Michael Takeo Magruder (b.1974) is an artist and researcher based in King's Visualisation Lab, located in the Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London. His practice explores concepts ranging from media criticism and aesthetic journalism to digital formalism and computational aesthetics, deploying Information Age technologies and systems to examine our networked, media-rich world.Michael's projects have been showcased in over 200 exhibitions in 30 countries, including Manifesta 8: European Biennial of Contemporary Art, Murcia; the Courtauld Institute of Art, London; EAST International 2005, Norwich; Georges Pompidou Center, Paris; Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Japan; and Trans-Media-Akademie, Hellerau. His work also regularly appears in internationally-acclaimed New Media festivals such as Cybersonica, CyNetArt, FILE, Filmwinter, Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin/Madrid, SeNef, Siggraph, Split, VAD and WRO. His artistic practice has been funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Arts Council England and The National Endowment for the Arts, USA. Michael has been commissioned by numerous public galleries in the UK and abroad and by the leading Internet Art portal Turbulence.org.Michael's research focuses on the intersections between contemporary art, emerging technology and interdisciplinary practice. His writings have been widely published, with recent chapters appearing in books such as Theatre without Vanishing Points (2010, Alexander Verlag, DE), Performing Technology: User Content and the New Digital Media (2009, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, UK), Virtual/Physical Bodies (2008, Centre des Arts, FR) and Die Welt als virtuelles Environment (2007, TMA Hellerau, DE).Michael received his formal education at the University of Virginia, USA and graduated in 1996 with a BSc (Hons) in molecular biology. He is a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) ambassador for Thinktank Birmingham Science Museum and regularly lectures about interdisciplinary arts practice and the potentials of creatively blending art, science and technology.
