John Maeda (b. 1966, Seattle, Washington, USA) is an artist, designer, technologist, writer, and educator whose practice explores the intersections of art, design, and computation. Emerging in the 1990s as a pioneering figure in digital and computational art, Maeda has consistently challenged conventional distinctions between artistic and technological disciplines, combining programming, visual experimentation, and systems thinking in works that examine the aesthetics and cultural implications of technology.
Trained in computer science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and later in design in Japan, Maeda developed a distinctive approach informed by both technological innovation and the principles of simplicity and visual communication associated with Japanese design culture. He subsequently returned to MIT as a professor, becoming an influential advocate for creative coding as an artistic medium. Alongside his artistic practice, he has played a significant role in shaping contemporary discussions around design, technology, and innovation through his work as an educator, author, and institutional leader.
Maeda’s artistic output encompasses digital prints, software-based artworks, generative design, interactive installations, and experimental visualisations. His work frequently employs algorithms as creative tools, producing forms and compositions that merge mathematical precision with aesthetic sensitivity. Notable projects include the Reactive Books series, explorations in generative typography, and a range of computational artworks that investigate movement, perception, abstraction, and the visualisation of data.
The inclusion of Maeda and researchers from MIT in the Institute of Contemporary Arts exhibition and festival What Do You Want To Do With It? reflects the organisation’s interest in practitioners who challenge established disciplinary boundaries and engage critically with contemporary culture. His work addresses questions central to the festival’s concerns, including the relationship between humans and technology, the aesthetics of digital systems, and the ways computation increasingly shapes perception, communication, and experience. Through a career that has consistently bridged artistic experimentation and technological innovation, Maeda offers an important perspective on both the possibilities and complexities of the digital age.
His work has been exhibited internationally, including presentations at Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, as well as numerous exhibitions dedicated to the intersections of art, design, and digital culture. His work is represented in major public and private collections and has been influential in establishing computational design and creative coding as significant fields within contemporary art practice.
What Do You Want To Do With It? was curated and realised by Andrew Chetty and Keith Whittle, working with Echo Eschen and A Fish Can Sing. Funded by Arts Council England, it was sponsored by Motorola, SUN Microsystems, and Sony PlayStation.
