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Spraygraphic Interview with Sean Hovendick
By Spraygraphic | February 13, 2008
Spraygraphic Interview with Sean Hovendick
SG: Please tell us about yourself.
SH: I’m a media artist with a background in photography, broadcast production and computer graphics. I was raised mostly in the Southwest but moved around a lot. I’ve lived in New York for about eight years now—the longest I’ve been anywhere. I was heavily influenced by the punk, industrial and techno/rave scenes and have always found myself creatively involved with art and technology.
SG: Where do you currently live and work?
SH: I live and work Syracuse, New York. I’m also currently teaching for the Department of Transmedia in the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Computer Art.
SG: What mediums do you work with?
SH: It seems impossible to classify mediums when it comes to media art (aka: new media, digital art, intermedia, transmedia, computer art…) but for the most part I’m working in interactive media, procedural animation, generative art, physical computing, video and photography. My current work revolves around performance, installation and appropriated images and video from news and entertainment.
SG: What kind of equipment do you use?
SH: Numerous Mac computers, the Internet, miniDV camera, projectors, scanner, audio field recorders, Teleo, Make and Arduino prototyping boards and sensors, digital and film cameras, code: (Processing, Max/MSP/Jitter, ActionScript, open source) and software: (Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash, Logic, Final Cut, Resolume, AfterEffects, Modul8, Illustrator).
SG: Describe your working process when creating a new work.
SH: First and foremost I focus on what I want to express. Then I determine how to best present that by balancing the conceptual and formal relationships of the work. I’m certainly not interested in using digital technology because it’s the newest thing out there. I’m more interested in creating awareness of its power within our cultural landscape; I like to think I’m unleashing it onto itself. Another important aspect of my creative process is, well, the procedure itself. To a certain extent I will allow the work to self-create through a combination of coding, predetermined rules and/or experimentation. I’m quite fascinated with the possibility that our existence could be multi-dimensional.
SG: What kind of things do you do when you get blocked or find it hard to create something?
SH: I’m always documenting my ideas with drawings, lists, flow charts, models etc. so if I get blocked, I can revert back to my sketchbook for guidance. I’m always gathering and collecting things too—articles, photos, books, video, small objects—which gives me plenty to work with. Almost everything I create has an element of difficulty to it, due to the fact that software and digital technology is being developed faster than we can learn it, so research and experimentation is key. It’s also important for me to maintain a balance between working on the computer, working with my hands and spending time in a natural environment. Remember playing outside?!
SG: Where are you currently finding your inspiration?
SH: I’ve been interested in how television and the web can influence our behavior for some time now so I’m inspired by the human experience and the way in which mass media is used for entertainment, information and social connectedness in our stereotypically based society. Activism, homeland security, consumerism and other artists, both contemporary and part of the Conceptual, Dada and Abstract art movements, also inspire me.
SG: Can you please tell us a little about Be a Man. How long did it take for you to complete the project?
SH: Be a Man is an interactive artwork consisting of video loops with sound which represent the mediated psyche constantly in flux and endlessly referencing gender-role behaviors learned through the media. Each one of the 24 one-second clips, appropriated from popular television shows from the 70’s and 80’s, references a learned behavior common throughout the culture of the United States. As the user chooses a clip, both the audio and video loop as the “learned” behavior and description appear below—mimicking to the way behaviors are called upon during similar real-life situations. In total, took about seven months to complete the project from concept to finished piece.
SG: Can you please tell us a little about undetermined measurements?
SH: I’ve been collaborating with colleague and fellow artist John Wesley Mannion under the name area for about five years now investing creative energy in abandoned institutions and industrial sites to examine the power of gray space. Our current project titled undetermined measurements investigates sites labeled as “soft targets” according to the Department of Homeland Security that until recently, were of no great concern. The result of these classifications is transforming our landscape, once seen a mythical symbol of freedom, into highly unusual “threat.” A cross between performance, activism and art photography the project documents an unassuming human figure, outfitted in a stark white protective suit, investigating the perceived threat of a soft target. The figure’s presence comments on the inevitable shift from picturesque toward sublime—either by the threat he might imply or the reaction he might suggest.
SG: Do you consider your work to be political? If so, what kind of statements or issues do you try to address?
