Gautam Rangan
gautam.rangan at gmail.com
My work is about the ways that production methodologies and technology influence the evolution of visual culture and language. Innovations like written characters, paper and printing shape our mythology and ritual. The introduction of written language contributed to the idea of a “mainstream” narrative and the centralization of authority. My projects Durga , FABLES, and Mahisha explore the ways that a narrative can flow into many parallel streams when observed over centuries like a river. One such narrative is the idea of the truth and science. My works Artscape, One and the Sensorium address the ways that the scientific method has formed our sense of values, communication, and power. In the 20th century pioneers in science, optics, and storytelling revolutionized the way we transmit ideas by developing the “moving image” in the form of animation and film. My rain ring choreography sketches and Project Jewel light shows speak to the way animation and film continue to impact our graphic culture, our memory and speech (semiotics), and even our concept of space.
The projects described above have been shown around the world at Siggraph, Inspace at University of Edinburgh, Videotage in Hong Kong, Collider in Akron Ohio, INDAF in Korea and many other galleries. My work has been featured in National Geographic, Discovery Channel, the AIGA DesignEnvy gallery, DesignBoom and every major news network. To me, art is about contributing something meaningful to a global conversation. I aspire to make art that asks people to question and dig deeper into the stories that frame our daily life.
2020-Present: embarked on my own projects including FABLES, traditional art and a kinetic sculpture.
2012 -20: Director of Immersive Media at WET Design, creators of the fountains of the Bellagio and some of the world's most recognizable water features. I hold two media-art technology patents with WET: 11677916 and 10825422
2011-12: completed work for dozens of clients in LA including internationally exhibited and award-winning interactive installations for Sephora and Facebook. Gold Pencil at One Show Design Awards for role as lead interaction designer on Lucid Dreams.
2008-2010: completed M.F.A. from the UCLA Department of Design Media Arts
Recipient of the UC Regent's Fellowship, Dean's Scholarship, and University Fellowship.
2007: created a small suite of games with the Red Hill Studios & UCSF designed to help Parkinson's patients with therapy. This sparked my interest in exploring human gesture.
2003-07: created animations for 11 different faculty in the sciences at UC Berkeley and the Discovery Science Channel.
2005: received BA in Art History and Integrative Biology from UC Berkeley.
Received a grant from the Center for Integrated Nanotechnology for animation and a University Research Apprenticeship.
Timeline
Timeline
2020-Present: embarked on my own projects including FABLES, traditional art and a kinetic sculpture.
2012 -20: Director of Immersive Media at WET Design, creators of the fountains of the Bellagio and Jewel.
2011-12: completed work for dozens of clients in LA including Sephora and Facebook.
2010: received M.F.A. from the UCLA Department of Design Media Arts
2007: created a small suite of games with UCSF designed to help Parkinson's patients with therapy.
2003-07: created animations for 11 different faculty in the sciences at UC Berkeley and the Discovery Channel.
2005: received BA in Art History and Integrative Biology from UC Berkeley
2020-Present: working on FABLES, traditional art, and a kinetic sculpture.
2012 -20 working at WET Design, creators of the fountains of the Bellagio and the fountains of Dubai.
Over the course of 8 years, established a department focused on incorporating digital media like projection and LED screens into some of the world's most recognizable water features, including the Jewel waterfall in Singapore.
2011-12 freelance in LA, including internationally exhibited and award-winning interactive installations for Sephora and Facebook.
2010, received M.F.A. from the UCLA Department of Design Media Arts
2007, created a small suite of games with Red Hill Studios and the Baker Center for Wellness at UCSF designed to help Parkinson's patients with physical therapy, which sparked my interest in exploring human gesture through interaction design.
2003-07, created animations for 11 different faculty in the sciences at UC Berkeley and the Discovery Science Channel.
2005, received BA in Art History and Integrative Biology from UC Berkeley
I made project ABC to get people to think about how printing and written language changed religion…. impact the shape and form of mythology, spirituality, and ritual.
Aspects of visual culture developed 7,000 years ago, continue to inform our world today. Across the world, technology like written characters, paper, printing
I made Durga to get people to think about the cultural impact of animation.
I made XYZ that asks people to think about scientific method
Relationship between science and the humanities. The scientific method has formed our sense of values, communication, and authority.
I made XYZ technology
The hybrid nature of communication including games, animations, gifs and social media appears to be drifting towards a universal ideogrammatic language.
Gautam’s work has been shown around the world at Siggraph, Inspace at the University of Edinburgh, Videotage in Hong Kong, Collider in Akron Ohio, INDAF in Korea, featured in National Geographic, Discovery Channel, the AIGA DesignEnvy gallery, DesignBoom and every major news network.
