MS 1989
PhD Candidate, University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts
After MIT and a brief stint at MTV, she became an assistant professor at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, in the nation's first computer graphics arts program. She also consulted for Avid Technology during their startup phase. In 1993, Clea was invited as an artist-fellow to the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne, followed by a German Chancellor's Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. These opportunities in Germany were a major turning point in her life and the beginning of her professional art career.
In 2001, Clea moved to Berlin to take on a five-year position as associate professor of Montage at the Academy of Film and Television Babelsberg. After completing her tenure in Babelsberg, she was honored with an artist research fellowship from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University in 2006-7 to create the experimental, immersive film "Moonwalk", additionally funded by the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. She was a guest professor at the University of the Arts Berlin under a MINT fellowship in support of women in mathematics, computer science, science, and technology in education, following which she joined iMA+P interdisciplinary Media Arts + Practic PhD program at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts. Clea will be completing her Ph.D. in the Spring of 2018.
How did your experience at the Lab influence your next step?
The Media Lab is a great calling card on the job market and the network of people one builds there will provide a lifetime of professional support.
After graduating, I supplemented my education both informally and now formally, adding knowledge of art history, critical theory, and practice. This knowledge combines with the technical and scientific expertise I gained at MIT to give me a unique perspective and approach to creative practice. In particular, my ability to speak the language of science has been a boon to my acceptance as a collaborating artist working together with scientists in diverse fields.
Be open, not arrogant.