NEA Tech Check: Kendra Krueger, 4Love and Science

NEA: Tell us about yourself.

KENDRA KRUEGER: I am an engineer, artist and educator committed to exploring the transformative power of integrating science with arts practices. I work both independently through my organization, 4Love and Science, and also with The City University of New York (CUNY) at their Advanced Science Research Center.

NEA: Tell us about a specific program (or other work) you are involved in which supports artist-driven explorations of technology. 

KRUEGER: I started an educational platform known as 4Love and Science to explore concepts of nature both through science and art.  I’ve taught and co-taught workshops and courses on topics including quantum physics, environmental science, and electronic system design that utilize practices of dance, theater, writing, and other creative tools of expression and exploration. All of these workshops were designed for everyday people with no specific technical or artistic background, purely with the intention of co-exploring the patterns that exist within and outside of ourselves.

I also developed a program called The Community Sensor Lab at The City University of New York’s (CUNY) Advanced Science Research Center. This research and training program is also designed for folks from any background to learn about and build their own do-it-yourself electronic environmental sensors that can measure in real time things like particulate matter (dust/smoke/pollution) and carbon dioxide (good indicator of ventilation in indoor spaces). The goal of the program is to create accessibility and literacy around sensing technology and data, both of which are becoming more pervasive in our world. However, the exploration is not limited to working with electronic sensors. We first learn about how our bodies are our first technologies and explore the capabilities and limitations of our own internal sensing systems through somatic, embodied games. This framework is crucial as we continue to uphold the value of personal experience and intuitive knowledge even in the advancement of data and technology.

NEA: Was there a specific interest or experience that led you to including technology in your arts practice?

KRUEGER: I think I started first as an artist, by proxy of being raised by a photographer and a dancer, then became a scientist studying electrical engineering, then found my way back to the arts, which has now led me to a path of integrating the two. I found my way back to art, as a practice, through a great friend Kebrina Josephina De Jesus, who was leading a community ensemble theater training as part of her MFA in Contemplative Theater at Naropa University.  The process was so transformative as a way to connect deeper with myself and my ensemble members that I became committed to developing a way of doing science that could include that personally transformative experience in any way possible.

Already I was obsessed with science as a tool for understanding the patterns and interconnected system of nature, but the contemplative arts gave tools to explore these patterns and systems within my own psyche and social relationships. I have continued to build the pedagogy with knowledge from ancestral healing practices, social ecology and regenerative design, mindfulness, somatics, systems thinking, and the canon of modern science.

NEA: What are ways you have experienced arts and technology activities contributing to the wellbeing of individuals and communities? 

KRUEGER: I hope that many of the explorations co-created with collaborators and students have been cathartic and inspiring for either deeper emotional healing or creative inspiration. In a class I taught through the Society of Poetic Computation, with teaching assistance from Zahra Hassan, many students developed conceptual work using scientific concepts to explore challenging emotional experiences or trauma. In the class we learned about the archetypes of radioactive decay as a process of identity transformation that could be destructive or generative. One of our students, Dri, created artwork exploring these and other patterns through their own personal transformative process. Dri explains their work as: 

“Ahead of my top surgery, I thought a lot about scale. I felt alone, and found solace in similar natural patterns. Three drawings are included, exploring electron capture and radioactive decay, autolysis and self-digestion, and the practice of filial slicing.” 

Here are their drawings and other students’ projects. 

NEA: What are ways the arts and cultural field can play a role in building a more equitable future with technology? 

KRUEGER: I think the arts and cultural world has done a much better job at creating collective spaces and co-created work with local communities through activism and social practice than the science and technology world. Many grassroots or underground arts and community spaces exist in various cities but hardly any grassroots technology spaces save for a few in New York or the Bay area that I’ve stumbled across. Also, it seems there are fewer barriers to entry to get involved in the arts at an older age. I believe science and technology approached from more of a creative lens can be a good entry point for people of all ages to engage and explore through their own curiosity rather than a need to be technologically literate.

NEA: What are some reactions or memorable experiences that have occurred during one of these arts and technology-related activities?

KRUEGER: There is a group called the Black Quantum Futurism Collective based out of Philadelphia that has hosted a number of different gatherings called TimeCamp to which I’ve been invited to give workshops. In 2016 Timecamp002 was curated by Janelle Dunlap in Charlotte, North Carolina. My workshop entitled Timecasting: Resonance and Manifestation Technologies was about exploring the power of entropy which can be understood as increasing chaos, randomness, or noise in the universe, but in a more positive light also more possibilities.  We played with this concept by creating a drumming circle, first with the same repetitive patterns and then by inserting our own random sounds and rhythms. What emerged was a cacophony of sound that was both unpredictable but also alive and full of generative energy. Embodied games like this help to demystify complex scientific concepts and create more intuitive understanding of how the patterns of nature play out in many contexts all around us. Here is a video from the event. 

NEA:  How can small or mid-sized arts organizations get involved with this work, if coming to it for the first time? Why should they not feel intimidated, and how can they explore these tools/activities even on a modest budget or with more limited resources?

KRUEGER: With one of my collaborators, Zahra Hassan, I created a toolkit for educators to create engaging and creative lessons based on arts and sciences. It provides some pedagogical or philosophical writing and insights about how to prepare oneself as an educator and guide in order to first embody the practice and then to create an environment for learning. It then also provides activities and exercises that could be used with various groups and varying contexts. 

For the Community Sensor Lab, we provide all of our assembly guides and code online as well, which people can access by signing up.

Some organizations I recommend following are:

 The Society for Poetic Computation: They host courses every semester exploring many of these conceptual and interdisciplinary topics

The Black Quantum Futurism Collective: They have published a number of books, one anthology Black Quantum Futurism Vol 2: Theory and Practice,  which includes an essay of mine entitled "The Wild Truth: Casting Spells with Entropy and Lasers."

Processing Foundation. They support projects and fellows developing creative and accessible platforms to engage with code through art and education. They supported Zahra and me as a fellows in co-creating the Engaging STEM toolkit. [Editor's Note: Read our American Artscape magazine story on Processing Foundation here.] 

Jax Deluca oversees the NEA’s grant portfolio and resources focused on supporting the diverse ecology of film and media arts ecosystems across the nation.