Project Collaborator

Marc Downie

Lecturer in the Department of Cinema and Media Studies, Media Arts and Design, and the College University of Chicago

Biography

Marc Downie is a Scottish-born digital artist. His pioneering approach to digital art combines three signature elements: non-photorealistic computational imagery; the incorporation of body movement by motion-capture and other means; and the autonomy of artworks directed by artificial intelligence. Over the last decade his studio, OpenEndedGroup, has worked in the broadest variety of contexts: making art for façade, gallery, dance, cinema and VR. His collaborative works respond to an ever-expanding range of materials — drawing, film, motion capture, photography, music, and architecture. In the field of dance, Downie has worked closely with Merce Cunningham, Bill T. Jones, Trisha Brown and Wayne McGregor. His public artworks include outdoor projections and performances in spaces ranging from York Minster Cathedral to Barclays Center Brooklyn. OpenEndedGroup has presented work at Lincoln Center, MoMA, Hayward Gallery, ICA Boston, Sadler’s Wells, Festival d’Automne, Detroit Institute of Art, SITE Santa Fe, the film festivals of Sundance, New York, Rome, Berlin and many others. Downie has had residencies in museums, schools and research institutions including the Gardner Museum, the University of Chicago, IRCAM, Stanford, ZKM, Le Fresnoy, the University of Michigan and EMPAC.

marcdownie@uchicago.edu

Topics

Featured Project

Digitally enhanced image of a path through a forest

Autonomy Is Not Freedom

Project Team:

Project Topics:

2025 – 2026

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Projects

Untidy Objects

A “living sculpture” on the University’s campus that includes water and vegetation is also a social intervention, prompting viewers to consider the fact that humans are the only living organism with legal and political rights. This project will introduce “augmented reality” technology to the...

Untidy Objects, which introduces emergent growth and multispecies co-mingling, is both a sculptural and political proposition. Since the advent of this multi-year installation, a living sculpture adjacent to the Logan Center developed in conjunction with the Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry, the ...

Project Team:

2023 – 2025

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