Tina Burton

Courses taught:

• Digital Media Production (Undergraduate)

Tina is Senior Lecturer in Digital Media Production at Cambridge School of Art.

Her research interests include artistic practice that incorporates physical technology, interactive installations, 2D game design (particularly for children), and theories of new media practice.

[email protected]

Background

Tina completed a Fine Art degree in 1986, primarily focusing on experimental film making. She was awarded the Fujifilm Award for Cinematography in their annual competition for a short 16mm film.

Subsequently, her career as a graphic interactive designer developed. Tina helped create interactive applications for one of the first touchscreen software companies in the UK and worked freelance in London and the United States. She initiated vector interactive filmmaking at Fuel GB (an e-learning company) and went on to become a software trainer at a spin-off company.

In 2010 Tina was invited to be a Visiting Lecturer whilst completing a Master's degree in Interactive Media at The University of Hertfordshire. Her previous experience with touch screen applications led her to create interactive artefacts that explore the hypnogogic state, leaving the participant to explore and discover the work intuitively.

Alongside this, she developed an interest in physical computing, which became an integral part of her personal practice. She realised that areas of technology have the potential to challenge the Cartesian principle of the passive/objective onlooker and began exploring phenomenology.

This led to concerns with how technology affects one's sense of self and how immersive environments can potentially elicit visceral experiences. In her project 'Doing Nothing', Tina explored and challenged the user imperative to action. In this immersive installation, participants discover that images and sounds are triggered by locating a 'hotspot'; once triggered they must then stand perfectly still or the action ceases. This installation received the Adobe Design achievement award for Installation Design (2010).

Tina is currently working on a collaborative research project with Avans University in Holland and students on the Digital Media Production course in Cambridge. The research explores how playful learning and non-hierarchical classrooms can affect student experience and performance.

The project is centred on an imagined future city; where stories written by the residents of the city reveal a future life in 2070. Students and staff work together to produce numerous artefacts that bring the city to life; these include a Minecraft version of the city, sound and video recordings, performances, interactive experiences, and much more still to come. The project will run until 2025.

Research interests

• Pedagogy in Art and Design
• Artistic practice incorporating physical technology
• Interactive installations
• Theories of digital media practice

Qualifications

• MA (Interactive Media)