How I Became An Interactive Media Artist

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At age 9, Russell Pensyl saw a painting in a castle in Nuremberg, Germany which was designed so that the lines within it would turn as you moved around the painting. That triggered within him an interest in the arts which led him to become a life-long interactive media artist from age 21, way before interactive media as it is known today even existed. We asked the now 60-year-old about his transformation through the decades and learned a few things about creating your own opportunities.

Q: Hi Russell! How did you end up as an interactive media artist? Was it a life-long dream or something that came about only later in life?

A: It would be nice to say that I had a plan and the path I ended up on was what I chose. But this career path and even interactive media didn’t even exist. By accident, I studied both computer science and art/design. Those two domains were not even remotely connected at the time. But the knowledge and skills in both areas turned out to be perfect for the newly developing fields. I took my first professional position in “computer graphics” while still in University. I was hired at a small company that had a large presence in education content. We developed many educational titles for use on Apple II computers. Following this, I worked the field called multi-image, creating large scale photographic slide presentations. We developed the images using a digital production tool, a high-resolution photo slide imager, and an antiquated slide presentation controller software that then sequenced up to 36 slide projectors. My next gig was in computer animation. I was fortunate to be able to start a company doing digital animation, and one area we successfully moved into was interactive systems using animated content.

Can you explain, for the benefit of those who might not properly know, what interactive media is?

Interactive media could be defined as any activity that is design using digital software and hardware to create experiences for viewers. In the early days, these systems required huge expensive computers, video disk systems, and very clumsy interactive interfaces—mostly using keyboards and game controllers. Today, we could say that interactive media encompasses everything from the internet, to kiosk systems like the ATM, to touch surface enabled mobile devices. The thing we carry around in our pockets, by any standards of the early days—a super-computer, is not a phone. It has a phone in it. But what this thing is, it is really very difficult to specifically define.

To simplify the answer, we can say that interactive media is a flexible platform or system that provides agency for a participant to achieve a goal. The interaction is mediated and afforded by digital technology.

What academic certifications, training or experience does a person need to be qualified to work as an interactive media artist, and how did you acquire those yourself?

Still today, the field is segmented in the overlapping domain of computer science, design and art and content creation. University degrees should provide the requisite skills and knowledge to allow those interested to forge successful careers in the field. Regardless of one’s focus—one needs to be able to work across the domains. Artists and designer should be able to write code. Computer scientists should be able to do some design or understand what design is. Writers and content creators should know both design and coding.

As I said before, I learned this stuff by accident, and by a deep interest in both digital technologies and the arts.

How much, approximately, did acquiring the above qualifications cost and how did you pay it off?

I attempted to pay for my education by working and via government study grants. I worked through college. But inevitably ended up with a substantial student loan debt. It took a while to pay off and [I have] worked very hard to gain the success I have had. It was by no means easy and there were deprivations. But over time, my success in the field proved a good return on the investment in time and money. I cannot even say how much it cost…

How long after becoming qualified did it take you to get your first gig as an interactive media artist? How did you know of the job opening and what did you have to do to get hired/featured?

My case was unusual, since I started working in the field even before graduating college. The first job came about though some funny and coincidental circumstances. I was working for a major department store as a window dresser, posing mannequins with the latest fashions that I could never afford. This company was horrible to work for. They kept scheduling me for 35 – 40 hours per week, even though in the original agreement I was only supposed to work 20 hours per week. After all, I needed time to study. After this went on for some time, I finally became so angry I quit. After I left I then wondered, how the hell am I going to pay the rent? The very next day, in the university building, I saw a small card stuck on the wall that said a company was looking for an artist who had computer science experience. I was the only person who applied for the job, and I was hired.

Which 3 aspects of being an interactive media artist were most difficult for you at first and how did you figure out how to overcome them?

Running a company was a new and extremely difficult lifestyle. This took a long time to get the business to have enough clientele to keep the doors open without having constant worry of failure.