Gautam Rangan
My work is about the ways that production methodologies and technology influence the evolution of visual culture and language. This central theme has many branches. Across the world, technology like written characters, paper, and printing impact the shape and form of mythology, spirituality, and ritual. Aspects of visual culture developed 7,000 years ago continue to inform our world today. Another branch of this central theme is the relationship between science and the humanities. The scientific method has formed our sense of values, communication, and authority.
To me, art is about contributing something meaningful to a global conversation. Keeping up with the conversation seems increasingly difficult, but the hybrid nature of communication including games, animation, gifs, social media appears to be drifting towards a universal ideogrammatic language.
Gautam Rangan
To me, art is about contributing something meaningful to a global conversation. The more I study history and science, the more it inspires me to create Art that highlights the significance of our history and allows space to challenge our beliefs. My work is about the ways that production methodologies and technology influence the evolution of visual culture and language.
I believe that stories frame our existence and I aspire to make art that asks people to simply question or ponder various versions of that story.
In 2003 I received a grant from the Center for Integrated Nanotechnology to help scientists on campus communicate their research using art and animation. Over these years I had the opportunity to collaborate with 11 different scientists working in a wide range of fields, from anthropology to physics.
Since I can remember I’ve been obsessed with drawing and sculpting. Some of my earliest memories include having plastecine clay stuck under my fingernails, making caricatures of my family.
My Mom is a historian and my Dad is an electrical engineer. I was raised in a household that values inquiry and exploration. In college I was interested in integrating my passion for art with science.
In 2006, after graduating, I worked on a 2-hour documentary called "Exploring Time" directed by Robert Hone at Red Hill Studios about the way that people use visualization tools to understand natural cycles that are too slow or too fast for the human eye to perceive. You can see some stills to the right from animations I created using data generated by scientists collaborating on the show.
These projects lead me to explore the intersection of games and biology using the Wii as a platform in 2007. These games were designed at Red Hill Studios in conjunction with the Baker Center for Wellness at UCSF to match the requirements of the physical therapy. This iteration of the project was fruitful in learning how to engage a generation of non-gamers with a new medium.
My Student Film “Wings of Autumn” featured in Orinda Film Festival and Stanford University “Radical Drifts” Festival.
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2003
Pterodactyl Walk Cycle 2003, Padian
In 2003 I received a grant from the Center for Integrated Nanotechnology to help scientists on campus communicate their research using art and animation. Over these years I had the opportunity to collaborate with 11 different scientists working in a wide range of fields, from anthropology to physics.
One such project was to generate a feasible walk cycle for a pterodactyl from footprints traced from a landing site in France. I modeled the skeleton in 3D using average bone lengths and determined the range of motion using bone geometry.
Another project involved to visualize a theory about the origin of natural selection on pre-cellular Earth. The basic idea behind the project was that "autocatalysis" is a form of natural selection and probably preceded the earliest cells.
Since I can remember I’ve been obsessed with drawing and sculpting. Some of my earliest memories include having plastecine clay stuck under my fingernails, making caricatures of my family. This carried through pre-school, elementary, middle, and high school in the form of literary magazines, bus stop murals, T-Shirts, little painting commissions for friends, and an endless stream of sculptures and artwork that piled up in my room.
My Mom is a historian and my dad is an electrical engineer, so I was raised in a household that values inquiry and exploration. By the time I made it to college at UC Berkeley, I was interested in applying and integrating my passion for art with the extraordinary cutting-edge research happening at the world’s best research institution. I knew I wanted to work in the arts professionally, but I double majored in my favorite fields Art History and Integrative Biology.
Pterodactyl Walk Cycle 2003, Padian
In 2006, after graduating, I worked on a 2-hour documentary called "Exploring Time" directed by Robert Hone at Red Hill Studios about the way that people use visualization tools to understand natural cycles that are too slow or too fast for the human eye to perceive: for instance multi-decadal hurricane patterns or Milankovich cycles. On the other end of the spectrum are the sub-microscopic movements of proteins in our bodies that regulate things like the human heart beat. You can see some stills to the right from animations I created using data generated by scientists collaborating on the show.
These projects lead me to explore the intersection of games and biology using the Wii as a platform in 2007. These games were designed at Red Hill Studios in conjunction with the Baker Center for Wellness at UCSF to match the requirements of the physical therapy. I worked on building the 3d scenes, animations, and the interaction design of the levels. Sabaa Rehmani was lead level designer and Charlie Brown was the lead programmer. Some beautiful illustration work was provided by Terry Lee. I think eventually games and physical measurement devices will have the powerful ability to provide Parkinson's and cerebral palsy patients with data about their muscle activity and overall performance over time. This iteration of the project was fruitful in learning how to engage a generation of non-gamers with a new medium.