If Harris’s name doesn’t sound familiar, you’ve probably encountered his work without knowing. Back in 2006 he and Sep Kamvar released a fascinating project called We Feel Fine. I was dumbfounded when it was released and still am. In short, their program continuously collects sentences posted online that use the phrase “I feel” or “I am feeling.” The infographics and trends are incredible. You should check it out for yourself if you haven’t already.

Since then Harris has developed a number of other projects including I Want You To Want Me, an interactive installation about online dating, Whale Hunt, a beautiful photographic storytelling project that correlates to Harris’s heartbeat, and Balloons of Bhutan, an intimate encounter with a nation that prides itself on its Gross National Happiness.

Source: balloonsofbhutan.org

I think it’s safe to say we were mesmerized by Harris as an individual – his unusual collision of talents and free roaming lifestyle. But what I found especially interesting and refreshing was his willingness to admit that the older he gets (by the way, he’s only 32), the less clear things become. Just because someone can capture a mountain a data and discover unique trends in our human existence, doesn’t make the world any simpler. When you step out of the programmer roll (or another highly focused roll, in my opinion) and remind yourself to be human, to dig deeper, you realize there is so much more in the world left to learn. And as we age, we discover more things that we don’t know or understand. I suppose that’s the beauty of it. We can continue discovering new things until the day we die.

If anything, watch to this video from Harris’s photography project Today. It provides a little insight into the notion of aging without gaining clarity. His closing line is perfect, “Boy meets world. Boy still baffled.”

Be sure to keep an eye out for Harris’s new project, Cowbird, revolving around storytelling. Hopefully he’ll share it with the public soon – it looks amazing.

A great friend of mine is currently getting her master’s in New Media at the Universiteit van Amsterdam. As a wrap up for one of her seminars, she and a colleague are working on “The Cubinator Project“, an exploration into the roles time and space play in new media. Here’s what they say about it:

Anna Munster observes how speed becomes our new unit of measure for distance in the virtual realm. We tend to experience closeness when response is very fast. Consequently, lag in response creates the effect of remoteness. In the globalized 24-hour economy, strongly supported by digital media, we are also prompted to believe that everyone or everything is always working and available. Our interaction with a computational device somehow erases human constraints (our biological rhythms, our physical distances) in our imagination.

With our project we aim to expose the regimes of perception that virtuality engrave our sensory system. After exploring … the relationship between bodily perceived space/time and new digitally created space/time parameters … we will try to produce a direct experience of these collisions between the physical and virtually perceived space.

That high-level upper education talk is to say that the two students are holding a 24-hour performance of “The Cubinator Project”. During this 24-hour period, the public can contact them through digital media channels and request the creation of an origami cube. The two students will broadcast this 24-hour performance live on the internet to show their real time interactions and cube creations. The more people that interact with them, the more cubes they’ll create and the larger their cube art sculpture will become. Cool, right? You can read up on more of the details here.

The performance will take place on April 17th at 7:00pm (Amsterdam time). Tune into the project’s website to join the fun.

On a side note, my friend also has a A+ blog called Munt Thee about happenings in Amsterdam. I highly recommend it to those visiting/living in the city. Sure makes me miss it!

Credit: Sarah Natsumi Moore

Jared went through months of rehabilitation in Houston, and with the support of his friends, family and employer (GSD&M), he continued to grow healthier and was able to return to Austin. In 2002, Jared began painting with his mouth and the rest is history. He’s developed an incredible collection over the years and is a huge inspiration. You can check out the full story here.

Jared and his wife, Kimberly, reached out to me earlier this Fall looking to redesign the Dunten Studios website. So over the past couple of months, we’ve been working on the new e-commerce site and it’s been awesome every step of the way. I mean it, and I can’t say that for many freelance jobs. The new site launched just in time for Jared’s recent gallery showing. All of his paintings, originals or giclee reproductions, are available to purchase online at the new www.jdunten.com.

Jared’s drive and unwillingness to fully accept life as a quadriplegic has also helped form The Will Walk Foundation.

This foundation will help fund the research necessary to find a cure for spinal cord injury (SCI) paralysis. “30 individuals paralyzed by spinal cord injury will come to Austin, Texas to be put into the first U.S. human trial of adult stem cell therapy. All that stands in the way is funding. We are working in concert with others to raise funds for this research.” – The Will Walk Foundation. If you’re interested in donating or signing up for future fundraising events, you can do so on the Will Walk site.

All in all, it’s been a total joy working with Jared and Kim Dunten and I encourage everyone to check out his artwork.