Hey everyone, welcome back to Luminous Arts! If this is your first time tuning in, this is a conversational series where I sit down with new media artists from across the spectrum with the goal of giving a public voice to the people behind the most amazing examples of visual and interactive art. In this industry, it’s really common to see something that inspires you on Instagram or on a blog, find the name of an artist or crew responsible, and then have them remain a complete mystery. Who are the people who make these installations come to life? Where are they from? What do they love about the work they do, and what drives them crazy? These are the questions that I want to answer as I speak with some of the community’s most prolific names.
In this episode I sit down with Christopher Schardt, creator of the Firmament LED installation and a prominent light artist. He’s spent much of his artistic career making pieces for display at the Burning Man Festival and we ended up spending much of this episode discussing the intricacies of making light-art installations for that venue. Our discussion moves from the politics of creating art on the Playa, how he fits into the overall Burning Man scene, and where we see Burning Man Art headed in the future. It was an interesting conversation with a true veteran and we had a lot of fun drinking beer and talking about our respective experiences. Hope you enjoy!