activism, especially in how the arts can bring a voice to people who are continuously marginalized, engaging and empowering diverse communities.
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LIZ FOX

Assistant Dean for Staff Engagement

https://www.cmu.edu/cfa/about/leadership/bios/liz-fox.html

lizfox [at] cmu [dot] edu

Liz Fox is an assistant dean in the College of Fine Arts. She has been with the university for more than 30 years and most recently served as the assistant dean for Research for the College of Fine Arts and was a certified research administrator. Recently, Fox took on a new role in CFA, managing staff engagement. To that end, she focuses on the following priorities: staff morale, professional and personal development, diversity, recognition and events. A graduate of the Pennsylvania State University, Fox is working to develop workshops and opportunities for the College of Fine Arts staff, as well as meaningful occasions for recognition and rewards.
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EDDY MAN KIM

Associate Curator Emeritus

https://soa.cmu.edu/eddy-mankim

eddymankim [at] cmu [dot] edu

Eddy Man Kim is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the School of Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University, where he serves as a Co-director of the Computational & Tangible Interaction Design Laboratory (CoDe Lab). Eddy Man is a designer, researcher, educator, and entrepreneur who was awarded the George N. Pauly, Jr. Fellowship to join Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture faculty as a Visiting Assistant Professor for the academic year of 2014/2015. A technologist and futurist at heart, Eddy Man is interested in interdisciplinary efforts to mutually augment design and technology—especially as they relate to current trends in web technology. Eddy Man is also one of the founding members of openUU, a design research agency based in Hong Kong. While holding the position of Technical Director, Eddy Man marketed for, managed, and delivered openUU projects that won four Best-of-Year Awards by Interior Design magazine and the 40-under-40 Award by Perspective Global magazine. While managing his practice in Hong Kong, Eddy Man taught graduate students at The University of Hong Kong Faculty of Architecture as a visiting design studio instructor and design workshops for Hong Kong Interior Design Association. Eddy Man received his Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University College of Architecture, Art & Planning and obtained his Master in Design Studies at Harvard University Graduate School of Design, with a concentration in Design Technology. Upon completion of his Masters thesis, Sandbox3D: Web App for Real-time Design Collaboration, he was awarded the Digital Design Prize for _“the most creative use of digital media in relation to the design professions.”_ Eddy Man has worked in the offices of POSCO A&C of Seoul, South Korea; Robert A.M. Stern Architects in New York City; EPIPHYTE Lab of Ithaca, New York.
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GOLAN LEVIN

Curator Emeritus

https://www.cmu.edu/cas/people/levin_golan.html

golan [at] andrew [dot] cmu [dot] edu

Golan Levin develops artifacts and events which explore supple new modes of reactive expression. His work focuses on the design of systems for the creation, manipulation and performance of simultaneous image and sound, as part of a more general inquiry into the formal language of interactivity, and of nonverbal communications protocols in cybernetic systems. Through performances, digital artifacts, and virtual environments, often created with a variety of collaborators, Levin applies creative twists to digital technologies that highlight our relationship with machines, make visible our ways of interacting with each other, and explore the intersection of abstract communication and interactivity. Levin has exhibited widely in Europe, America and Asia. Levin’s work combines equal measures of the whimsical, the provocative, and the sublime in a wide variety of online, installation and performance media. His work has been exhibited at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, The Kitchen, the Neuberger Museum, and The Whitney Biennial, all in New York; Ars Electronica in Linz, Austria; The Museum of Contemporary Art in Taipei, Taiwan; The InterCommunication Center in Tokyo, Japan; and the Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie in Karlsruhe, Germany, among other venues. Levin received undergraduate and graduate degrees from the MIT Media Laboratory, where he studied with John Maeda in the Aesthetics and Computation Group. Between degrees, he worked for four years as an interaction designer and research scientist at Interval Research Corporation. Presently Levin is Associate Professor of Electronic Time-Based Art at Carnegie Mellon University.