It was difficult to come to terms with the fact that the business of making media is a “service.” Virtually all of the work I created was disposable—used only for the time of its need. As an artist, one expects [for] the time and emotional investment in creating the work is that it has a longer and more important value. It finally, it does not—the product is really the service one provides in helping the client get the message out to potential consumers. Once the work is complete, there is no ownership that the creator can maintain.

My career eventually moved into academia. In the IM domain, we sit at the crux between technology and science on one axis and the arts and design on the other axis. Both areas have radically different criterion for valuing the contributions made. Interactive works that are highly technical, are viewed with suspicion by artists. The arts are viewed with suspicion by computer scientists and engineers. I have never been able to resolve this. But over time, it is less uncomfortable.

Which 3 aspects of being an interactive media artist do you enjoy the most?

The variety of experience one encounters is exciting. Crafting a work of art that is used by and enjoyed by a lot of people has an intrinsic value. One of the most interesting experience I ever had was creating an interactive sculpture installation that encouraged children to push, pull, run around inside the installation, having incredible amounts of fun. This was one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had.

Once one is able to master it, to have control of electronics, sensors, systems, the interaction and the content will make your dopamine level rise till you feel a sense of accomplishment that is perhaps the same as an athlete, or mountain climber. Sometimes just building an interesting experience using the technology is the same as skiing down a slope. You do it just for the fun of it, and if you are good at it, it is even more fun.

What do you currently do to grow your interactive media portfolio on a regular basis?

Go to the studio every day I can. A day in the studio is like a day off and yet it is work. I call it hard fun.

What is the work schedule of an interactive media artist like? When do you create?

These days, my work is creating only my own work. I am designing and building large-scale, and small-scale, interactive works. I have had the good fortune to be able to focus my efforts on creation of new work, that I envision, conceive and produce. I still teach 2 classes per semesters, but the stuff I teach is within my area of expertise. The other days, I will be in the studio working.

What is the salary of an interactive media artist like? Are there other benefits?

In the U.S., the starting salary can be anywhere between $45K to $70K. For those with a highly technical background, the starting salaries are substantially higher. If one is able to run one’s own company, this will be where the potential for making lots of money is at. There are trade-offs between security and the risk of investment. You will be secure in a job working for others, but the likelihood of generating wealth is limited. Investing in your own start-up, is exciting, and has the potential for generating wealth, as well as the risk of losing everything. If one has the stomach for it, I always encourage young people to start a business.

Which 3 objects/people are most useful for you when you are working on your interactive media projects, and why?

A ruler, I always need to measure and I design by drawing by hand a lot. A good text editor for coding, and a really big table to spread the project out on.

Which place is most useful?

The studio, one cannot under estimate how important it is to have a place that you can go and focus you energies and play with stuff. Experimentation is invaluable.

Name 3 people you’ve ever tried to emulate over the course of your interactive media career and explain why.

I have tremendous respect for pioneers like Douglas Engelbart, Myron Krueger. As well, I read everything written by Philip K. Dick. But I don’t seek to emulate anyone.

What did you learn from becoming a professional interactive media artist that you didn’t know before?

Even after all the advances in technology, people have not changed.

What’s the worst advice you’ve been given, or have heard people giving, with regards to developing an identity as an interactive media artist, and what’s the best?

The worst advice I hear is to adopt social justice as reason to make “art.” My recommendation is to write a new story, create a new piece of music, create a new art work, that is only derived from your own imagination.

If you want to be successful now, follow the trends. If you want to be remembered later, forge your own path and have your own ideas.

Russell was recently described by a friend as an ‘art clown’, which he likes (“I like it when my works or even the lectures make people laugh.”) and is presently working on a large scale interactive work that detects the clothing colours of viewers and modifies images to compliment those colours, as well as trying to get an installation into Clarke Quay in Singapore. If that is successful, you will be able to find him hiding over by the Mexican food place nearby, watching for the reactions of people. Alternatively, you may also find out what he’s up to via his website (pensyl.com) or ask him questions about interactive media and life using the comment box below.

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Photographs courtesy and copyright of Russell Pensyl. Interviewer: Sy
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