SONIA COOK-BROEN
Studio Artist | Creative Technologist | Computational Media
sonia@thetechmargin.com
Artist Statement
I investigate how we construct reality from fragments—whether through paint, pixels, sound, or language. My practice bridges traditional painting with AI-mediated video poetry, generative music, and interactive digital installations. I explore psychological fragmentation and perceptual translation through both computational and traditional media.
Between Jupiter and Mars (2025)
AI-Mediated Video Poetry
Chinatown, San Francisco (2024)
Multi-layered Video Poetry / Sound InstallationSelected Works & Projects
Computational Art & AI-Mediated Works
- Path finder for curious, creative builders navigating career decisions
- Maps experience patterns, curiosity vectors, and life context beyond traditional roles
- Transforms career exploration into a dynamic, context-aware journey
- Prototypes new ways of seeing museum collections through IIIF protocols
- Enables visual researchers to discover unexpected connections across digitized artworks
- Transforms institutional archives into spaces for creative investigation
- RAG retrieval system transforming Dante's Divine Comedy into an explorable semantic space
- Computational literary analysis as artistic investigation
- Makes medieval text accessible through contemporary AI interfaces
- Series of micro-experiments in human-AI collaboration
- Investigates the poetics of machine learning
- Questions the boundaries between tool and collaborator
- Three-channel video installation exploring perception and identity
- Combines original poetry with AI-generated visuals
- Exhibited on YouTube as an experimental video art platform (110K+ viewers)
Traditional Media
- Exploration of psychological fragmentation through portraiture
- Bodies and faces multiply, fragment, and reconstruct
- "Paint makes visible what photographs hide"
- Critical examination of American identity through found objects
- Incorporates flags, media imagery, and cultural artifacts
- Exhibited at multiple Southern venues
- Interior psychological landscapes
- Exploration of memory and place
- Featured in gallery exhibitions across the Gulf Coast region
Sound & Music
- Poetry transformed into generative soundscapes
- Available on Spotify as a conceptual album/sound art
- Explores the gap between language and meaning
Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
Solo exhibition exploring themes of personal and geographical transformation
Solo exhibition featuring figurative work and self-portraits
Group Exhibitions
Featured work exploring fragmentation and identity
Invitational wet paint auction (multiple years)
Featured paintings exploring Southern Gothic themes
Regular exhibiting member, outdoor art shows
Exhibiting member, annual shows and events
Represented Artist, ongoing exhibitions
Exhibiting Artist, featured in multiple group shows
Best in Show Award
Education
Loyola, New Orleans - Graphic Design & Studio Art
Two year focus on design and studio art
Focus: Painting, Mixed Media, Installation
SMCC, Maine - Associate of Science, Computer Science
Combined new media and computer science courses
Formal technical training integrated with artistic practice
Additional Training:
- Digital arts and creative coding self-study (2005-present)
- Applied AI prototype and development for creative and enterprise clients
Selected Press & Publications
Articles on Art & Technology
TheTechMargin Newsletter - Critical writing on AI, creativity, and human perception
Readership: 7,500+ subscribers
Regional Press Coverage:
- Mobile Press-Register: Feature on Orange Beach artists (2009)
- Portland Phoenix: Review of "Transitions" exhibition (2011)
- MaineBiz Magazine: published editorial writings
Awards & Recognition
2000
Best in Show, Crittenden County Art Show, Arkansas
2022-2024
YouTube Creator Recognition: 110,000+ subscribers milestone
Independent Artist Residencies:
- Blue Hill, Maine, plein air residency (self-directed, 2010-2011)
- Gulf Coast artist communities participant (2005-2011)
- Fairhope Street Arts member (2005-2010)
Talks & Workshops
- "Women & AI" - Workshop series catered to creative AI for women - 2024
- "AI-Mindset for Artists" - Cohort instruction for artists working with AI - 2024 - Ongoing
- "AI-Mindset for Academia" - Cohort instruction for professors of digital humanities - 2025
Professional Practice
Founder, TheTechMargin (2022-present)
Creative Technology Platform & Artistic Research Lab
- Develops experimental interfaces between human creativity and machine intelligence
- Publishes critical writing on art, technology, and perception
- Teaches computational creativity to a global audience of artists and writers
Technical Skills (as Artistic Medium)
- Computational: Python, JavaScript, React, ML/AI systems, generative algorithms
- Traditional: Oil painting, mixed media, collage, drawing, printmaking
- Digital: Video art, interactive installations, web-based artworks, creative coding
- Sound: Electronic music composition, poetry-to-sound translation, field recording
References
Available upon request
Note: For technical/professional experience in AI solutions architecture, please see professional resume.