Email: octopusmandala@nullgmail.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/octopusmandala
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/octopusmandala
Plus:
Blanka Buic: Photo/Videography
Octopus Mandala collaborators:
September 1 — Margaut Gastard: La Grande Roue, Marseille, France
September 8 — Ardele Lister: Wonder Wheel, Coney Island, Brooklyn
September 15 — Siddharth Ramakrishnan: Seattle Wheel, Washington
September 20 –Lea Kanner: Luna Park Wheel, Sydney, Australia
Production contributors:
Kenneth Azurin, Audrius Avizienis, Rajani Bansal, Liana Bandziulis, Aisen Caro Chasin, Noopur Goel, Jae Hyuck, Kelsey Kong, Hilal Koyuncu, Maria Onglatco, Rebecca McGillivary, Adam Stieg, Peter Tjeerdsma, Navjot Singh.
Additional thanks for the support from the David Bermant foundation, UCLA Art | Sci center and all those who contributed to our indiegogo fund-raising campaign.
Victoria Vesna
Artist
Victoria Vesna, Ph.D., is a media artist and Professor at the UCLA Department of Design | Media Arts and Director of the Art|Sci center at the School of the Arts and California Nanosystems Institute (CNSI). She is currently a senior researcher at IMéRA – Institut Méditerranéen de Recherches Avancées in Marseille (2011-2013). Her work can be defined as experimental creative research that resides between disciplines and technologies. victoriavesna.com
Peter Rand
Lighting Design
Peter Rand’s commitment to the creative process is embodied by works in cinema, installation, video, photography, interactive media, music, and performance. He has designed and taught curriculums for visual arts and new media for the city of Albuquerque NM, and has worked extensively with juvenile detention centers and at-risk youth promoting art as a means of therapy. Focusing on communities at large, he continues to use multimedia and diverse forms of expression as resources for which to navigate perceptions of value and meaning. www.peterrandart.com
Steven Amrhein
Web Design
Steven Amrhein holds a BA in Design/Media Arts from UCLA, and has his fingers in various pies. He’s developed games with the UCLA Game Lab, Robot Bear, and the Nautilus People, and currently works as freelance web and graphic designer. Steven can be found cycling around Los Angeles with a hot coffee in hand.
Natalie Azerad
Production Coordinator
Natalie holds a Bachelors degree of Fine Arts (BFA) in Music from the California Institute of the Arts where she was classically trained in vocal performance. She loved being exposed to everything from classical French Chanson to Jazz, Blues, R&B, and world music. Today she infuses the above to create her own vocal sound. She performs at many LA venues such as the House of Blues, The Canyon Club, The Key Club, Casa Del Mar Hotel, and has performed on tour in France and Hawaii. www.natalieazeradmusic.com
Ray Zimmerman
Producer
Ray Zimmerman is a 30-year veteran of Hollywood and was Sr. VP at Sony /Columbia /TriStar Pictures from 1995 – 2005 where he directly oversaw over 100 feature films including: Spider-Man, Jerry Maguire, As Good As It Gets, Ali, Godzilla, MiB2, Zorro 1+2, Memoirs of a Geisha, Vertical Limit, Hitch, Holiday, Starship Troopers, Pursuit of Happyness and many more with budgets ranging from $1.5MM to $250MM+. Prior to his time at Sony, Ray produced many lower-budget Indy films including Bottle Rocket. He is now an Independent Producer.
Lindy Ransom
Production Coordinator
Lindy Ransom is currently an administrative specialist working for Professor James Gimzewski at UCLA. Professor Victoria Vesna and Dr. James Gimzewski have been collaborating in various exhibits and Art|Sci Center activities for the past decade. Her background as both a coordinator and administrative assistant has both freelance feature film production experience, as well as studio executive level administration skills. Her current projects include the collaborative effort of OMG! (Victoria Vesna’s installation at Glow Festival 2013), and the parties hosted by her private event company, Events by Lindy.
Mike Datz
Sound Design
Mike Datz is a musician, producer, composer and sound designer. His music has been featured in feature film and television, including such shows as The Ghost Whisperer and Numbers on ABC, Joey and The Biggest Loser on NBC, One Tree Hill and Beyond The Break on the CW, The Triangle on SciFi and many others. Prior to moving to Los Angeles, Mike was a performer and musician in the international sensation, Blue Man Group where he performed in Chicago, New York, Boston, Las Vegas and Toronto and toured the United States and Canada with the hugely successful Complex Tour.
Dawn Faelnar
Media Design
Dawn Faelnar is a Media Art Scientist with special interest in innovative projects that promote the beautiful collaboration between Art, Science, Design and Technology. Since graduating from the Design|Media Arts program at University of California, Los Angeles, and with nearly a decade of exposure to design development, new media and interactive technology, Dawn has been extensively involved in multimedia projects throughout the globe. Dawn spends her spare time obsessing over novelty paper & cupcakes, and is also currently seeking backers for her Doctoral degrees in Nanotechnology and Art Science, in which she plans to start investing her time and boundless energy within the next year or two. www.dawnfaelnar.com