I am a tinkerer first and forever. I love teaching, it is my favorite way to learn.
North Pitney
2748 Grande Vista Ave.
Oakland, CA 94601
510 703 8069
north@northpitney.com
MOST RECENTLY:
Since October 2013, I’ve been integrating my interests and skills to cultivate the land around my home into a self sustaining farm for feeding and teaching the next generation of urban naturalists, inventors and artists.
Mostly, I’ve been working with the neighboring preschoolers as “Farmer North” and doing a lot of plumbing and concrete form work.
SKILLS
Fabrication: Extensive carpentry experience, wood and metal tools and shop safety including mill and lathe. Welding (arc, MIG/TIG, gas). Mechanical Engineering: Basic load, torque and work calculation, specification of parts and materials such as metals (grades,dimension and finish), motors, gears, chains, pulleys, etc.
Electronic Circuit Design and Troubleshooting: breadboarding, soldering, oscilloscope, volt meter, data sheets, sensors (buttons thru voltage dividers of every description including flex, pressure and position, IR/visible photodiodes, cameras), actuators (steppers, servos, hobby servos, AC and DC motors, solenoids, and pneumatics)
Microcontrollers: Arduino, MAKE-Board, Teleo, Basic Stamp
Software Tools: General familiarity with common operating system environments (Windows, Mac, Linux). Comfortable interfacing hardware with disparate or obscure network protocols. Processing, Max/MSP Jitter, Flash/ActionScript, C++, openFrameworks, HTML, FinalCut
Audio/Video Systems: Microphones, pre-amps, amplifiers, mixing boards, speakers, cameras DV/SLR, video playback and display, cabling and power standards (XLR, Phono, BNC, composite, VGA, S-video, DVI, HDMI)
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Exhibit Developer, New Media Group, E x p l O r a t o r i u m http://www.exploratorium.edu
From November 2011 thru 2013, I have been developing interactives for the museum.
Digital SPectrometer
This exhibit visualizes the output from an Ocean Optic USB4000 spectrometer in the 350-1000nm range.
Snail Cam
This was a robot which positioned a camera to be constantly looking over the shoulder of snails as they went about their business. It was put on hold.
Barber Pole Effect
A video of “moving” diagonal stripes runs behind different apertures to reveal our biases in our perception of motion.
Slow Motion Avalanche
Using a high speed camer to reflect on time and scale.
Orbit Simulator
Rebuilding a clasic video game to illustrate orbital mechanics.
Color Contrast
Lotte did all the work, I just advised
Explainer Book
Lotte did all the work, I just advised
TEACHING
Adjunct Professor, California College of the Arts | Fall 2010-Present
Interface: Fine arts studio class introduction to MAX/MSP/Jitter, MAKE Controllers, Flash, Action Script
Instructor, Architecture Association School of Architecture | July 2010
San Francisco Global Workshop, Biodynamic Structures: Arduino for Architects
Instructor, Club Arduino, hosted by BetaLab | 2009 – Present
Introduction to the Arduino IDE
Farmer, Field Trip Host and Coordinator, Building Blocks Preschool, Oakland | Spring 2010
Presenting urban farming and animal husbandry to emotionally challenged children age 4-8
Lecturer, California College of the Arts | Spring 2008-2010
Interface: Studio class introduction to MAX/MSP Jitter, Make Controllers, Flash, Action Script, Fall 2009, 2008, 2007
Utility: Architectural Studio with Jordan Geiger and Shona Kitchen, Introduction to prototyping with Arduino, Spring 2009
Chain Reaction: Studio course introducing microcontrollers, fabrication, and electronics to fine artists and designers, Spring 2009, 2010
Emphasis Fabrication: Advanced methods to design and build kinetic sculptures and machine interfaces. UDIS, Spring 2008
New Media and Sculpture: Implementing embedded micro-controllers in interactive artworks, Spring 2008
