Rendering Gender

Speaker(s): Daniel Pillis

Description: Description: This presentation will encompass an overview of interdisciplinary research, connecting significant moments in the history of computing with an analysis of the gender constructs and cultural conditions in which they arose. By tracking a lineage of the representation of the human form in digital culture, the evolution of digital humans can be seen in parallel and in conflict with changing cultural norms surrounding gender categories, queer representational strategies, and established constructs of masculine and feminine identity. Central to this presentation are a number of research questions: How does the nature of computer-generated imagery function as an abstraction of the human form? How do the attributes and features of the human body relate to the depiction and creation of gender in computer-generated imagery? How does the history of computing and computer graphics relate to the depiction of gender and the evolution of abstractions we use to describe it?

Bio of Speaker: Artist and technologist D. Pillis is currently a Research Assistant Professor in Immersive Environments atVirginia Tech’s Institute for Creativity, Arts and Technology. Their team pursues research at the intersection of queer computing, embodied virtual reality, and embedded forms of consciousness in objects and narrative experiences. Their research interests are centered on the function of simulation and representation in human culture, considering how humans represent themselves and create identity and history from experience, objects and environments. They hold a Masters degree focusing on Virtual Reality and Immersive Environments from Carnegie Mellon University, where they worked with the father of computer graphics, Ivan E. Sutherland, as well as computer scientist Jessica Hodgins.