SH: I suppose my work can be viewed as political but that’s not really my intention. In fact, I think EVERYTHING is political so I can’t seem to get around that. I also spent four years in the US Army as a paratrooper and radio operator so between experiencing the phenomenon of the military-industrial complex and being dropped into numerous countries for different reasons… well, no animosity there right? Regardless, I try to address issues of power, identity and social order and how the dominance of media and its endless consumption is bound to have adverse cultural effects. Seen by almost every citizen regardless of age, race or ethic background and available 24-hours-a-day, the power of mass media could be compared to a reverse “Big Brother” concept—behavior seemingly controlled by the act of the user viewing as opposed to the user being viewed.
SG: In what ways has your teaching experience at Syracuse University influenced your artwork?
SH: I enjoy teaching very much. It certainly keeps me on my toes on both on a technical and intellectual level. The return on my investment has been priceless. It’s very satisfying to get verification that my teaching style, theories about media art and willingness to be a helpful team player are appreciated. It also makes me more critical of my own work—it’s important to “practice what you preach,” you know?
SG: Where has your work been seen?
SH: My work has been included in exhibitions at Collective: Unconscious and the Scope Art Fair in New York City, the 7th Biennial of Video and New Media in Santiago Chile, George Mason University, the Creative Alliance in Baltimore, the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center and Everson Museum of Art in NY and the Bancroft Gallery in conjunction with the Boston CyberArts Festival. Recently, I showed work at the Sound Alternate Space for Contemporary Art and the Los Angeles Center for Digital Art.
SG: Where will it be seen next?
SH: This coming spring I’ll have work both in the 61st Exhibition of Central New York Artists at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute and the Alma Enterprises Gallery in London for the London International Creative Competition.
SG: What is your dream art assignment?
SH: I’m pretty much doing it now… Although, I guess it would be very cool to be on tour creating one-of-a-kind VJ shows involving a combination of procedural animation, video art, image sequences, lighting and sound art.
SG: What is your favorite color?
SH: Wha? My favorite color? Just one?! Ummm, #27. I don’t know. All colors I guess. Yeah, BLACK!
SG: Who is your favorite artist? And Why?
SH: Wha? No, just kidding. Can you narrow it down to a genre for me? No?! Ok well… Sol Lewitt, Andy Warhol, Marcel Duchamp, John Cage, Nam June Paik, Tim Hawkinson, John Maeda, Casey Reas, Natalie Jeremijenko, Chris Burden, Paul Pfeiffer, Annie Leibovitz, Duane Michals, Ann Hamilton, David Carson, Collier Schorr, Paul D. Miller, Bruce Nauman… there are so many artists that inspire me out there. What I find most appealing in these artists is the dedication they have to their practice and the self-taught, DIY aesthetic to their work.
SG: What book/magazine are you reading this week?
SH: Making Things Talk by Tom Igoe, Audio-Visual Art and VJ Culture by D-Fuse, Proving Manhood by Timothy Beneke, Make: Issue #12 and the Country & Blues Harmonica for the Musically Hopeless.
SG: Ever do a self-portrait? Where is it now?
SH: Yeah, actually I have. It’s in a private collection in Colorado somewhere I think.
SG: Where is your favorite place to hang out?
SH: Depends on the time of the day: an independent coffee shop, the local brewery or just walking around.
SG: Any final words of advice?
SH: Work to live—don’t live to work.
ART:
1) “Be a Man”
2) “untitled 002″ from the series “undetermined measurements”
3) “Reality_Bytes”
4) “BOTS: Battle of the Sexes”
5) “It’s All Inside Out”
6) “DataDeadLine”
Topics: Artist Interviews, Film-Video, Photography, Technology and Gadgets |
February 14th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Great interview Sean. Looking forward to seeing more of your work! You the Man!
February 14th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Nice interview dad!! It was great. Miss you a bunch and can’t wait to go snowboarding with you! L8r
February 15th, 2008 at 1:40 am
Hovendick- you rock. Get your self and JQ out here for winter fun someday…. There is much love and oocha waiting here for you. Thank you for keeping me abreast of your work.
The Stig.
February 19th, 2008 at 10:34 am
SH - This is some sweet action, seriously. It is nice to see the word being spread. Your work is vibrant and vital.
February 19th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Brilliant, Sean! SFMOMA would be lucky to have you…hint, hint.