John Kauffman

Teaches at The Art League

John has been explaining technology for 20 years, across four continents. Educated at Penn State colleges of Science and Agriculture, he has continued his studies in technology and art, including the Art Students League of New York. He recently received recognition as a featured instructor of technology.

His classes have ranged from introduction to computers to advanced programming topics with a core interest in how to use inexpensive technology to sense the environment and react to it. Fascinated by the works of Arthur Ganson, Nam June Paik and Alexander Calder, he now applies his knowledge of electrical and mechanical systems to sculpture and installations.
 
Teaching Philosophy

Every person should have a chance to learn a new craft starting from zero. Especially for techniques in the arts, the role of the teacher is to accept each student’s start point and then move her or him ahead by three hours each class. As in all crafts, the learning is by doing so the spoken introduction to each concept must be succinct and then the teacher must interact closely one-on-one with each student as they apply the new knowledge. More than other types of art classes, instructors of technology in the arts must be able to modify the topics of each class to meet the goals of the particular group of students.

New tools constantly emerge, for example technology to sense if a viewer is present in front of the art and the ability to have un-connected pieces react in concert. I see my role as not only teaching today’s technology but explaining the underlying principles so students can adopt future generations of devices into their projects.