Short Statement

I am an artist and programmer. My practice mimics science's intent to acquire new knowledge and to gain a better understanding of reality. The difference between science and my practice is at that science is intended to be based on objectivity and my work is created from my own subjective point of view. This latitude facilitates an eclectic approach to both creation and experimentation.

The artworks I produce explore areas of consciousness, frameworks of time, and topics in anomalous/fringe science. I work to develop experiential works of art that reconfigure our day-to-day observations and our relationship to the world. Most interesting to me is the process of researching and experimenting with the mysterious or unknown in order to address some universal questions.

The artwork of Crudeoils, a collaboration between Wafaa Bilal and myself, critiques structures of power. This artistic social inquiry specifically questions surveillance, economic exploitation, and authoritarian corruption. These artworks are the following: Mona Lisa, A Bar at the Folies Bergère, and One Chair.

Bio

Shawn Lawson studied fine arts at Carnegie Mellon University and École Nationale Supèrieure des Beaux-Arts. He received his MFA in Art and Technology Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2003. Before becoming an Associate Professor of Computer Visualization at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2004, he was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, an Artist in Residence in the virtual reality research group Stage3 at Carnegie Mellon University, and an intern at Walt Disney Imagineering with the DisneyQuest project.

Lawson's artworks have exhibited at The Art Institute of Chicago, Milwaukee Art Museum, Chelsea Art Museum, Istanbul Contemporary Art Museum, Koltsovo International Airport, Albany Institute of History and Art, Los Angeles Center for Digital Arts, Art Interactive Gallery, Art Chicago, ACM Siggraph, IEEE Procams, ACM Multimedia, Immedia, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, The Ohio State University, Arizona State University, Carnegie Mellon University, and more. Lawson's artwork has toured to Russia, Italy, Korea, Portugal, Brazil, Turkey, and Malaysia. Lawson's collaborative, Crudeoils, is represented by Dean Jensen Gallery. His artwork has been funded by the Electronic Media and Film Program at the New York State Council on the Arts and the Experimental Television Center’s Finishing Funds Program.