Em Lugo

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Bio

My name is Em or Emmanuel, I am a creative technologist and educator based in Los Angeles. I am a Masters Student at UCLA's Design and Media Arts program focusing on creative code and interactive arts.

I often make work that tries to address the interface between the human world and the nonhuman. I see computation as a tool to recognize, simulate, and respond to the types of movement and intuition of other creatures. How can we use computers and animation to make an homage to the natural world? My work explores the usage of alternative forms of camera capture, simulation, pen plotting, and stopmotion animation. My favorite toolkits for interactive art are Processing and Touchdesigner.

In addition to creating personal art I love teaching and have had the pleasure to teach interaction and creative code to undergraduates. I like making tutorials for certain effects I achieve which can be found on my Youtube.

Education

2020-2024
BFA, School of Art, Carnegie Mellon University

2024-Present
MFA, Design and Media Arts, University of California Los Angeles

Awards & Grants

Ken Meyer Professional Studio Development Award, 2024
School of Art Award, 2024
The Frank Ratchye Further Fund, 2023 & 2022

Teaching

Teaching Assistant/60-212:Creative Code Fall 2023 & 2024
Touchdesigner Teaching Assistant/ LIVE Art&&Code @ the STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, Fall 2023