Given Time by Nathaniel Stern

Nathaniel Stern rocks as an artist, a visionary, a technologist, an explorer of new media, and an ambassador for art in the new world.

Dr. Nathaniel Stern is Head of Digital Studio Practice at the Department of Art and Design, Peck School of the Arts, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In Second Life he is Natberg Sternberg, which is how I first met him in preparation for the iCommons in Second Life Conference a few years ago. At that event he was curator and contributor for the custom conference art exhibit. We discussed his ideas for using digital virtual environments, such as Second Life, as a media for art; and how to encourage other artists to “jump in.”

No stranger to technology, Nat wires, adapts, and networks his own hardware for his work, be it computers, projectors, LANs etc. He is what I, a novice to arts, would call “tech avant-garde,” with a strong and directed expression of his creative intention. He is inspiringly professional about managing his work and schedule and he networks constantly with experienced and rising fellow artists.

Nathaniel and his work are “known and shown” all over the world. He was in Croatia for iCommons, then in Dublin when I met him again to arrange a display of his work at Discover Ireland Week in Dublin Virtually Live, then in the US when we met and worked together most recently. One of Nathaniel’s most recent works is “Given Time,” which steps off from performance art, contemplative art, digital technology enabled art, to something beyond anything yet done anywhere, real or virtual. It’s a sort of eerie but peaceful, calm and floating dynamic piece. You’ll have to take a look at the video to appreciate the piece and gauge your own response. The video shows it well, although Nathaniel would probably affirm it’s designed to see it first in its real world setting at the Greylock Arts gallery in Berkshire.

Nathaniel Stern rocks as an artist, a visionary, a technologist, an explorer of the new media, and above all as an ambassador for the arts in the new world. Be sure to check his online portfolio.

Portfolio: http://www.nathanielstern.com
Given Time Direct Video Link: http://vimeo.com/9763689