Guest Lecturer, California College of the Arts | Spring 2008-2010
Recombinant Media: Interdisciplinary Studio, Spring 2009, 2010
Reconstructing Media: Media 370, Spring 2008
Introduction to Electronics: Science, Fall 2008
Teacher’s Assistant, California College of the Arts | 2003-2004
Chain Reaction: Barney Haynes, CCAC, Oakland, CA, 2004
Time and Media, Betty Jo Castanzo, CCAC, Oakland, CA, 2003
Sailing Instructor, Cal Sailing Club, Berkeley, CA | 2003
Individual and group coaching
EXHIBITIONS
“Todd’s Gear”, an interactive sculpture collaboration with Barney Haynes
Rythmix Gallery, “Todd Wall”, Alameda, CA 2008, ongoing
“The Creature”, a robotic media sculpture in collaboration with Barney Haynes
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, “Oakland: East Side Story”, San Francisco, CA, 2006
LoBot Gallery,”Virus”, Oakland, CA 2006
“Funny Man”, Performance
Artist Television Access, “Exquisite: Latest Works”, San Francisco, CA, 2005
Lobot Gallery, “Primeval Intersection”, Oakland, CA, 2005
“The Maze”, aka “Intermap”, Interactive Labyrinth Machine
California College of Arts and Crafts Commencement Show, San Francisco, CA, May 2003
Fine Arts Cinema Gallery, Oakland, CA, September-October 2003
“Sieve”, single channel video with sound
Zeitgeist International Film Festival, July 2001
“In Collaboration”, a video short
Pacific Film Archive, “Alternative Requirements”, Berkeley, CA, October 2000
Mercy Hot Springs Festival, Firebaugh, CA, September 2002
Gallery 825, “Truth in Pieces”, Los Angeles, CA, April 2004
“North”, Performance
Hotel Utah, with “Fuck” and “Two Dollar Guitar”, San Francisco, CA 02-26-2000
The Smell, with “Upsilon Crux”, “A Possible Link To Klaus” and “Polar Goldie Cats”, Los Angeles, CA 03-11-2000
WORK
Lead Engineer and Fabricator, “Percussion Ball”, http://www.terryberlier.com/percussionball.html, Commissioned by Terry Berlier, 2010
Exhibit Developer, Making Things, http://www.makingthings.com, Prototyped demonstration of networked sensors, 2009
Co-Founder and Instructor, BetaLab, http://www.betalab01.org, A learning laboratory with tools and events supporting artists using technology, 2009-present
Invited Presenter, “Engineering with Art Students”, http://sketching09.com/, Sketching in Hardware Conference, London, UK, 2009
Panel Discussion Moderator, “Remaking/Reconceiving”, http://risingtideconference.org/remaking.html, Rising Tide Conference, Stanford, Palo Alto, CA, 2009
Lead Programmer, “Glance”, Gustavo Vazquez and Guillermo Galindo, ISEA, 2006
Electrical Engineer and Programmer, “Edible Interface”, Erin Elliott, http://erineelliott.com/edible.html, Yahoo! “Design Out of The Box Expo”, 2006
Exhibition Demonstrator, “Trace”, Alison Sant, ISEA, 2006
Prototype Development and Beta Tester, Making Things LLC, San Francisco, CA, 2004
Self Employed Landlord, Live in, own, maintain and rent a six unit Victorian apartment building since 1999
MEDIA
Interview: Cycling74, http://cycling74.com/2006/07/17/a-video-interview-with-north-pitney-installation-artist/
Featured: “TechLive” television news magazine on Tech TV cable, September 05, 2003
EDUCATION
BFA in Film-Video-Performance with high distinction. California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA, 2006
Pre-college Mathematics course, Harvard Summer school, Cambridge MA, 1988
AWARDS
CCA Faculty Development Grant, 2009
Alan Herrick Memorial Scholarship, 2006
Yahoo! Research and User Experience Design Grant, 2006
William & Gloria Brown Brobeck Scholarship, 2003
All College Honors, CCA, 2000 and 2001
California Mathematics Council Excellence in Mathematics, 1988
PLAY
Sailing: 2005 Skippered 41′ Ketch from Fort Lauderdale, FL to Oakland, CA via Mexico, Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua
Carpentry: Ongoing restoration of 1883 Victorian Home in Oakland, CA,
Urban Farming: Eight Chickens, 60% grey water reprocessing, 10% of land for food Crops