Bryce Heesacker
- Lecturer, Expanded Media
- Department Photographer
Contact Info
Personal Links
Biography —
My motivations as an artist are fueled by a desire to put audiences inside of art experiences that reveal and question systems at the heart of 21st-century issues. These experiences involve immersive sound and video, light, darkness, interactive objects, and emergent technologies that allow viewers to become entangled with art—and each other—in meaningful ways. Viewers are often collaborators in my work, using their bodies to engage installations that are sensitive and reactive to their actions. My artistic philosophy is influenced by Barthes’ Death of the Author (1967), and I truly believe that art is made manifest through the viewer. Barthes writes that a work’s “unity lies not in its origin but its destination,” and the destination of my work is in the audiences who experience it. In fact, many of the forms used in my work do not present themselves until audiences perform actions that activate them.
Education —
Research —
Software
Real-time audio and video processing (Max/MSP/Jitter, TouchDesigner), Adobe Creative Suite (Premiere,
After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, Audition, Media Encoder, Lightroom), DAWs (Logic Pro, Pro Tools,
Reaper), Signal Culture Apps, Autodesk Maya, music notation programs (Finale, Sibelius), Arduino IDE,
Processing, Supercollider, EASE (Enhanced Acoustic Simulator for Engineers), website design software
(WordPress, Drupal), text editing software (Sublime, Atom), proficient in Windows and Macintosh,
understanding of coding languages (Python, Javascript, HTML, CSS)
Audio & Video
Video and DSLR cameras, lighting rigs, audio recording (studio and field), contact microphones,
automated recording (triggered via motion, light, or sound detection), sampling, surround sound setup,
MIDI controllers, effects processors, audio interfaces, amplifier construction, speaker wiring
Hardware & Robotics
Epilog laser engraving and cutting systems, Arduino, sensors (light, proximity, magnetic field,
moisture, weight, etc.), Raspberry Pi, Makey-Makey, computer-controlled motors and pulley
systems, Lulzbot 3D printers, soldering, computer building and modification
Gallery/Museum
Event planning, exhibition preparation and installation, object handling, database management
software (MuseumPlus), exhibition lighting, AV systems setup
Selected Presentations —
2021
(upcoming) The Parent-Artist Exhibition (working title), Lawrence Arts Center, Lawrence, KS
2020
between Gods & Dogs, Lawrence, KS (Solo Exhibition)
NSEME 2020: Community, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
ARTexchange, Hokin Gallery, Chicago, IL
College Art Association MFA Screening Series, CAA Annual Conference, Chicago, I
2019
Haunting Humanities, Lawrence, KS
2019 Digital Humanities Forum Showcase, Lawrence, KS
Film + Media Studies Graduate Symposium Installations, Lawrence KS
2018-2019
The LibArt Exhibition, Murphy Art & Architecture Library, Lawrence, KS Awarded Best in Show for Bind
2018 Liminal Triptych, Art & Design Gallery, Lawrence KS
The Art Bell Tribute, Digital Exhibition on CoastToCoastAM.com
Earth, Energy, & Environment Center Inaugural Dedication, Lawrence, KS
MFA Candidates Exhibition, Art & Design Gallery, Lawrence, KS
2017
Atlanterium AV Festival, Atlanta, Georgia
Of Electronic Dreams and Mediated Realities, Lawrence, KS
Avaruusromua, radio exhibition on YLEISRADIO, Finland
Awards & Honors —
2020
School of the Arts Research Grant (awarded funding for between Gods & Dogs solo exhibition)
KU School of the Arts Travel Grant to present work in Chicago and Urbana-Champaign
2019
Award for Research from the KU Associate Directors of Research
KU School of the Arts Travel Grant to attend Artist Residency in Paonia, Colorado
Patricia Joyce Ellis Art/Dance Scholarship
2018
University of Kansas Lockwood Scholarship
Best in Show for the 2018-19 University of Kansas LibArt Exhibition
Andrew W. Mellon Graduate Research Fellow Travel Stipend
KU School of the Arts Travel Grant for research trip to New York City
2017
Betty T. Collard Scholarship
John Merle Patterson Memorial Scholarship
Raymond and Elizabeth Goetz Scholarship
Patricia Joyce Ellis Art/Dance Scholarship
McGrath Fine Arts Scholarship
University of Kansas Lockwood Scholarship
Luella F. Stewart Art Scholarship
Bushong Art Scholarship
Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts Dean's Award for Academic Excellence