Bio & CV
Jacob Tonski is a pragmatic optimist whose work explores dynamic balance.
A self-adjusting platform makes everyone the same height, probing ideas of equality and the origins of power. A larger-than-life top spins about the room, wobbling through themes of pleasure, danger, youth and decay.
These and other human-scale objects, both amusing and threatening, find an uncanny identity between toys and tools. The forces of time and gravity serve in these works as foils for those things we are powerless to direct in our lives, and with which we must instead dance and negotiate.
Tonski holds an MFA from the Design | Media Arts department at UCLA. He studied computer science at Brown University and worked as a Technical Director at Pixar Animation Studios. He has lived in Berkeley, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Paris and Providence, grew up in West Virginia, and is currently a visiting assistant professor of art and interactive media studies at Miami University of Ohio.
Education
Sept 06 - June 08
University of California, Los Angeles
Master of Fine Arts, Design | Media Arts
Sept 95 - Dec 99
Brown University, Providence, RI
Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science, focus in Computer Graphics
Algorithmic animation, raytracing, interactive games, data visualization
Sept 97 - Dec 99
Brown Outdoor Leadership Training, Providence, RI
Outdoor Program Manager & Wilderness trip leader
Fall 99
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
Glassblowing studio
Employment
Jan 06 - Jul 06 and Jan 01 - Aug 02
Pixar Animation Studios, Emeryville, CA
Technical Director
Developed, coded human muscle simulation/animation system for The Incredibles.
Nov 04 - Dec 05
Leapfrog Enterprises Inc, Emeryville, CA (Educational Toys)
C++ Programmer
Development for the Fly Pentop Computer.
Served as an R&D project lead, prototyping literacy instruction applications.
Teaching
Aug 09 - May 10
Visiting Assistant Professor, Miami University of Ohio
Joint appointment: Dept of Art & Armstrong Institute for Interactive Media Studies
Courses taught:
Aesthetics and Computation (visual software development in Processing)
Interactive Programming in Actionscript
Fall 07
Instructor, Graduate Teaching Assistant Training Course, UCLA
Class technologies, methods of critique, discussion facilitation.
Jan 07 - Jun 08
Teaching Assistant, UCLA
3D modeling in Maya: Prof. Jennifer Steinkamp
Senior design studio: Prof. Rebeca Mendez
Motion graphics: Prof. Rebecca Allen
Form: Prof. Silvia Rigon
Summer 08
Instructor, UCLA Summer Institute
Game design course for high school students
Fall 97
Brown University
Teaching Assistant
Introduction to Object Oriented Programming in Java: Prof. Andries vanDam
Exhibitions, Residencies
Sept - Nov 09
LM Projects, Los Angeles CA (formerly Bank Art)
“Cause and Effect”, Group show of video work. Curated by Lorraine Molina
May 08
UCLA, Los Angeles CA
“Exit Strategies”, Design | Media Arts MFA Exhibition
Mar - Apr 08
Telic Arts Exchange, Los Angeles CA
“Gravity Art”, group show of video art. Curated by Rene Daalder.
Aug 07
Real Presence, Residency in Belgrade, Serbia and Istanbul, Turkey
May 07
Hammer Museum, Los Angeles CA
Invited to perform “Wakening” (collaboration with dancer Chris Leyva) as part of an evening of student arts.
Other
Oct 02 – July 04
Resided Barcelona, Spain
-Achieved Spanish fluency, taught English, pursued art practice.
Proficient and able to teach:
Code:
Processing, Java, C++, OpenGL, Perl, Tcl/Tk, HTML
Software:
Adobe CS3, Maya, Unix/OSX commandline
Hardware:
Arduino microprocessor & programming environment
Sensors: digital, analog and serial device interfaces
Motion control, e.g. servos, stepper motors, linear actuators
Circuit design, utilizing ICs to simplify projects
Practical:
Digital photography and video
Color / B&W darkroom technique
Woodworking
Other skills and experience:
Molding / casting
Welding & Metal fabrication
Auto restoration and mechanics