Feb 5, 2017
Brenna Murphy is about as mediated of an artist as you will find. She combines video and animation with the development of physical objects (through a variety of means), but will also include analog synthesizers in her installations and as soundtracks for her films.
Hand-made synthesizers.
If you don't know Brenna's work, you need to check it out at http://www.bmruernpnhay.com/ (the site is a mashup of her first and last names...), where you will find a ton of different kinds of work. I especially loved the videos, since their soundtracks often sounded like they were taken straight from the vaults of late 50's sci-fi flicks. But as you dive in deeper, you find an incredible depth in Brenna's work, including the use of 3D printers, fabric printers and other fab systems to create sculptural work from her designs, and collaborations with her partner Birch Cooper (see http://mshr.info/) to create the synthesizers that sonify much of her work.
In our chat, we talk about the development of an artist in Portland - and the development of the sorts of communities that allow for this work to bloom. We also talk about the difficulties in creating work, getting it shown, and finding out how to work in an environment that wants to embrace everything - all at once.
Enjoy!