Mechanical engineer and artist John Ensor Parker lectures on his craft as part of FSU’s 25 Opening Nights at the Jim Moran Institute. (Bob O’Lary/Florida State University)
Back in the ’90s, life was good for John Ensor Parker. He was a mechanical engineering graduate from the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, with friends, a music studio, a Land Cruiser, windsurfing boards, and a job at a local engineering firm. His life was about to change.
“Life was so pleasant here. I felt if I didn’t try something new, I would never leave and that just wasn’t the right path for me,” Parker said. “Nothing was planned, and I packed up the car and ended up in this barren neighborhood in Brooklyn where I started an art studio.”
The risky move paid off, and he became one of the first large-scale projection mapping artists at the time. Now there are schools and classes on the subject. One of his most famous designs is a public art video mapping projection of the Manhattan Bridge Project in New York City.
“The Manhattan Bridge was right across from my studio,” Parker explained. “When I was getting started, I got a projector and stuck it on my window and projected it on that bridge. I was fascinated. With light, you can change the environment and psychology. Eventually, we ended up using over 22 projectors to fully map the exterior and interior archway of the Manhattan Bridge.”
The successful inter-media artist and curator now divides his time between Cagliari, Italy, and Brooklyn, New York, where he resides. His most notable designs include large-scale public art installations at the Wyly Theatre, AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.
One of his projects, Point Cloud, is a famous public art light sculpture Parker designed at The Yards in Washington D.C. Each hour the steel scaffold sculpture indicated the time with light effects and sound. Another project, Artifix Mori, is an interactive installation at the New York School for Liberal Arts that animates Bombyx-Mori Silk Cocoons.
The artist recently returned to Tallahassee, Florida, and shared his journey as an artist and engineer for Florida State University’s 25 Opening Nights. Parker talked about engineering, science, and art to an audience filled with artists, friends, engineers, students, and the Tallahassee community.
What kind of art inspires you?
I have never been drawn to realism because we have the camera. Music is the most powerful art medium for me, and I have worked in many of them. Music can transform emotion so quickly and in different ways. A work of art should generate emotion. It should make you think and feel something.
Is there anything you took to New York from Tallahassee and the College of Engineering?
Tons. Working on big production gigs, mapping gigs, things of that nature, managing a job, interacting with sub-contractors, pulling things together. It's a skill that takes a little practice. Different people have different talents.
These projects take a group of people to do. It's not possible for just one person. I have some good friends from Hungary who call themselves “Glowing Bulbs.” They are great friends and brilliant animators. Together, we combine our individual skills, concepts and talents to unite and execute some special projects.
Can you tell me about the transition from engineer to artist? How did that happen?
I always had a studio. I would be in the office of the engineering firm during the day and work at the studio in the evening and on weekends. To me, they were never separate. I was painting a lot and needed to have my own space. I would go to the studio not to get away from the world but to go to the world. Without distraction.
Can you share some memories from school and the early years of engineering life?
When I was at the College of Engineering, we were allowed to bring in one thing called a cheat sheet. It's where you could make notes from your books, equations, or whatnot and fill this sheet in. So, students had to get crafty. Write very small. I would put lines around various equations creating further composition with all the geometric shapes. They were drawings and I collected those “cheat sheets” from other students. They were beautiful to me, but nobody else saw their beauty.
One of my favorite teachers, Dr. Buzyna was brilliant and a huge influence on me. Particularly because I felt he communicated and connected with the students and used analogies we could understand. Upon graduating, Peter McGinnis was my boss at the engineering firm and a great mentor when I was a young engineer.
Why mechanical engineering?
Initially, I was interested in philosophy, but eventually, I felt I was reading the words of dead old white men. I wanted to learn the fundamentals of our world. So, I looked at the various engineering curriculum and found mechanical engineering had just enough chemistry, just enough math and just enough physics.
As a young student, mathematics wasn't easy for me until I stopped using numbers and got into trigonometry. Then a lightbulb went off. I learned that it was not just about crunching numbers. That was when sets of equations became something more that I could visualize.
What’s next for you?
I have been dealing with cancer for the last couple of years. I have had a rough time with it, so I have been thinking about what to do next. I'm not sure what my professional path might be moving forward. I think it would be awesome to work with kids, especially those who may have had a tougher path, rather than a perfect life. It's something I really want to explore. I also am painting and drawing more. With those two mediums, there are no tricks, no digital add-ons, just you and the canvas.
Best advice for engineering students?
Believe in what you do, and love what you do. Engineers study life and can do many things. You have the skill set to acquire knowledge. You analyze it, evaluate it, and can apply it. The thing is, we are engineers, not scientists. We take science and are the applicators of these concepts. It relates to this concept of life we are talking about.
During the presentation, Parker said, “There are no Renaissance men anymore because the world has become so complex, and with so much data, it is almost impossible to cover everything.”
But, if anyone has come close, it’s Parker. The eclectic artist, engineer, architect and philosopher has become a master at re-creating himself. He is not afraid to take risks and look around the corner to see where the path leads.
“I’m just a guy that engages in the practice of creating work,” Parker said.
For more information about John Ensor Parker, you can go to his website.
RELATED ARTICLES
Engineering Alumna Uses Her Voice to Pay It Forward and Inspire Women in STEM
From Chemistry to Creativity, Historic Engineering Grad Soars
FAMU-FSU Engineering Alumnus is New President and CEO of Keysight Technologies