
Member Spotlight: Haisi Hu
NMC
I’m here with the new media caucus and we’re talking today with Haisi Hu. What can you tell us about yourself? Who are you? What do you do?
Where in the world are you?
Haisi Hu
I’ve been an animator for over 20 years. I was born in China and immigrated here when I was sixteen with my family. Both my parents are artists, so were just, you know, here to do art. That was what I wanted, what I set off to do in my life. I’ve been in our school ever since, since I was five years old.
I graduated from Cooper Union and now I’m trying to get my master at Hunter College. So I’m going back to school right now, I’m learning the AI stuff. There is a new explosion of the technology that is so interesting and so unexplored. I feel like it is an obligation for the artist to take control of the new technology. People are worried, naturally and rightly so, because anytime you have a new technology come out, like during the 18th century, you know, the machines come out and they get rid of a lot of the work of for the manual workers, artists, and skilled workers. They’re replaced by machines. I feel like artists should really look into this new wave of technology and try to harness it, rather than having the corporations use them to just do the things that that we already been doing. We need to figure out some way to use them so that we cannot be exploited.
We’ve got to be able to use those technologies, so that’s why I’m going back to school and learning coding. I used to do claymation, very old-fashioned. I trained as a sculptor and a painter, so I would do the drawing thing, draw everything by hand or make it out of clay, and now I’m building my own machines to have the machine to do drawing for me and see where that goes. You know, I have no idea yet whether it’s going to turn out any good.
NMC
What does new media mean to you?
Haisi Hu
New is never new. Modern art is so old now, you know? If you look back to the modern art times everything just looks outdated. So it’s hard to say. In 10 years New Media will be so different. So I really cannot give a definition of what new media is because it’s so times specific.
At the current time, it’s really just exploring the new technologies. But technology is not just computer and machines, technology is also our ways of looking, making art in a new way, a new approach. We traditionally very much like narrative, especially as animator. A lot of comics and stuff are all heavily story-oriented. I feel like there is a big emergence between animation and installations and public because of the tools that are available to us right now. I feel like it’s a direction that is never been explored before. I would call that new media.
NMC
You were recently awarded the 2024 Vagner Mendonça-Whitehead Microgrant from the New media caucus. What can you tell us about that award and what it means to you?
Haisi Hu
It was great. It was relatively easy in terms of the applications, because you know it’s a very competitive field, especially in New York City. Sometimes you have got to do so much for the application that it takes like one month’s work just to answer all the questions.
Yeah, it just it was great. I was just very happy about it. I got a cash prize and I can use that to get materials for my art. So I was very happy about that.
I’m looking forward to seeing the other people who got also awarded and want to get to know their work. That will be very exciting. Every time you’re included in grants or residencies you get to meet other people. That is the most important thing for me, to reach out and meet other artists.
NMC
How did you find the New Media Caucus?
Haisi Hu
I don’t know. I apply for so many things I don’t even remember. I think sometimes things would just get sent to me and sometimes I just look at all websites, you know, like Creative Capital or NYFA, you know, all those places where they post opportunities. I’ve been just applying for things, so I just don’t even remember. A lot of things get rejected, I don’t remember where I got this resource.
NMC
Do you have any current projects you’d like to tell us about?
Haisi Hu
Yes, I am working on an animation. I’m learning Max MSP and using that to code and to generate animation. There was a lot of hype about, you know, what SORA can do, turning any image into a moving image and generating videos. I’m sort of looking into that, but I’m very skeptical that any substantial thing is going to come out that for us. I mean, for Hollywood, of course, they have the budgets and the technology to do something that is completely AI generated before, you know, \ what’s available for us consumers or the public. I feel like they’re not going to release that technology, but I am nosing around and learning about it to hear what’s going on. On top of that I’m learning coding myself to get a sense what is inside this black box or what can I do with limited knowledge.
NMC
Where can people follow your work?
Haisi Hu
I post most of my work on Vimeo. You can find me there.