Phillip Stearns is an artist who wears many hats. Also know as Pixel Form, Phil is a practitioner of sound and visual arts, a music composer and performer, and an electronics sculptor and installation artist. A graduate of the music composition department of the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), he describes his work as “characterized by judicial use of materials, restraint, simplicity, a careful balance between conceptual depth and playfulness.” In this conversation, he discusses his commitment to education, teaching as a form of artistic practice, and his latest project, Stearns Creative Electronics Development.

Phil, please tell us about your mission and work with regard to Stearns Creative Electronics Development.

The kind of work that I do involves the design of creative projects that are both educational and that culminate in sculptural art installations or exhibitions. The mission is three-fold: to teach practical electronics through hands-on learning; to teach the history, politics, science and ecology of electronics; and to teach a form of contemporary art making that is rooted in the notion of re-use and ecologically sound practices. It is my hope to be able to offer simple workshops to the public for free.

Your website explains in detail the transition you are embarking on. Could you summarize?

The transition has been a slow process, from working on solo projects — producing works either on my own or with a limited number of collaborators for exhibition — to teaching what I’ve learned through those projects in the form of hands-on workshops. Now these workshops are the focus of my electronics practice, and they depend upon the transmission of knowledge and the collective work and thoughts of others for their completion; they are completely participatory.

For instance, in order to teach about basic analog electronics and sensors, I devised a workshop where the students build little sensor elements that can then be combined, installed and presented as a group project. I’m actually installing a work, c. 15:33, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, this week that is based entirely on this concept of modularity and very simple electronics. In fact I’m using the materials left over from a workshop I taught at the 2009 Bent Festival, an event celebrating the re-appropriation of the circuit through music performance, and art installation.

What prompted you to make this transition?

The projects I’ve been most fond of and have learned the most working on are the type that are very difficult to sell. Most people have this idea of making art an economic activity: to produce work and then sell it, but it just hasn’t worked out that way for my practice. The reality is that I have rent and bills to pay, I need to eat, and somehow I have to clear my name of a behemoth of student loan debt…and, sadly, the institutions I must pay do not accept art as fair payment.

Teaching workshops has been a great way to sustain the practice of making art and has turned out to be rewarding from the perspective of being able to share the knowledge I have with others. Since moving to New York in February of this year, I have come to the realization that teaching is just as important a part of my practice as the work itself, perhaps even more so, and that I should concern myself not with the production of work but with the exchange of knowledge. What better way to learn something than to do it with our own hands and to consider that thing you are making a part of your own artistic expression!

Please describe one of your favorite artworks.

This is always difficult, but the first thing that comes to mind is Tehching Hsieh’s one year performances. Pick any of them, they are all great. At the moment, however, the one where he stays outdoors for an entire year is my favorite. Photos can be found on Tehching Hsieh’s website.

Who or what are your biggest influences?

At the moment I’m really inspired by books, in particular books dealing with critical theory and cultural critique. Authors like Zizeck, Virilio, Agamben, Deleuze and Guattari, Baudrillard, and Raymond Williams, just to name a few. I have also been reading titles by Bill McKibben, Joel Kovel, Jeremy Rifkin, and Gianfranco Baruchello. My work with the soil over the past three years has also had a profound influence on my thinking.

Is there a particular artist you would love to collaborate with?

I would love to work with Andy Goldsworthy. I find his work with the
environment intriguing. Perhaps it’s not so much that I’d like to actually produce a work with him, but to be there while he is going through the thinking that happens as he’s producing a work and after he has let the Earth reclaim it.

How did you find out about Fractured Atlas and what motivated you to become a member?

When I was in New York for the Bent Festival in 2008 I met Juliana Steele as she was transitioning into working at Fractured Atlas. She explained the sort of services that Fractured Atlas provided and I thought it was a good thing to be a part of and take advantage of.

How do you use your Fractured Atlas membership?

I have posted events on the calendar of events and check it for things to see from time to time. My health insurance is currently through Fractured Atlas and I have been utilizing the fiscal sponsorship services to help raise funds from private contributors while I’m seeking out and apply for suitable grants.

Please finish the following sentence: “Art is important because…”

“Art is important because life is important.”

What’s next on your horizon?

I’m installing a new work, c. 15:33, at the SESI Gallery in Sao Paulo, Brazil, for the FILE Festival. It will be exhibited through the month of August. I’ve also been invited to the Transitio_MX Festival in Mexico City in October to do a live performance using one of the quirky audio-video synthesizers I made back in 2007.

Learn more about Philip Stearns’ work on his webpage, YouTube channel, and MySpace page.

Images, top to bottom:
1) AANN: Artificial Analog Neural Network, 2007; an interactive, handmade electronic sculpture that responds to environmental stimuli in a display of light and sound.
2) Student work from a workshop in Los Angeles.
3) Workshop on operational amplifiers (op amps).
4) Ohm: A Collaborative Sculptural Sound Installation, by Phillip Stearns and Lewis Keller, 2008.