[iDC] Steve Wilson 1/10/11

Thu Jan 13 17:31:08 UTC 2011

To add my thoughts to this digital Quaker's meeting:

When I started teaching digital media in the Inter-Arts Center at San Francisco State in the early 90s, there were faculty in other departments who became apprehensive, territorial and sometimes even hostile to a creative field that threatened to collapse department boundaries and challenge well-established fiefdoms.   Steve Wilson, on the other hand,  was always genuinely welcoming, friendly and excited to talk about the future of media and the arts.  I have fond memories of him sitting around the table with myself and other members of the Computer Advisory Committee, as he munched on his carrots and shared ideas.  He was a warm, cheerful person with a lot of humility.  We will miss him.

-Jesse

On Jan 12, 2011, at 11:19 PM, Oliver Grau wrote:

> The Database of Virtual Art lost a great board member and the 
> MediaArtHistories Conference Series a fellow colleague and advisor.
> 
> oliver
> 
> 
>>>> Lynn Hershman  01/13/11 6:20 AM >>>
> And he was a deep, sensitive and extremely kind human being. 
> lynn 
> On Jan 13, 2011, at 7:20 AM, Joel Slayton wrote:
> 
>> I first met Steve in 1982.  He was a young professor at SFSU and I had just arrived in SF from MIT and was scouting about to find out who was doing what where.  Over the years we developed an important friendship and professional relationship.  Steve often described art as being necessarily responsible as a guardian of the cultural frontier.  Whether one agreed or disagreed, Steve was firmly committed to the promotion of research, artistic experimentation and the challenges of transdisciplinary artistic practice.  He will be sorely missed. 
>> 
>> Joel 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Jan 12, 2011, at 2:23 PM, Christiane Robbins wrote:
>> 
>>> I can't tell you how deeply saddened I am to hear of Steve's passing.   
>>> Often not fully acknowledged, he was early force behind the  
>>> advancement of digital media and various conceptual and art practices  
>>> in the SF Bay Area. Not only had he been a colleague, he was a friend  
>>> - full of energy, high spirits and always moving forward.  He (and  
>>> George ) offered me my first university faculty position in the  
>>> unheard of program area of digital media  - right out of graduate  
>>> school which set me on a path that always gave reason for a chuckle.
>>> 
>>> Many of us in the digital realm who were orbiting around the Bay Area  
>>> in the 90's might not be practicing today had it not been for the  
>>> consistency of his encouragement.  To be sure, this hovered above the  
>>> Sisyphean obstacles placed before him by the mechanisms of the public  
>>> university. That is to say, the persistent  budget cuts by public  
>>> university funding that continually plagued his tenure at SFSU.  To  
>>> say he did his best would be an understatement - and he did so not  
>>> only for the betterment of his own program but he did so to ensure the  
>>> evolution of the field.  The digital media world is in debt to his  
>>> vision, to his energy,  to his good-humored tenacity and to fostering  
>>> a committed community of artists and intellectuals.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Chris
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Jan 12, 2011, at 7:06 AM, Trebor Scholz wrote:
>>> 
>>>> From Molly Hankwitz:
>>>> 
>>>> FYI, I know Steve was a contributor and respected colleague on this  
>>>> list.
>>>> Molly H
>>>> 
>>>> From: cathy witzling
>>>> Subject: Steve 1/10/11
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> My dear people,
>>>> I am so sad to have to tell you that Steve died at about 8:00 this  
>>>> morning, in his sleep. The end was peaceful.
>>>> Funeral services will be held on Thursday, 1/13/11, at 11:00AM.  
>>>> People are asked to arrive at 10:30AM. The services will be held at  
>>>> Sinai Memorial Chapel, 1501 Divisadero St., San Francisco, CA 94115.
>>>> Please don't send flowers, but you can make a charitable  
>>>> contribution--I will send another email out with the details.
>>>> Thank you all so much for your love and concern. You meant a lot to  
>>>> him.
>>>> Love,
>>>> Cathy
>>>> 
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>> 
>> Joel Slayton
>> Executive Director
>> ZER01: The Art & Technology Network
>> 408.250.1981 phone | 408.716.8844 fax
>> zero1.org 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
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> 
> 
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Jesse Drew, Ph.D.
Director, Technocultural Studies
University of California at Davis
Art Building, Room 316
One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616

530-752-9674
jdrew at ucdavis.edu