Transcript
A (0:00)
Hey, welcome to another bonus episode of the Daring Creativity Podcast. I'm back to unpack some of the gems from this week's conversation, pulling out those moments that deserve a second look and digging deeper into what makes them special. This week I spoke to Robert Hodgin, an artist and head of research and development at Rare Volume, a company specializing in data visualization and immersive installations that make technology feel human. This episode, published a few days ago, was titled Dare to Question. Excellent. And it is packed with deep thoughts and observation of what it's like to be at the intersection of art and science. If you haven't checked out a full interview yet, let me start with these moments that stood out from our conversation.
B (0:47)
So I seem to always be bouncing back and forth between the two, and I think that's why I like visualizing data in an artistic way, because it's not uncommon for data visualizers to be sort of in the science bucket, where they're not really too concerned about the aesthetics. They just want the data to show up on graphs and be readable. And I think there's more opportunity there to present the data in a way that feels more art forward. And that seems to be how I spend a lot of my time lately, is just finding interesting data sets and then finding non traditional things to do with them.
A (1:23)
This moment captures the core tension that defines Robert's entire career and his creative philosophy. He's identified a gap in the market that exists precisely because most people stay firmly in one camp or the other. Data scientists prioritize function, artists prioritize form. But in Robert's case, he recognized that the intersection where both concerns are equally weighted, it is where truly innovative work happens. What makes this particularly powerful is that he's not claiming to have solved the art science divide. He's still bouncing back and forth, which suggests an ongoing dialogue rather than a settled position. This resonates with anyone who's ever felt like they don't quite fit in the traditional categories. His discomfort with choosing became his competitive advantage. For listeners struggling with their own identity across disciplines, this validates that you don't have to pick a side. The middle ground can be the most fertile creative territory.
B (2:26)
It's, it's gotten to the point where if I hear the phrase arch forward, I'm going to assume that it's not going to be and they already know what they want to see. They just, they're, they're too afraid to dictate it during the call. I guess there's been some projects that, that were Fantastic. We did, I think our first project as Rare Volume was to do content for Samsung for their flagship store in the meatpacking district. And the content was on like a three story video wall. It was huge and stayed out of our way. We got to execute our vision almost to the letter with minor notes because what they wanted at the end of the day was art. They wanted big, beautiful, moving art on their big, beautiful three story video wall. And they didn't need to throw the Samsung logo up on everything and, you know, dictate brand guidelines. They wanted us to do sort of a love letter to New York City as viewed through a Samsung lens. And so that, that was an example of a project that I think is up there with ones that I feel most strongly about.