David Held

Confabulation or You Can't Hide Those Hippocampus Lies

New media, sculpture

About the artist

David Held

American

At a young age, I was diagnosed with dyslexia. Reading and writing was difficult, but there was a feeling inside me that needed a mode of creative expression. I was drawn to the visual mediums of the structural film and video movement of the 1960’s and 70’s. I apprenticed with filmmaker/science fiction illustrator Ed Emshwiller for three years while in high school. Later I went on to SUNY Buffalo, Center for Media Studies where I apprenticed and studied with film artist Paul Sharits as well with photographer/filmmaker Hollis Frampton and video artists Woody and Steina Vasulka.

In 1979, I received a grant to create a custom computer controlled sixteen speaker sound system. As I matured as an artist, the main material in my work became the uses, meaning and sounds of language in the creation of sound/multimedia installations. In 1984, the custom built system went up in smoke (literally). Then my artistic career went on hiatus.

My artistic career was revitalized by the Maker Movement in the 2010’s. I taught several “Art and Technology” courses to middle and high school students and mentored high school students in Kingston’s Alternative High School. During this time I created several sculptural pieces while organizing and displaying in official Maker Faires in Poughkeepsie, NY in 2015-2017. In 2024, I rebuilt the sixteen-speaker system and went on to develop installations, audio works, sculptures and photography.