Brendan George Ko
Why did you choose to attend OCAD U?
I dropped out of film school and took a year off to focus on my photography music, and sound design. When I decided to go to OCAD I wanted to develop my practice to the next level. If anything I wanted to see if I was willing to spend four years at something to see if I would still do it afterwards. And I did. And did that again with my Masters.
Please briefly describe your current job / practice.
I am a visual storyteller working in photography, video, sound, text, object, web design, and installation. I also freelance and teach occasionally.
How did you get started in your career?
I’ve always been doing art, both my folks were artists that gave up their artistic careers after they started having kids. I see my career as an extension of theirs.
Did you volunteer or work in your field while you were a student?
While I was a student I worked my butt off at getting my work out there. Being a student you’re seen as fresh meat for the art world, so I started applying to as many call for submissions, and even started to curate shows.
What were your policies regarding internships, volunteering, and paid work?
I’m not sure if I had policies, I took on each gig case by case and if it was free work I made sure if it was either out of aloha for a friend or it was step in the right direction for establishing a network.
What do you enjoy most about your work? What is the most challenging aspect of your work?
What I enjoy the most is where my work takes me, the people I meet in the process, and how much I learn about myself each and every time. I’m like my mother in that I always love learning and knowing as much as I can. So while I do have this thing called an "artistic practice", it just helps me be able to sustain a lifestyle as well as giving me ability to say I have a career wandering. The biggest challenge I face with each project is myself. I have a dialogue with Wil Kucey where he always challenges me, he will look at my work and be satisfied with it but he knows that I am also capable of even more. So that voice helps me avoid being too comfortable or safe or even satisfied with my work, that I push myself each time to spite any insecurities or preconceived limitations.
What skills or relationships developed at OCAD U helped you participate in your field? Is there anything you would have done differently?
From my time at OCAD, I didn’t learn how to make art, rather why I was doing it in the first place. I had some amazing teachers who I prefer to call, “guides”, because they allowed me a lot of liberty to be as creative as possible, rather than following an assignment to the T. Without that experience I wouldn’t be as invested in education myself and have allowed my students to bend the assignment in order to produce results that completely surprised me in the best way possible.
What are the key responsibilities you maintain for your practice?
My practice is fairly research-based and one thing I am constantly reminded is there are some things I can’t get from a book (whether that is book-book, an online article, or whathaveyou). That the process of developing work is made by interacting with people, seeing what they see, and becoming absolutely obsessed with your research that you start to annoy your friends with how much you know about this particular place or thing or event… And then I put together an exhibition, a webpage to represent the work, and sometimes a publication just to prove that I haven’t lost my marbles in the process.
What are your personal and professional goals for the coming years?
To learn and practice unconditional love, to find humor in everything and professionally: to help establish and maintain an alternative education program in the arts, culture, and history.