BIO
Tamara McLean (b. 1970) is a contemporary artist and seasoned creative director whose work explores the evolving relationship between human creativity and artificial intelligence. Drawing on her extensive experience as the owner of a small design agency, McLean brings a unique, entrepreneurial perspective to her artistic practice. She is equally comfortable working in online digital spaces to create virtual work as she is working with analog processes in physical spaces.
McLean translates digital processes into physical form through the materiality of metal and textiles. Merging AI-generated imagery with traditional fabrication techniques, she creates sculptural and textile-based works that examine themes of identity, memory, and transformation in the digital age. Her process balances technological precision with organic unpredictability, utilizing machine learning and algorithmic pattern generation alongside hand-executed craftsmanship. AI serves as both a collaborator and a disruptor, generating initial forms that she manipulates through weaving, metal etching, and structural layering. The result is a body of work that challenges the boundaries between the artificial and the handmade, the rigid and the fluid.
McLean’s aesthetic is boldly tactile and architectonic, drawing from modernist geometry, computational aesthetics, and textile traditions. The interplay between hard metals and soft fibers reflects the dualities of the digital and physical worlds, creating tension, depth, and movement within each piece. Her work speaks to audiences who appreciate innovation in materiality and process-driven exploration, inviting viewers to engage in a dialogue about authorship, authenticity, and the future of creative expression in an AI-driven world.
Tamara is an MFA graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and holds a Master of Arts in Graphic and Web Design from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
Research Interest:
Artificial Intelligence in partnership with the evolution of contemporary Graphic Design.
Professional Experience:
2024-2025 MFA Fellow, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
2022-2024 Teaching Assistant, Instructor of Record, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
2018-2022 Lecturer, Instructor of Record, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Green Bay, WI
2022 Web Designer-Temp Appointment, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Green Bay, WI
2019 Assistant Professor, Instructor of Record Temp. Appt., St. Norbert College, De Pere, WI
2018-2025 Creative Director and Owner, De Pere Art Center, Green Bay, WI
2001-2018 Creative Director and Owner, Icon Group Inc., Green Bay, WI
1997-2001 Art Director, Goltz Seering Agency, Green Bay, WI
1995-1997 Graphic Designer, Brand Directions Inc., Neenah, WI
1993-1995 Graphic Designer, Curwood Inc., New London, WI
Community Involvement:
2020-2022 Emeritus President of AAF Fox River Ad Club and Principal Conversation Podcast Executive Producer, Green Bay, WI
2020-2022 Emeritus Neville Public Museum Foundation Executive Board Member, Green Bay, WI
2015-2018 Emeritus Golden House Domestic Violence Executive Board Member, Green Bay, WI
Professional Memberships:
2023-2025 Schreiber Institute for Women’s Leadership at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
2023-2025 Southeastern College Arts Conference (SECAC)
2022-2025 Society for Experiential Graphic Design (SEGD)
2020-2025 American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA)
2022-2025 College Art Association (CAA)
2022-2023 University & College Designers Association (UCDA)
2022-2023 Association Typographique Internationale (ATypI)
2020-2022 American Advertising Federation (AAF)
Education:
2025 University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, Master of Fine Arts
2022 Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, MN, Master of Arts
1993 University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Stevens Point, WI, Bachelor of Fine Arts
Tamara McLean
connect@tamaramclean.com
Portfolio: tamaramclean.com