Nathaniel Stern

Nathaniel Stern (b. 1977) is a South African/American interdisciplinary artist, writer and educator who works with photography, interactive art, public art interventions, installation, video art, net.art and printmaking. He has been producing, exhibiting, teaching, and writing about art + technology for more than 25 years and is a full Professor working between Art, Mechanical Engineering and Entrepreneurship at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. With each medium that he works with, Stern explores new, occasionally overlapping themes. For example, when working with interactive art, the artist encourages viewers to perform and move in ways that are alien to them. When working with video art, however, Stern tends to engage in performative writing. He plays out created characters or uses found footage to explore language and discourse. In more recent times Stern’s work has begun to explore how humans and technology, such as AI, co-evolve together. Stern researches post-AI art and design, focusing on how emerging technologies affect agency, creativity, and power in daily life. Using interactive installations, generative media, and computational artworks, he explores human–AI creative collaboration and examines shifts in authorship and decision-making when working with intelligent systems. His work has been exhibited internationally and supported by grants and fellowships across the arts, sciences, and humanities. This includes leadership as Executive Director of the NEA-funded Autism Brilliance Lab for Entrepreneurship and participation in NSF-funded climate research. In addition to his studio practice, Stern is actively involved in building research infrastructure around AI and creativity, including initiatives that examine the cultural futures of artificial intelligence and the role of artists in shaping them.