http://www.gardensandmachines.com/

Shannon McMullen is a jointly appointed Associate Professor in the Electronic and Time-Based Art Program in the School of Design, Art and Performance and in American Studies at Purdue University. She received a PhD in sociology from the University of California, San Diego in 2007.

Based on her fieldwork experience and dissertation writing in the areas of visual and material culture, Dr. McMullen has developed a creative practice that combines social inquiry and artistic strategies. Her current research interests and artistic endeavors focus on relations between nature and technology, the creation of installations and artifacts to produce temporary social spaces, and engagement with public visual cultures. Collaboration and interdisciplinarity shape her research and practice.

Dr. McMullen is currently working on three major projects. National Security Garden, a series of collaborative art projects with Prof. Fabian Winkler, begins with the premise that gardens express ideas and social relations. Viewing Narratives and Voicing Alternatives will apply social inquiry and artistic forms to elicit public dialogue around the gender narratives of campus visual and material culture. Finally, as part of a recently Mellon-funded exploratory grant entitled Local and Global Perspectives on E-Waste: Integrating the Humanities, Social Sciences and Engineering to Examine the Life Cycle of Electronics, Dr. McMullen will work with an interdisciplinary group of Purdue scholars to develop artistic strategies for engaging with the public around the issue of electronic waste.

Photo on top of page by John Terhume/Journal & Courier

2021 Purdue University Electronic and Time-Based Art