Member Profile: CK “Kaia” Olsen

1. What do you do, and how long have you been doing it?

I’m an interdisciplinary artist, animator, and educator working across film, performance, sculpture, and computer graphics. My current work explores embodied narrativity and volumetric imaging, with a focus on visual and spatial storytelling. I’ve been practicing professionally since 1993 and first entered higher education in 1996–97, both teaching and helping launch the first computer animation program at Columbia College Chicago. After a period away from academia, I returned to teaching in 2020.

2. What was your first job?

My first job in computer graphics was working as an animator and director for Big Idea Productions, creators of the VeggieTales® animated series. I was literally the company’s first employee, working alongside founders Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki to build the studio and bring the show to life.

3. Where did you complete your formal education?

I received my BFA in Photography from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and my MFA in Studio Arts from the University of Illinois at Chicago. My interdisciplinary practice really took off during my undergraduate studies, involving explorations into graphics, sculpture, experimental film, alternative imaging techniques, and stop-motion filmmaking.

4. How did you first get involved with ACM SIGGRAPH?

I attended my first SIGGRAPH conference around 1997 and was immediately hooked. My involvement deepened significantly when I returned to teaching in 2020 and realized how much I wanted to share SIGGRAPH’s inspiring work with my students.

5. What is your favorite memory of a SIGGRAPH conference?

I have so many favorites, but one that stands out was watching a specific public showcase of my early virtual production experiments unfold live onstage in the VICON booth at the SIGGRAPH tradeshow in San Diego circa 2003. This particular engagement involved an absurdly overpowered, real-world 1/10-scale remote-controlled monster truck being motion-captured while engaged in “monster truck rally” antics. The resultant mix of real-world action and real-time-rendered chaos was hilarious.

6. Describe a project that you would like to share with the ACM SIGGRAPH community.

In addition to my work in graphics, I’m also a choreographer, and have been developing an unconventional narrative project that intertwines dance and volumetric imaging. I’m hoping to share the results at next summer’s SIGGRAPH conference in Los Angeles!

7. If you could have dinner with one living or non-living person, who would it be and why?

My first thought is David Bowie. His work as a performance artist carried an intensity that somehow always felt effortless and continues to inspire me more with each passing year. Even decades after first hearing some of his songs, I uncover intricacies I previously overlooked, making his work a constant source of renewed amazement. I like to imagine our dinner filled with meaningful conversation, genial laughter, artistic meanderings, and metaphysical tangents — though I suspect there would be moments where I’d simply sit there, awestruck, making happy puppy-dog eyes at him while he politely picked at his dinner.

8. What is something most people don’t know about you?

Once upon a time, I wrote, performed, and occasionally fully improvised competitive original solo comedy. I probably still have a box of medals and ribbons stowed away somewhere as proof.

9. From which single individual have you learned the most in your life? What did they teach you?

My worldview has been shaped by several generous mentors, but I am especially indebted to the brilliant Professor Hannah Higgins, Ph.D., one of my graduate thesis advisors. She not only introduced me to a body of specifically resonant writings I hadn’t previously encountered (which helped refine the trajectory of my artistic practice) but also consistently reminded me of the importance of taking a clear, deliberate stance in the world. I remain deeply grateful for her insight, rigor, and encouragement.

10. Is there someone in particular who has influenced your decision to work with ACM SIGGRAPH?

Surprisingly, this is someone I don’t even know personally (Jim Blinn) but who I have seen at basically every conference I’ve ever attended. For me, Jim represents the importance of constancy in a creative community, and I am continually inspired seeing someone who’s contributed so much to our field still remain so deeply engaged.

11. What can you point to in your career as your proudest moment?

Completing my first full-fledged poetry and dance-laden art film, butterfly, and having it selected for world premiere at the 2008 Chicago International Film Festival. Looking back, it was deeply rewarding to share such a pivotal moment of artistic self-expression in the very heart of my favorite city.