Lauren McCarthy

Lauren McCarthy is an American artist and computer programmer. McCarthy creates artworks that use a variety of media and techniques, including performance, artificial intelligence and programmed computer-based interaction. She created p5.js, an open-source and web-based JavaScript version of the software Processing.

Life

McCarthy is a graduate of the MIT program in Art, Culture and Technology. She received an MFA degree from UCLA in 2011, where she has been an assistant professor since 2016.

Art career

McCarthy's work explores the impact of technology on individual identity and human interaction. In Follower, a 2016 work, users could use an app to voluntarily request a person to follow them around New York for an entire day, without knowing the identity of the follower. In 2017, for her work LAUREN, she installed cameras, microphones and speakers in her apartment, then interacted with visitors by performing the role of assistive technology, similar to Amazon Alexa. In the work How We Act Together, a collaboration with Kyle McDonald, encourages viewers to follow computer-generated prompts to interact with video persona by nodding, screaming, greeting or making eye contact with the projection.