Marisa Olson

Who is Marisa Olson?

Marisa Olson is a new media artist, curator, critic, and media theorist. In 2004 she auditioned for popular American television show American Idol as an artistic project. In her blog, she describes her feelings and the entire process that she must go through in order to look presentable to the producers and other staff. In the end she does get rejected from the show due to producers discovering her blog and hidden agenda for auditioning. She previously taught Film Studies and New Media classes at UC Berkeley and NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program graduate program in the Tisch School of the Arts. Currently, Olson is Assistant Professor of New Media at SUNY, Purchase. Her work combines performances, video, drawing and installation to show technology's history. Olson is a founding member of the Nasty Nets' "Internet Surfing Club", a web-based work documenting and remixing their experiences online. Through Nasty Nets and with the sponsorship of Rhizome she premiered a new DVD at the New York Underground Film Festival and was the subject of an exhibition at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.