J. Rosenbaum figured out how to combine their passion for creativity with their love for tech and now teaches others how to tap into that vision
Watching fantasy novels and sci-fi movies with their dad got J excited about how digital figures came to life. “We would watch shows and then we’d talk about them and analyse them. Stories about AI really got me going,” J (an AI artist and researcher) recalls. But they credit two strong women in their life – their mum and granny – for introducing them to the world of art.
“My mum fed absolutely every one of my crazy hobbies,” J says. “It might’ve been getting me a chemistry textbook one week or new art supplies. She always gave me time to explore new and different things.”
Now, their love for creating interesting things has come full circle. “I’m very lucky. My granny was an artist; she was a sculptor and later a painter and she loved art. I can’t believe that I learnt the techniques I’m using now from Granny. She taught me about sculpting techniques which we use on lost wax [lost-wax process is a metal casting method]. Sculpturing is like the earliest form of modelling, just with our hands,” they say.
It’s a pretty cool legacy, but J hasn’t always been the artist they are today.
“I did about 50 different things after school,” they joke. “I started doing a Bachelor of Archeology, then philosophy and some programming. I wanted to learn everything. Then I got enticed by the dot.com boom and ended up not finishing my bachelor’s degree.”
Instead, J took a break from uni and started building websites, working in web design and even doing project management before a serious car accident left them with a permanent disability that meant they couldn’t work a desk job anymore. The silver lining? J started painting again. “I always loved painting and making art and when I went into the web world, I felt like I stopped being creative,” J says. “So when I rediscovered that art, everything kind of became full colour again.”
“That’s the exciting thing about the AI stuff – I discovered I could work with code and still be creative and make art. Plus my project management skills have come in very handy with managing larger projects and print work,” they say.
J applied for a Master of Contemporary Art in visual arts and it was during this study that the creative combo of art and tech really clicked. “My first image was absolutely hideous, but it created something and from there an artwork started to emerge. I pivoted from painting at the beginning of my master’s to the 3D and then to bringing in the AI and augmented reality (AR) and all these really cool technologies because that’s where my heart was,” J says.
As an AI artist and researcher, J exhibits their own work both virtually and IRL now. Recently, they completed their PhD Art at RMIT where they now lecture part time. “I love teaching,” J says. “I’m teaching about critical AI and those tools: how to use them, what to use, why… and I talk a lot about transparency, because we need transparency in AI.”
J’s advice for those who don’t know much about STEM but love creating? “STEM is all around us,” they say. “Science, technology, engineering and maths… it’s everywhere. Think about what brings you joy. Make whatever gives you passion and excitement.”
J’s pathway to becoming an AI artist and researcher
- Lead web designer, Dotwap
- Project manager, DeakinPrime
- Master of Contemporary Art, Visual Art, Victorian College of the Arts
- Sessional lecturer, RMIT
- PhD in Art, RMIT
This profile first appeared in Careers with STEM: Technology 2023.
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