Amy
Franceschini |
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Amy Franceschini is a new media
artist/designer working with notions of community,
sustainable environments and the conflicting rituals
of humans and nature. Her work manifests "on"
and "offline" in the form of dynamic
websites, installations and printed matter. Franceschini
sees herself as a farmer and looks to nature as
the ultimate laboratory. Her work challenges the
physicality of place and media.
Currently, she teaches New Media courses at the
San Francisco Art Institute and Stanford University.
Since 1998, she has been collaborating with with
Josh On, Sascha Merg and Michael Swaine to realize
projects such as Holding Patterns, They Rule and
Communiculture.
In 1995, she co-founded Atlas magazine. One of
the first 3 websites to be collected by a museum:
SFMOMA.
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| What
is your location? |
Sept -April/May San Francisco, CA
May/June-August various cities Europe
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| What
are the details of your education? Do you have
any formal design/programming education? |
I studied undergraduate at San Francisco
State University with a focus
on photography, but I got kidnapped by the sculpture
department and
made mostly 3 dimensional works. I did my graduate
studies at
Stanford University, again focusing on sculptural
installation work.
At the moment, the work I do is very educational.
Most of the
works are commissioned artworks that demand loads
of research
and learning new skills such as basic electronics,
video editing
and programming.
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| When
did you get started using Flash? |
I don't really use Flash. I began
using Director in 1994 and have always had a hard
time getting into Flash. I sketch things in Flash,
but I am no Flash Goddess. I know what it can
do, but I prefer to work with other Flash God/dess'
and focus more on interaction and conceptual development.
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| What
do you like most about Flash? |
I am still a Director fan. Even
to this day I think Director is a more robust
product, especially in terms of working with physical
computing, but now Flash is beginning to align
with hardware companies to make this possible.
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| What
are your other interests and hobbies? |
I really enjoy biking. I try to
bike to the beach as often as possible. It is
really my sanity. I have a terrible habit of searching
for this "future farm" online. I look
all over the world for possible property to buy
to start this fantasy farm I have been working
towards for years.
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| Please
tell us about some of your favorite sites. |
I must admit google is still my
favorite. It is my friend and other half of my
brain. This is a good and bad thing. I look quite
often at blogs like http://www.purselipsquarejaw.org/
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| Any
music you like to listen to when you are working? |
I tend to have a bad habit of not
changing the music for months until someone visits
a few times and says, "hey, you have been
listening to the same music for months,"
and proceeds to bring new music on their next
visit. A few I listen to often, Coco Rosi, Devindra
Barnhardt, Yes, Dntel, King Crimson...
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| Who
and/or what has influenced and inspired you to
keep creating? |
My friends and most recently my
students. I was getting a bit burnt out on "digital
media" about 3 years ago, but I started teaching
"Media Theory and Practice" to art students
at the San Francisco Art Institute. When I was
forced to back up my practice with the history
and theory that supported it, I got a renewed
interest. It was also exciting to engage in discussion
with other artists about socio/political parallel's
to the art movements we were studying. I think
learning history through art is very inspiring.
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| Do
you feel there is a difference between male and
female Flash creations? |
Not so much anymore. I think more
and more female designers are
becoming comfortable with the tool and proving
to do really interesting and lovely work. I think
the hardcore programming is still in the hands
of a strong male population, which
is such a shame, but maybe it is for a reason
and we should be happy for it.
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| What
do you suppose can account for the lack of female
Flash designer/developers? |
For me, I do not find pleasure in
writing code. I can get into it for about half
a day, but then I feel I am really missing out
on life, and that I would much rather direct my
attention towards people or plants. Maybe it is
the nurturing gene. I am really not
sure and every answer I can think of sounds very
sexist. I can only speak for myself, and I find
it much more fun to work more on the graphic side
of the Flash work and hand over the programming
to people who are really into it.
Thank you Amy!
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| Interviewed
by Camille Pietralunga |
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Camille Pietralunga (www.camillepietralunga.com) has over eight years experience as an Interactive Designer and writer. Camille is fascinated with Flash and its amazing capabilities. She is excited and honored to be able to speak with so many talented female Flash designers and developers.
To contact Camille, email Camille@camillepietralunga.com. |
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