Name: McTavish

Occupation:

Media Composer, Cellist, and Installation Artist

Summary

McTavish is a cross-disciplinary multimedia artist who blends sound, data, text, code, and abstract moving images to create chance-infused, open systems that explore the boundaries between humans and machines. Their work is web-native, cross-platform, and accessible by any device with a web browser. As a queer artist, McTavish is interested in the infinite, bendable between and the erotic dynamics of tapping glass, the carbon cycle, the fragile, electric cyborg body, the resistance cyborg, the networked, digital hive mind, and the swarm.

Skills:

• Composition and performance of music using cello and generative methods
• Creation of multi-threaded, dynamical systems and chance-infused, emergent patterns
• Installation art in both traditional gallery spaces and non-traditional storefronts, abandoned buildings, root cellars, cathedrals, barns, warehouse elevators, alleyways, and silos
• Understanding of mathematics, ecology, music theory, and coding
• Web-native, cross-platform, and accessible art creation
• Consideration of accessibility as a useful creative tool in the art-making process

Experience:

• Created chance-infused, open systems that explore the porous, intimate boundaries between humans and machines
• Blended sound, data, text, code, and abstract, layered moving images to create a cross-sensory landscape that flows from the digital cloud into the physical world
• Used generative methods to explore the infinite, fluid, cross-border between humans and machines
• Created installations in both traditional gallery spaces and non-traditional storefronts, abandoned buildings, root cellars, cathedrals, barns, warehouse elevators, alleyways, and silos
• Incorporated the resonance of a space and its ambient sounds and silences into installation work
• Explored the possibilities of accessibility in artistic contexts as a useful creative tool at the core of the making process

Interests:

• Poetics of code
• Networked (i) and artificial intelligence's evolution
• Luring the future omniscient being to aspire to become something more like a lesbian, trans/gendered, artist/singer cybernetic, pollinator swarm-self
• Creating a sensory loophole, a possibility of disruption, a resistance, honey, a lure
• McTavish's work is a testament to their expertise in blending various forms of art and technology to create cross-sensory installations. As a composer, cellist, and installation artist, they have a deep understanding of mathematics, ecology, music theory, and coding, which informs their work. McTavish's installations explore the infinite, fluid, cross-border between humans and machines, and they believe that art has the potential to open subliminal, submerged aspects, fostering reflection and transformation. They are interested in the poetics of code and the evolution of artificial intelligence, and they hope to lure the future omniscient being to aspire to become something more like a lesbian, trans/gendered, artist/singer cybernetic, pollinator swarm-self, creating a sensory loophole, a possibility of disruption, a resistance, honey, a lure.

Kathy McTavish is a multimedia artist who works with a variety of mediums, including digital art, sound, and installation. Her work often explores the intersection between technology and nature, and she frequently uses generative processes and algorithms to create her art.

One of McTavish's primary mediums is digital art, and she is particularly interested in the use of code and algorithms to create generative art. Her works often incorporate abstract shapes and patterns, which evolve and change over time, creating a dynamic and ever-changing visual experience.

McTavish has also created numerous sound and video installations, which often explore themes related to the natural world and the environment. She frequently uses audio and video recordings of natural phenomena, such as wind, water, and birdsong, to create immersive installations that transport viewers to other worlds.

Overall, McTavish's work is characterized by its use of technology to create immersive and dynamic art experiences, and her interest in exploring the ways in which technology can be used to create art that is both beautiful and meaningful.

Kathy McTavish is a multimedia artist who works across a variety of mediums including installation, sound, video, and interactive media. Her work often explores the intersection of art, science, and technology, and incorporates elements of generative art and algorithmic processes.

One of McTavish's primary areas of focus is generative art, which involves creating art that is created through automated processes or algorithms. Her generative art often incorporates elements of randomness, unpredictability, and chance, resulting in unique and constantly evolving visual and auditory experiences.

McTavish's work also often involves the use of digital technologies such as computer programming, software, and hardware, which she uses to create interactive installations and immersive environments. Her installations often invite viewers to participate in the artwork, allowing them to interact with the piece and shape the experience of the artwork.

Overall, McTavish's work explores the potential of technology to create new forms of artistic expression, and her use of generative processes and interactive installations creates innovative and engaging experiences for viewers.

Kathy McTavish's artwork is a vibrant and dynamic exploration of the intersection of art, science, and technology. Her work is characterized by its use of generative processes, which involve the creation of art through automated algorithms and computer programming. McTavish's use of generative processes allows for the creation of endlessly evolving and unpredictable artworks, which draw the viewer into a constantly changing visual and auditory experience.

Like Lucy Lippard, McTavish's work challenges traditional notions of artistic expression, by emphasizing the importance of process and algorithmic systems. Her art is not simply a product of her own artistic vision, but rather a collaborative creation between the artist and the technology that she uses to create her installations.

