Eric Forman works in the intersections between fine art, design, architecture, and technology. Forman develops his own software and tools to create sculptures and installations that dynamically respond to viewers and other physical phenomena. For nearly twenty years, his work has used playful interaction to reveal issues of language, simulation, and perception. Underneath all is an investigation of the uncertain present of human and technological co-evolution: the overlappings of natural and artificial, real and simulated, person and machine.
Forman’s work creates modes of interaction not often found in dominant forms of new tech media: subtle, slow, surprising. Sometimes delightful, sometimes unsettling, his work plays on our uneasy fascination with new technology, yet does not cynically deny us its magical qualities. The technical complexity in this work is sometimes transparently revealed as itself worthy of reflection, while at other times it is hidden to focus on the nature of perception itself. Forman creates art to be experienced, not just seen, imbuing craftsmanship and engineering with mystery, difficulty, and beauty.
BIO
Eric Forman is a Brooklyn-based artist and designer working for nearly twenty years at the intersections between fine art, design, architecture, and new technology. Eric started programming as a child in the 1980s and was an early member of the groundbreaking online media entity Pseudo Programs in the mid 1990s.
Eric Forman Studio was founded in 2003, and in 2012 was invited to be a founding member of New Lab, a next generation innovation space in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Eric is also the co-founder of BioArt New York, a collective pairing artists and biologists for unusual collaborations. His studio’s design practice specializes in the latest interactive experiences and fabrication techniques for diverse clients.
Eric received his Masters in 2002 from ITP at Tisch School of the Arts (NYU), and his B.A. from Vassar College in 1995 where he developed his own interdisciplinary program called “The Philosophical Ramifications of Computer Technology.” His thesis work there was a pioneering academic investigation of virtual reality and its potential impact on space, ontology, and identity.
Eric is currently faculty and Head of Innovation at the MFA Interaction Design program at SVA (School of Visual Arts). He has previously taught at the Digital+Media MFA department at RISD (Rhode Island School of Design), the Graduate School of Architecture at Columbia University, Parsons The New School for Design, the Interactive Arts MFA department at Pratt Institute, the Interdisciplinary Sculpture department of MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art), and many others. He also likes to ride a bike.
