Adam Ferriss is an artist and programmer who writes custom software to manipulate how pixel data is displayed, exposing patterns and structures that are normally invisible. He works with video, still images and interactive browser-based pieces, treating the computer as a collaborator in an iterative process where control passes back and forth between artist and machine.
Ferriss was born in Richmond, Virginia.He started experimenting with code around 2010, during a Processing course in his undergraduate studies, and has continued teaching himself since.He earned a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and an MFA in the Design Media Arts program at UCLA.At the time, he was running the photo lab at Otis College of Art & Design in Los Angeles.He is based in Los Angeles.,,
His series 500 Years Away, made between 2012 and 2014, reworks astrophotography through custom pixel-sorting software, rearranging the same pixels into false topologies of the observable surface of space. One image from the series went viral and became the subject of several hoax-debunking articles.Crystal Display, from 2013, uses custom software that emulates crystal growth patterns, driven largely by pseudo-random numbers.,Zero Player Game, a 2013 series built from cellular automata rules, appeared in the publication After Us Vol. I and in the 2017 Transmediale catalog.Deepdream, from 2016-2017, explores the DeepDream image-generation technique by feeding videos shot on his phone into a neural network and targeting specific layers of the model to produce its imagery.He has also made works that use face tracking, neural networks and augmented reality to manipulate live camera and photographic imagery.His video paper$hredder shows American dollar bills speeding past faster and faster until they dissolve into a blur, and was included in the online survey MON3Y AS AN 3RRROR on Furtherfield.
In 2016, Ferriss designed GLSL shaders and a real-time video tool for Traum Inc.'s Kenzo Spring/Summer 2017 campaign.He has been commissioned by clients including Nike, The New York Times and Foreign Policy Magazine, and his work has been featured by Wired, Fast Company and The Creators Project.,
