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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
McLean\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Artificial Intelligence in partnership with the evolution of contemporary Graphic Design.<\/p>\n
2024-2025<\/strong> MFA Fellow, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI<\/p>\n 2022-2024<\/strong> Teaching Assistant, Instructor of Record, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI<\/p>\n 2018-2022<\/strong> Lecturer, Instructor of Record, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Green Bay, WI<\/p>\n 2022<\/strong> Web Designer-Temp Appointment, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Green Bay, WI<\/p>\n 2019<\/strong> Assistant Professor, Instructor of Record Temp. Appt., St. Norbert College, De Pere, WI<\/p>\n 2018-2025<\/strong> Creative Director and Owner, De Pere Art Center, Green Bay, WI<\/p>\n 2001-2018<\/strong> Creative Director and Owner, Icon Group Inc., Green Bay, WI<\/p>\n 1997-2001<\/strong> Art Director, Goltz Seering Agency, Green Bay, WI<\/p>\n 1995-1997<\/strong> Graphic Designer, Brand Directions Inc., Neenah, WI<\/p>\n 1993-1995<\/strong> Graphic Designer, Curwood Inc., New London, WI<\/p>\n 2020-2022<\/strong> Emeritus President of AAF Fox River Ad Club and Principal Conversation Podcast Executive Producer, Green Bay, WI<\/p>\n 2020-2022<\/strong> Emeritus Neville Public Museum Foundation Executive Board Member, Green Bay, WI<\/p>\n 2015-2018<\/strong> Emeritus Golden House Domestic Violence Executive Board Member, Green Bay, WI<\/p>\n 2023-2025<\/strong> Schreiber Institute for Women\u2019s Leadership at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay<\/p>\n 2023-2025<\/strong>\u00a0 Southeastern College Arts Conference (SECAC)<\/p>\n 2022-2025<\/strong>\u00a0 Society for Experiential Graphic Design (SEGD)<\/p>\n 2020-2025<\/strong>\u00a0 American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA)<\/p>\n 2022-2025<\/strong>\u00a0 College Art Association (CAA)<\/p>\n 2022-2023\u00a0<\/strong> University & College Designers Association (UCDA)<\/p>\n 2022-2023<\/strong>\u00a0 Association Typographique Internationale (ATypI)<\/p>\n 2020-2022\u00a0 <\/strong>American Advertising Federation (AAF)<\/p>\n 2025<\/strong>\u00a0 University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, Master of Fine Arts<\/p>\n 2022<\/strong>\u00a0 Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, MN, Master of Arts<\/p>\n 1993<\/strong>\u00a0 University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Stevens Point, WI, Bachelor of Fine Arts<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tamara McLean<\/p>\nCommunity Involvement:<\/h3>\n
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