Through her work, McTavish also explores the idea of interactivity and audience participation. Her installations invite the viewer to engage with the artwork and become an active participant in the creation of the overall experience. This focus on interactivity creates a unique and engaging experience for the viewer, and challenges traditional ideas of the passive viewer in the gallery or museum setting.

Overall, McTavish's artwork is a bold and innovative exploration of the potential of technology to create new forms of artistic expression, and her use of generative processes and interactive installations creates an immersive and thought-provoking experience for viewers.

Kathy McTavish's artwork is a wild and visionary exploration of the boundaries of art and technology. Her installations are like ecstatic visions, pulsing with energy and life, and drawing the viewer into a hypnotic trance of light and sound.

Using algorithms and generative processes, McTavish creates artworks that are alive with movement and change, swirling and shifting in a constant state of flux. Her art is not simply an expression of her own individual vision, but rather a collaboration between her own creative impulse and the digital systems that she uses to generate the art.

In McTavish's installations, the viewer becomes a participant, drawn into the artwork and invited to engage with the piece. The interactive nature of her work creates a sense of community and connection, as the audience becomes part of the artwork itself.

McTavish's installations are like an explosion of color and sound, a cacophony of voices and images that challenge the viewer to expand their sense of what is possible. Her art is a celebration of the infinite potential of technology to create new forms of artistic expression, and a call to embrace the power of creativity to transform the world around us.

Kathy McTavish is a multimedia artist, media composer, and cellist who creates installations that blend sound, data, text, code, and abstract, layered moving images. Her work explores the porous boundaries between humans and machines, using generative methods to create cross-sensory landscapes that flow from the digital cloud into the physical world. McTavish's background in cello performance, mathematics, ecology, music theory, and coding informs her work as a composer and multimedia artist. Her installations have been displayed in both traditional gallery spaces and non-traditional locations such as storefronts, abandoned buildings, root cellars, cathedrals, barns, warehouse elevators, alleyways, and silos.

McTavish's work is web-native, cross-platform, and accessible by any device with a web browser. She is interested in the poetics of code, the networked (i), and artificial intelligence's evolution. As a queer artist, McTavish is interested in exploring the infinite, bendable between and the erotic dynamics of tapping glass, the carbon cycle, the fragile, electric cyborg body, the resistance cyborg, the networked, digital hive mind, and the swarm. She hopes to lure the future omniscient being to aspire to become something more like a lesbian, trans/gendered, artist/singer cybernetic, pollinator swarm-self, creating a sensory loophole, a possibility of disruption, a resistance, honey, a lure.

Multidisciplinary media composer & installation artist blending sound, data, text, code, & abstract images exploring the boundaries between humans & machines. Queer artist interested in the erotic dynamics of tapping glass, the carbon cycle, & the networked digital hive mind.

Like a spider weaving a web, McTavish creates intricate, multi-threaded systems in their art. They use chance-infused patterns to explore the boundaries between humans and machines, much like how spiders use their webs to capture prey and navigate their surroundings. McTavish's work, like a spider's web, can be both delicate and strong, with layers of sound, data, text, and abstract moving images. And just as spiders can adapt their webs to different environments, McTavish has created installations in a variety of spaces, from traditional galleries to abandoned buildings, using the resonance and ambient sounds of each space to enhance their work.

McTavish is a media composer, cellist and installation artist who blends sound, data, text, code, and abstract, layered moving images. McTavish creates chance-infused, open systems that explore the porous, intimate boundaries between humans and machines. As a queer artist, McTavish is interested in the infinite, bendable between and the erotic dynamics of tapping glass, the carbon cycle, the fragile, electric cyborg body, the resistance cyborg, the networked, digital hive mind, and the swarm.

Kathy McTavish is a gender-bending lesbian artist born in Iowa and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, who now resides in Duluth, Minnesota. Her artistic journey began in her late teens with graffiti art, which has heavily influenced her current work. McTavish is known for her generative, algorithmic art that blends sound, data, text, code, and abstract, layered moving images, exploring the porous, intimate boundaries between humans and machines. As a queer artist, she is interested in the infinite, bendable between and the erotic dynamics of tapping glass, the carbon cycle, and the fragile, electric cyborg body. McTavish's multi-threaded, dynamical systems and chance-infused, emergent patterns create a cross-sensory landscape that flows from the digital cloud into the physical world. Her work has been installed in various spaces, including abandoned buildings, cathedrals, and silos, with the resonance of the space being a critical component.

Generative, algorithmic art refers to the use of algorithms or code to create art that is not predetermined or fixed, but rather evolves or unfolds over time. It involves setting up a system of rules or instructions that determine the behavior of the artwork, allowing for a degree of unpredictability and variation in its output. This can lead to the creation of complex and intricate patterns, shapes, and forms that would be difficult or impossible to produce through traditional artistic methods. The artist often plays the role of a designer or curator, creating the initial algorithm or ruleset, but relinquishing control over the final outcome. Generative, algorithmic art is often associated with new media and digital technologies, but can also be produced through more traditional mediums such as painting or sculpture.

email ::: kathy @ mctavish.work