Jonathan Tai – Bio and works

Hi there!
Glad you could make it! I’m Jonathan Tai, but most people just call me J.T.  I am from Shanghai, China, but I have grown up pretty much all over the place. Born in Florida, lived in Beijing and Bangalore for a few years before spending the rest of my formative years in Shanghai.

I used to do plenty of digital art when I was in high school, most of it was photoshop work, and at times I also did layout design when i wasn’t doing photo manipulations and forayed into some logo design as well which was fun. I always found that kind of stuff fun and a good restful change of pace from the hubub of school work. Some of my favorite works that I have done include two classical paintings that I edited to fit themes of globalization and a handful of desktop backgrounds I made for myself. Now a days there isn’t much time to do that anymore but from time to time I will work on a film project and now I also take a lot of photos! Oh also i took a few more art classes in college and made some neat characters which I am proud of as well as some awesome figure drawings!

 

I started doing robotics when I was just about finishing middle school and I haven’t stopped since. In high school I competed in some first robotics competitions but the game completely changed when I came to college. Since then I have built 3 very different robots and worked with 3 axis arms and turtle bots as well as building smaller pieces of robotic systems in labs and in research. Now I am currently working on an autonomous car project for my Senior MQP and honestly it is a good time.

I am also an actor, singer, and comedian. I used to do way more theatre but not anymore, now a days those skills have translated into comedy when I work with Empty Set, the experimental comedy group at wpi. I still sign occasionally though but I haven’t recorded something in some time. I also like to dance but nothing too crazy, i know the basics and that’s about it but i really want to learn how to breakdance someday. Oh, and I also like to write from time to time.

Creatively I think it is important to make things that are aesthetically attractive or pleasing. That way what you make can be really enjoyed by the people around you and can be appreciated. There is some science behind the concept of beauty, and why we humans know when something is beautiful and when something is not. I strive to put that beauty into everything that I do and all of my work.

I guess one could also say that is also my artistic goal. Perhaps on a grander scale its also about incorporating all of this artistic beauty into every aspect of my life. From my cooking, and my living situation to the actual production of work that I do and the art and music and film that I make.

The latest project that I have been working on artistically would be the video series that I am making to document my MQP. Here is a link so you can check it out yourself!

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