Michael Christian (New Media Artist)

New Media artist, Michael Christian is known for his large-scale, interactive metal sculptures. He attended college at Berkeley and works mostly in his Berkley Studio and in the studios at the annual, Burning Man Festival. His uncommon workzone for "Burning Man" takes place alongside of 25+ artists in the Nevada Dessert. Michael has worked at burning man for 7 year and also receiving grants each year to create his large scale works. Most of his work is relayed as "New Media Art" as opposed to "Sculpture Art" through the resourceful contribution of Burning Man. The planning for Michaels work comes with the help of on hand engineers who continue with updating new custume software for Burning Man's New Media artist. The executive director, Larry Harvey of Burning Man describes his view on New Media here

"This virtual community is demographically diverse. It is multi-ethnic, multi-racial, and represents a wide range of age groups. It is formed in the image of the great ecumenical(world wide religious unity) world that surrounds us; a teeming population of uprooted individuals. In other words, this intentional community that we create from nothing, and that returns to nothing when we leave, has been "liberated" from nearly every context of ordinary life. It is(Burning Man Festival), like cyberspace, a frontier in which individuals can exercise remarkable freedoms."



Artists involved in Burning Man see new media as art but also as a network with "incalcuable effects." The idea of an anonomous world unified is beautiful and full of new revolutionizing effects. The festival invites the collaging of the world wide web's community with the physical community durring Burning Man. With Michael Christian's sculptures he alows viewers to become the art piece by means of climbing, swinging and playing inside his structures. His work is a metaphore to Media with it's large magnetic masses having the same expedient reaction to wanting to climb or explore into his corner of ideas.