Shawn Greenlee is a sound and electronic media artist. In recent performance and installation work, Greenlee focuses on generating digital audio from graphic patterns. Via computer programs of his own design, he advances new methods for interpreting visual image as sound (graphic synthesis). Further areas of investigation evident in his work include psychoacoustic phenomena, sonic environments, sound synthesis, telecommunications and noise.

In both solo and group contexts, Greenlee has been active as a performing and recording artist since 1992. His discography includes releases on the labels Load, Utech, Corleone, Vermiform, Hospital Productions and History of the Future. Touring extensively, Greenlee has performed at venues ranging from galleries and concert halls to clubs and warehouses across the US and Europe. He has given solo performances at festivals and conferences such as International Computer Music Conference (2011 Huddersfield and 2005 Barcelona), IN TRANSIT (2008 Berlin), Elevate (2007 Graz), Boston Cyberarts (2005), Performance Studies International (2005 Providence), New West Electro-Acoustic Organization (2004 Portland and San Diego) and Listening in the Sound Kitchen (2003 Princeton).

As a sound designer, Greenlee worked on the 2006–07 re-doings of Allan Kaprow’s 1959 work 18 Happenings in 6 Parts featured at Haus Der Kunst (Munich) and the Performa Biennial (New York), the latter of which earned a Best Performance award by AICA (International Association of Art Critics).

Greenlee teaches in the Experimental and Foundation Studies department at RISD. He earned his PhD in Computer Music and New Media at Brown University (2008), where he was affiliated with MEME (Multimedia and Electronic Music Experiments). Other education includes an MA in Computer Music and Multimedia Composition from Brown University (2003) and a BFA in Printmaking from RISD (1996).

Academic research/areas of interest

Greenlee is interested in Signal Processing, Sound Synthesis, Graphic Synthesis, Sonification, Spatial Audio, Noise, Telecommunications, Computer Music, Experimental Music, Sound Art, New Media, Digital Media, Printmaking, Cartography, Data Visualization, Performance, Installation, Acoustic Ecology, Sonic Environments, Phonography (Field Recording), Sound Recording and Reproduction, Programming Languages and Electronics.

Fall 2018 Courses

• DM-7100-02 Atep Graduate Studio/seminar 1
• DM-7108-03 Atep Graduate Studio/seminar 3

Wintersession 2019 Courses

• NMSE-8965-05 Collaborative Study
• DM-8900-01 ISP Major

Spring 2019 Courses

• DM-7102-02 Atep Graduate Studio/seminar 2
• CTC-2006-01 Spatial Audio
• DM-7199-02 Thesis Project