Attending SIGGRAPH 2008 wasn't just about technology and software for me, it was about meeting people as well. I met as many people as I could and asked them all kinds of questions. I met people in the hallways, in meeting rooms, on the train, in the exhibition hall, in restaurants, theaters and on the street. And every person I met came to SIGGRAPH for a reason. In talking to them, I wanted to know that reason along with what interested them in computer graphics.

I started every day at SIGGRAPH in the media room, which was a small meeting room overlooking the exhibition hall. They put coffee and water out for us and just basically provided us with a place to rest and work on our schedules. I would often come back several times during the day to just find a place of calm and quiet after the loud and, at times, intense panels or classes. I would always make it a point to chat with as many reporters as I could. Most were receptive and happy to pass the time or give advice on what events were particularly good.

I was reticent about asking any of the journalists for an interview though. I guess it's because I felt that they just needed to rest and stop “interviewing” while they were there. Some of it, though, was just insecurity on my part. I was worried I'd look stupid or say something silly. One fellow I ran into several times was a young man named Joe Kennedy. He always had a smile for me and gave me the impression that he'd like to chat. I made a mental note that I would ask him for an interview the first chance I got.

 

Joe Kennedy

 

So on a Thursday afternoon, both Joe and I found ourselves in the media room at the same table and we started talking. It wasn't long before I pulled out the recorder and started asking questions. Joe told me he was a media reporter for the SIGGRAPH organization. He'd been working for them for almost 10 years and had seen many changes in the past decade. Joe was open and honest in conversation and I enjoyed talking to him very much. His comments about SIGGRAPH's mission and history were fascinating, especially since I was thinking a lot about those subjects all week.

Joe has a background in computer graphics, having graduated from the Otis College of Art and Design. He started with SIGGRAPH as a student volunteer as part of one of the first student chapters of SIGGRAPH in southern California. Eventually, he became a media reporter with SIGGRAPH's communications department.

In the interview, Joe talks a lot about SIGGRAPH's history, especially regarding the impact of the entertainment industry on an event that was essentially academic and scholarly. His comments are fascinating in that he can see how much that industry has done to popularize computer graphics, but he also sees that academics have been pushed to the side a bit in favor of big budget movie panels and a massive growth in the animation festival. I think you'll find Joe Kennedy to be a very thoughtful and interesting person.

Joe has an excellent webpage where you can see he is still active as an artist and illustrator. Thanks, Joe, for sharing your time. It was a pleasure to meet you.

Click here for the Joe Kennedy Audio Interview (mp3)

We invite you to visit:

• Joe Kennedy's website
• Joe Kennedy's Art Gallery

Ricky Grove [gToon], Staff Columnist with the Renderosity Front Page News. Ricky Grove is a bookstore clerk at the best bookstore in Los Angeles, the Iliad Bookshop. He's also an actor and machinima filmmaker. He lives with author, Lisa Morton, and three very individual cats. Ricky is into Hong Kong films, FPS shooters, experimental anything and reading, reading, reading. You can catch his blog here.