Contact at
jnmelgren@gmail.com
About
Work Statement
Teaching Philosophy
Jacob is a multimedia performance artist and teacher whose interdisciplinary works have been exhibited in both academic and theatrical institutions through lectures, workshops, collaborations, and formal performances. After studying marine biology at Texas A&M, and sculpture at the University of Houston, Jacob received his MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago at which he also taught contemporary practices. His experience and teaching is backed by knowledge and practice in multiple disciplines of art and design as well as electronics, programming, and digital fabrication. Jacob is currently engaged in collaborative projects with artists in New York and Chicago and France.
Science and technology is not an escape from the body, it is a return to it.
It is the discovery of a new limb yet to be incorporated into our cultural proprioception.
My practice is a catalyst to this incorporation that emerges from a mytho-informatic theater; an interdisciplinary practice whose methodology situates the performer in a space between the mythic imagination and technological reality by creating tactile interfaces between bodies and information systems. Physical embodiments created through these interfaces generate altered semiotics allowing the body to perform processes on an equal stage as embodied information. The resulting artworks create perspectives of science and technology through which poetic bridges, stories, gestures, and methods can be examined under new techno-mythic semantics. Questions generated by this research aim to investigate the role of the physicality of information and the presence of the body as integral elements of poietic systems and scientific methods.
As a teacher I strive to implement practices that create a collaborative and safe learning environment dedicated to the development of students’ research practices, communication, critical analysis and time management. I envision my role as a teacher to be a facilitator of discovery and inquiry with the ultimate goal of empowering my students with self-directed learning skills essential for professional success. Specifically, art education interests me because it offers a unique opportunity for students to develop critical creative skills that can be applied across disciplines. I believe that by fostering divergent thinking and collaboration in the classroom, students are more prepared to face the challenges of an ever evolving society.
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