Tom Igoe Article

Tom Igoe Article

I think Igoe has an interesting background. His theatre interest has shaped his passion for interactive technology. He also seems to be teaching a popular class, i'm glad to hear about students getting excited about the world of art + technology and its courses. It seems like the class is very engineering based without all the complexity. One thing i found interesting was the toys. He said that many of his students work and develop toys after graduating. I though that was cool. Tom Igoe does a lot and has really branched out. He wants everyone to know about hid passion.

Tom Igoe

What I like most about Igoe after reading this interview is how he doesn't answer the question of whether he is an artist or a designer. He doesn't want to categorize himself so harshly so he can stay opened to everything.  I also like his approach that he takes with his students. He says that, "application should drive technology." Developing the idea independently of the technology seems more logical because it is the idea that matters more and that will live past the technology until there is new technology to support the idea.  Again, I really like how he guides his students with the same ideas that he practices himself by not defining themselves or their careers with such a harsh line.  It is interesting how knowledgeable he is in this field but that one of his favorite works is a simple tilt shift device. This of course brings me back to Ms. Kateri's advice that less is best!

Interview with Tom Igoe

Reading this interview made me think about my experience in Sensors class. It was frustrating in the beginning because I knew nothing about sensors or electronics and I still find it hard to follow sometimes, but as I keep working on the exercises it's super cool to see the result of the things we build. The concepts are so simple that they can be applied to multiple things therefore allowing a broader range for creativity and art. I feel some kind of power over machine when I see an LED light do as I "command" it. In the interview he mentions that he finds the work of those who are "pure" artists less interesting than those who also do commercial work. I think that working with electronics it would be hard to be just a "pure" artist because everything created would be an innovation of some sort. It makes me think of people in the Renaissance who were not only painters and sculptors but aslo architects, mathematicians, inventors etc. They used what they knew to make advancements in art. I think that it would be hard to be a "pure" artists because then we would just be limiting ourselves.