David Weed
ON/OFF · 0-100s
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Interactive. Playful. Fun.
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Flip switches, turn knobs, push buttons.
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Make choices. Adjust meanings. Generate ideas.
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Express preferences. Reveal emotions. Add perspectives.
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Indulge curiosity. Embrace self-reflection. Spark social interaction.
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Engage critical thinking. Exercise decision-making. Celebrate self-expression.
Influences
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Novelty and the appeal of something brand new.
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The playfulness found in toys and control mechanisms.
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Artist who merge interaction, text or play into their work.
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Semiosis - the endless process of producing, interpreting, and exchanging signs.
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The post-structuralist concept that meaning is always fluid and open to interpretation.
About
In 2017, I walked into a Home Depot looking for a structure that could house an idea I had for an interactive sign. While exploring the electrical section, I discovered junction boxes - sturdy metal enclosures designed to protect wire connections. They were perfect: industrial, durable, and ideal for modification. Their metal construction allowed for drill pressing, cutting, and powder coating, offering both creative control and longevity.
I purchased one and later sourced a 12-volt LED light, toggle switch, antenna, and custom panel label. The concept was simple yet compelling - an interactive device that invited participation and choice. By flipping a switch, a viewer could turn a light on or off, registering a preference in a tangible way.
When I first displayed the piece during an art walk at my studio, I was struck by how people engaged with it. They debated, laughed, hesitated, and reflected - all in response to a single switch. That moment clarified my artistic direction.
Since then, I've continued creating these devices - some politically charged, others playful, abstract, or enigmatic. Each piece transforms a small, intentional action into a moment of engagement, prompting curiosity, dialogue, and self-reflection. By placing choice at the center of my work, I explore the dynamic nature of meaning and invite the viewer to take part in shaping it.
David Weed
Seattle, WA (current)
Flagstaff, AZ
San Diego, CA
Tucson, AZ (grew up)
Chicago, IL (born)
Education
2008 MFA in Painting
CWU, Ellensburg, WA
2001 BS in Art Education
NAU, Flagstaff, AZ
1995 MA in Sociology
NAU, Flagstaff, AZ
1991 BA in Sociology
UofA, Tucson, AZ
LAAA Member
Los Angeles Artist Association
Los Angles, CA
Select Juried Exhibitions
2024 San Diego Museum of Art Artist Guild
Spring Exhibition, San Diego, CA
Accepted: Ice Cream Making Machine
Information and Democracy: Education, Access, Libraries, and Society, West Lafayette, IN
Accepted: Arbitrary Connection, Functional Result, Structural Indifference, Innocent System
2023 Valdosta State University
Change of Weather, Valdosta, GA
Accepted: Global Warming
Right to Vote, Wakefield, RI
Accepted: Vote
Fear, Pool Art Center Gallery, Springfield, MO
Accepted: Alarm, Vote, ICBM
Intergalactic, Hermosa Beach, CA
Accepted: America Postwar 1950s, Ideology
Access, Opportunity, Diversity, Inclusion, Pollock Gallery, West Long Branch, NJ
Accepted: Gender, Immigration, Religion
Social Justice in the Misinformation Age, Freedman Gallery, Reading, PA
Accepted: Lethal Injection
Combined Talents, Museum of Fine Art, Tallahassee, FL
Accepted: Sunshine, Immigration
2019 Brownsville Museum of Fine Art
47th International Exhibition, Brownsville, TX
Accepted: Sunshine, Cotton Candy, Religion
2018 East Tennessee State University
Fletcher Exhibit, Reece Museum, Johnson City, TN
Accepted: Global Warming
2018 California Museum of Art Thousand Oaks
Power, Thousand Oaks, CA
Accepted: Sunshine, Shark Alarm, Cotton Candy, Vote, ICBM, Religion
2018 Center on Contemporary Art
Creativity Persists, Seattle, WA
Accepted: Global Warming