Claudia Hart

Claudia Hart is a Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), where she developed the experimental 3D program and teaches courses on simulations technologies within the context of post-photography and experimental media. As an artist, curator, and critic active since 1988, she is considered an early adopter of virtual imaging and 3D animation in fine art.

Hart's research interests focus on the intersection of virtual and physical worlds, exploring the poetic threshold between the concrete and abstract through what she terms 'Digital Combines'—hybrid works that merge virtual and physical elements. Her work investigates how technology affects cultural constructions of gender identities and issues of the body, perception, and nature as they collapse into technology and back again. She examines identity through the lens of digital simulation, creating works that exist in liminal spaces between reality and virtuality.

Hart's artistic output demonstrates consistent exploration of simulation technologies, with recent works including 'Digital Combines' exhibitions that bind physical art objects with digital files through poetic metadata. Her publications and interviews reveal an evolving focus from early digital art practice to contemporary concerns about NFTs, digital conservation, and the political implications of simulated realities, particularly in the context of 'fake news' and post-truth politics.

• Honorary Fellow at Eyebeam Art + Technology Center (2013-2014)
• Technology Resident at Pioneer Works, New York (2018)
• Fellow at Center for New Music and Audio Technologies, UC Berkeley

Hart has mentored numerous students through her Experimental 3D program at SAIC, developing curriculum that has trained a generation of artists working with simulation technologies. She has received support for her artistic research through residencies and fellowships at major art and technology institutions. Her collaborative projects, such as 'The Beauty of the Baud' with virtual artist LaTurbo Avedon, demonstrate her commitment to building communities around digital art practice.

Hart maintains active studio practice while teaching, with works collected by major institutions including the Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum of Modern Art, and Metropolitan Museum of Art. She lives in New York and is represented by bitforms gallery.