Lark VCR (aka Lark Alder) makes speculative proposals to explore the pitfalls and possibilities of an increasingly digitized and bioengineered world. Working in hybrid forms of video and web-based media, they leverage humor as an entry point to engage audiences in nondidactic cultural critique. VCR stands for Virtually Conflicted Reality - it is both an homage to analog video and a skeptical nod at the techno-utopian promises of virtual reality (VR). Experientially, it is the state of perpetual disconnect we navigate as cognizant individuals who have no choice but to participate in systems defined by injustice. Lark received an MFA from UC Berkeley in 2016 and is currently teaching courses at intersections of art, technology, and queerness at San José State University and Stanford University in their home state of California.

Animator, filmmaker, performance artist, designer, tinkerer, activist, and data scientist, Lark Buckingham is a versatile and multidisciplinary provocateur. Growing up, Lark excelled at math and science. However, they realized early on that their interest was not “in the pursuit of the concrete,” but rather in using their technical and analytic ability towards creative processes. At Harvard, they continued to explore hard sciences and computing, but embarked upon the study of film as well. While taking courses in film production, Lark discovered and fell in love with animation, “the perfect blend of calculation and creativity.” Upon graduating, Lark undertook a career in nonprofit television broadcasting before turning to motion graphics. At the same time, they began to dedicate creative energy to music and performance, playing the clarinet, keyboard, bass guitar, and electronic tambourine in several experimental and improvisational bands. Around 2010, they started to perform solo and incorporated non-musical elements into their set, including lectures, literature, time-based sculpture, ventriloquism, and video projections. Increasingly, Lark’s work focused on the ways in which technology mitigates the human experience and, in turn, our identities.