Biography

Terse and pithy

David Lu is a quiet 30-something who writes custom software to help create the drawn line. His computational drawings are fueled by caffeine, moving, and bad weather. David plans to one day name his offspring Buffa.

Less terse, less pithy

David Lu graduated from Rutgers College in 1998 with a BA in Computer Science, Economics, and Psychology. Shortly afterward, he began to experiment with crossing drawing and computation. A meeting with artist John Maeda in 2002 led him to study at Interaction Design Institute Ivrea, a new school for interaction design based in Northern Italy. At Ivrea, David developed a diverse body of work that ranged from the conceptual (a rotary phone dial-operated web browser) to the physical (custom interfaces for drawing).

In 2003, he collaborated with Amy Franceschini on a human-vs-machine drawing installation, which debuted at the Dutch Electronic Art Festival. The project made an unplanned second appearance at an exhibition opening at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in 2004. The pair collaborated again, with Michael Swaine, on Fingerprint Maze, a media installation that allows one to explore a 3D labyrinth constructed from one's own scanned fingerprint. The project was installed at YBCA and Pond Gallery, and featured on KQED's public art television programme, The Spark, in 2005. His recent exploration in wearable computing, iPod Status, toyed with making the invisible traces of one's listening habits visible in the public space.

David lives in New York City.