InteractiveDesignForum      
Who's doing this, & why
ABOUT THIS SITE
     
I  N  T  E  R  A  C  T  I  V  E    D  E  S  I  G  N    F  O  R  U  M 
     
(updated 6/00) 
         
     

I'm Al Wasco.
 (not a recent photo)

One of my passions is interactive media. It's what I taught at Herron School of Art for three years, and what I'm now teaching at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, OH.

It's what on good days makes me feel like I might be creating something you could call art. That's a relatively new feeling.

You see, I worked for more than 20 years as a graphic designer, doing the usual mishmash of logos, brochures, posters, and other printed material. I rarely if ever thought I might be touching people in any significant way.
Maybe that says more about my abilities than it does about graphic design, I don't know. Or care.

I know exactly when things changed: I attended a workshop in Multiple Media (which turned out to be digital video) at Kent State in the summer of 1994. The instructor, Robert Schwartzbach, promised us a digital epiphany, whatever that was. And it happened.

When I first learned that I could create my own worlds on the computer screen, made up of glowing bits of colored light that moved and made noise and let people explore, it felt right.

If you haven't had that kind of experience yet, keep trying. Doesn't need to involve computers, that just worked for me. You'll know when you've hit what's right for you. I read once another way of saying this: you should do who you are.

For me that involves creating computer-based interactive design and teaching about it, preferably together. This site is an expression of my ideas and lessons learned (sometimes the hard way).

It's also a message to you posted on the international bulletin board called the World Wide Web. I hope you enjoy reading it. More importantly though, I invite you to add your comments. As space permits, I'll include them in monthly updates of this site.

[What's your story? How did YOU get started in computer-based art/design?]

Al Wasco
1711 West 32nd St.
Cleveland, OH 44113
216-241-6523

 

 

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