News/Research

Alum Trevor Paglen on Inside My Studio

01 Oct, 2019

Alum Trevor Paglen on Inside My Studio

Cultured Magazine recently featured the Berkeley Center for New Media's very own Trevor Paglen as an addition to their "Inside My Studio."

Dennis Scholl leads the series as the director and producer, speaking to artists about their studio.

In the video, Paglen introduces himself and his main studio in Berlin, which he calls the "central nervous system" (he also has studios in New York and San Francisco).

Paglen's projects are global, and so he spends less than half his time in the studio, relying on support from teammates who have joined the project. Running the studio itself can be a full time job, so Paglen often creates his art at night.

Pagle's ideal day is when a piece of art or edit is finished:

"You kind of find a moment of joy like when you are working on something and you get excited about it… and there [are] moments where you are kind of reminded of what sparked your ideas for it in the first place. Those are good days."

He elaborates on how persistence and patience are important factors when taking on an art project.

"The project can be more mature than you as an artist and you have to grow into it."

Paglen is ultimately very grateful for a job that is special: "There's something fulfilling about it." He stresses that excitement for a project is just as important as remaining grounded in your work.

Watch the full video by Cultured Mag here.