Artist Statement

Internet Art and Sculpture (2014)

EquityBot treats twenty-four states of human affect as tradable commodities, ‘investing’ in emotions such as anger, joy, disgust and amazement. It then links these emotions with actual stocks to make investments using a simulated brokerage account. During stock market hours EquityBot generates simple data visualizations that illustrate how the world is feeling alongside the market performance of its emotional equities. In addition to the internet artwork, EquityBot includes a physical sculpture that links to the online artwork.

• Scott Kildall is a cross-disciplinary artist who writes algorithms that transform various datasets into 3D sculptures and installations. The resulting artworks often invite public participation through direct interaction. He has exhibited internationally at venues including the New York Hall of Science, Transmediale, the Venice Biennale and the San Jose Museum of Art. He has received awards and residencies from organizations including Impakt Works, Autodesk, Recology San Francisco, Turbulence.org, Eyebeam Art + Technology Center, Kala Art Institute and The Banff Centre for the Arts (CA). Scott has an M.F.A. (2006) from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and resides in San Francisco, USA.

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