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== Biography == <SPAN STYLE="font-size: larger;"></SPAN> Karsten Schmidt’s programming life started in his teens with an afternoon computer course in his native East Germany. He started exploring digital art nearly 2 decades ago in what he calls the “deep end of the early 8-bit demo scene” This started his love of computers and led to attending college in 1995 to get a Computer Science of Media degree in Dresden. Schmidt ended up dropping out after only 2.5 years having found little to learn from his courses. This gave him time to focus on his career and other personal artistic pursuits. The London-based Schmidt has shaped his career around the quote from Kenneth E. Boulding: “We make our own tools, and then they shape us” This ideal is evident in his early contributions to the Processing.org project. What began as a side-project has blossomed into a long term relationship with the project. Processing is now the main development platform for creating his work, something that doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon. He currently maintains a set of processing libraries collectively known as “toxiclibs.” Toxiclibs includes over 124 classes for handling things such as audio, color, mesh exporting, vector math, interpolation, noise generation, a full physics engine, image filtering, and an array of datatypes. Toxiclibs is fully open source, and he feels this is an important part of the process. When asked about it, Schmidt said “[Open Source] is the foundation of everything really. I couldn’t do what I do without open source. We are all standing on the shoulders of giants, you know? I really feel it’s important to give back what you take.” This allows you to download, modify, and even contribute to toxiclibs. Schmidt also takes every opportunity to release the source code for his projects, which are hosted on his website. Schmidt now finds himself in a creative no-man’s land. “I am somewhere between two groups” he says. “I try to tackle design projects via software, but I’m not part of the software industry, and I’m not really accepted by the graphic design camp because of my different background” While this has forced him to rely on freelance work to make a living, it has also allowed him the freedom to creatively explore the area where these two groups collide. When asked about the use of programming in design he replied: “The glue between all the different design disciplines is code. People have to realize that they have machines that are extremely powerful. You can only get an idea once you start writing your own code, and you start to push things in directions you never knew existed.” Pushing things in new directions has become Schmidt’s calling card, and merging code, design, art, and craft has brought him success. The self described “Computational designer” has had his work featured all around the world – from Austin to Amsterdam, SIGGRAPH, Second Life, and even the Museum of Modern Art in New York. When not creating personal art or doing projects for clients, he can often be found traveling to universities doing talks and workshops. Doing work for clients, however, does not hamper his ability to innovate. Schmidt’s goal from project to project is to do something new. From an interview: “I try to learn something new from every project. I make a big effort in every project trying not to repeat myself. I try to learn something new whether it is a new process or a new technology, but I also don’t try new technology for the sake of it. In the western world we use technology for the sake of technology, without really thinking about the bigger implications.” This has allowed Schmidt’s work to span the field of generative techniques. A single project may use a multitude of techniques, from physically based modeling to chance operations and emergent behavior. What’s important to him is that the technique gives the right look. “Code is just abstraction,” he says. “If you learn to program, you learn a new language, and that language can help you express your ideas in a better way than any other tool.” Karsten Schmidt currently owns his own studio Postspectacular in London and freelances for other design houses such as Moving Brands and Universal Everything. His websites are http://www.toxi.co.uk and http://www.postspectacular.com == Generative Art Connections == == Generative Works == == Quotes and Bibliography == == External Links == http://postspectacular.com/about/start http://uk.linkedin.com/in/kschmidt http://www.flashonthebeach.com/speakers/index.php?pageid=1208 http://universaleverything.com/people/7 http://vimeo.com/6815792 http://theatreoftheblind.net/2009/05/12/karsten-schmidt-toxi-interview-part-i-offf-09/ http://www.designweek.co.uk/features/rising-stars-karsten-schmidt/1139900.article == Credits == This entry was written by Chris Horne

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