University of Minnesota – Duluth students in David Beard’s Minnesota Writers class interviewed local writers and wrote spotlight articles that we will showcase in the coming months. 

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Meeting Kathy McTavish is like walking into an immersive installation, textured, and jam-packed with possibility. Known for pushing the boundaries of her practice as a composer, coder, and multimedia artist, McTavish is a combination of disciplinary edges that dissolve into something very relatable. Her practice as an artist, piles in everything from generative art and soundscapes to networked systems and collaborative storytelling. Our conversation, much like her art, made some very interesting connections: those between art and technology, solitude and connection, chaos and structure.

We started off with a question about her origins as an artist. 

“…I’m interested in patterns, but not just like static snapshots but whole ecosystems [,] gonna move and change [in] time,” she said with a pensive smile on her face. “As a cellist, I was fascinated by the way sound moves through space, how it carries emotion. When I started working with code, I came to realize it’s another kind of music-a language of rhythm and structure that could shape entire worlds.”

For McTavish, the leap into coding wasn’t an exit from her artistic practice but more like a natural next step. She talked about discovering generative text, where algorithms are your collaborators in the creative process.  “Generative systems allow for unpredictability.”

That philosophy shows up in projects like Chance, an expansive digital installation that combines text, sound, and visuals into a continually fluctuating narrative. 

“Chance was born out of my fascination with randomness and interconnectivity,” she said. “I wanted to build something that felt alive, something that responded to its environment and could never be the same twice… Technology enables me to weave together sound, image, and text,” she said. “But it’s not about the product. There’s beauty in finding the logic, in crafting something that functions and breathes.”

In McTavish’s work, coding is not just a tool but a medium. 

Still, McTavish is acutely aware of tensions between art and technology, including ethical concerns around data, algorithms, and surveillance. 

“We live in a world where algorithms are shaping our perceptions and choices,” she said. “As artists, we have a responsibility to interrogate technology in ways that nurture connection rather than division, that amplify voices instead of silencing them.”

Her work often wrestles with creating space for reflection and dialogue. For example, Cloud Factory (below) is one of her most well-known works. “Cloud Factory was my way of mapping those stories onto the digital realm, of creating a space where people could see themselves as part of a larger system.”

When I asked McTavish about finding a balance, she said, “There’s a solitude in coding, in composing, that lets you really dig deep into your own thoughts. But collaboration brings other voices, other perspectives, into the mix. It’s in that tension-between the individual and the collective-that the most interesting work happens.”

Her collaborative ethos extends far beyond her installations themselves. McTavish is deeply committed to accessibility and community engagement, often creating projects that invite participation from diverse audiences. “Art shouldn’t be confined to galleries or concert halls,” she said. “It should be something that anyone can engage with, whether they’re walking through a public space or exploring an online network.”

As our conversation was ending, I asked McTavish what keeps her inspired. Her answer was as multi-layered as her work. “I’m inspired by the natural world-by the rhythms of ecosystems and weather patterns,” she said. “But I’m also inspired by people-by their stories, their resilience, their creativity. We’re all part of these vast, interconnected systems, and art is a way of making those connections visible.”

As I left the interview, my head whirred with thoughts about the methods McTavish had combined together. The battle between chaos and control, the power of collaboration, and the responsibility of an artist in a digital age. Her work is evidence to what is possible when art and technology merge, a reminder that creativity knows no discipline and no medium.

Ethan Ellerstein is a technologist and writer completing his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a Minor in Professional Writing at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. Combining technical expertise in software development with a passion for communication, Ethan explores the ethical dimensions of emerging technologies in his work. His projects, such as an AI-powered threat detection system and dynamic web applications, demonstrate innovative problem-solving and a focus on societal impact. Outside of academics, Ethan is active in robotics, ACM, and UMD Esports, reflecting his diverse interests and dedication to growth in both technology and storytelling.