Watch the recorded talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6UHgPQ8DaU&list=PLemMo5TwvYrlkfmKzWE0NvtyJ-D6N-j1W&index=9

Trevor McFedries, Co-Founder, Brud and Creator, Lil Miquela Aria Dean, Artist, Assistant Curator of Net Art and Digital Culture, Rhizome What kinds of visualities does an avatar invoke? How does a hyperrealistic image get configured? How does narrative and attitude make an avatar relatable and perhaps even authentic? Is style only about fashion, or is there a socio-political dimension? Media creator Trevor McFedries discusses the development of his creative style with theorist Aria Dean @lol_prosciutto from his early music productions (Buzzin') to the most recent adventures with the virtual influencer avatar @lilmiquela. Trevor McFedries is the founder of Brud and the creator of virtual pop star Lil Miquela, a budding icon of her generation with millions of fans around the world. Lil Miquela has more than 3M followers, has modeled for Prada, Calvin Klein, Burberry & more, interviewed artists at Coachella, graced the covers of Wired, V Magazine, L’Officiel, 032C, Wonderland, ES Magazine and Highsnobiety and was named one of Time's 25 Most Influential People on the Internet in 2018. Before creating Brud, McFedries was known professionally as Yung Skeeter and worked as a DJ, producer, and director for acts like Katy Perry and Steve Aoki. In addition to winning the “People’s Choice Award for Best DJ” in 2008, he has also performed at music festivals, including Lollapalooza and Coachella. Trevor has also served as an entrepreneur-in-residence at Bad Robot and was an early employee at Spotify. Aria Dean is a Rhizome Assistant Curator of Net Art and Digital Culture. She lives in NYC. Her writing has appeared in publications including Artforum, Art in America, e-flux, The New Inquiry, X-TRA Contemporary Art Quarterly, Spike Quarterly, Kaleidoscope Magazine, Texte zur Kunst, and CURA Magazine. She has spoken at the New Museum, The New School, Reed College, Oberlin College, UCLA, Museum Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Transmediale (Berlin), and The Kitchen, among other institutions. -------------------------- Arts + Design Thursdays @ BAMPFA is made possible thanks to support from the Big Ideas Courses Program in the College of Letters & Science at UC Berkeley and from generous supporters of Berkeley Arts + Design. Technical support and presentation offered by UC Berkeley College of Letters & Science, Division of Arts & Humanities. For more information, visit artsdesign.berkeley.edu/thursdays.