| Leonardo/ISASTwith Arizona State University

Mark Beam

Oaxaca,
Mexico

Mark's finger on the planet's pulse led him to Wall Street in the 1980s when dramatic increases in the international flow of capital led to unparalleled excesses and fueled the fire of globalization. Trained as a lawyer and investment banker, Mark soon found himself trading billions of dollars of securities on Wall Street surrounded by stock tickers, Bloomberg screens, trading floors and the deafening noise of information overload. To survive, he began using charts and maps while developing pattern recognition skills to navigate the chaotic stream of information.
He moved to San Francisco and Silicon Valley the year the Web was born and participated in the explosion of technological innovation in the 1990s. Here his focus was on the artistic and cultural implications of new technology and interdisciplinary collaboration.
His Wall Street and San Francisco experiences enable him to contextualize the world of ideas and anticipate their impact through "performance." These performances have included the execution of large financial transactions, launching companies, producing events & exhibitions, writing, mapping and developing strategy, international development projects and the production of art.
Mark now lives and works from Oaxaca, Mexico, choosing the vantage point of a developing region rich in culture as globalization, technology and climate change redefine the world as we know it.
The importance and value of art in such an epic period cannot be underestimated.

Journal Articles:
General Article

BRIDGES I: Interdisciplinary Collaboration as Practice

April 2003