Looking Outwards – 08 – Creative Practice

Daniel Shiffman was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He studied Mathematics and Philosophy at Yale University. Currently, he works an an Associate Arts Professor at NYU’s Tisch School of the Art. He is also a director of The Processing Foundation, whose mission is to make software literacy in visual arts accessible to people from diverse backgrounds and interests. He has published his own books on processing as well as uploaded many programming-related videos on his YouTube channel.

I find it incredibly admirable that he takes his passion in programming and works to share it with others around the world, whether it be through teaching, writing, or creating videos. I admire his project called The Unicorn Race, not only because it was coded live on stage at Eyeo 2019, but because it is interactive. The game recognizes custom objects and sounds, gets the audience involved, and even broadcasts images to the world after the game is over.

Shiffman is knowledgeable in his field, yet he simultaneously presents himself in a very personable, humble way. He interacts with his audience while he presents and tries to make them laugh as well. This makes his work easier to follow along because he shares his thought process out loud, keeping his audience focused. This made me reflect on how I could present my own work more effectively by engaging my audience and articulating my thought process.