Matthew Purdon is an artist, performer and teacher based in Oakland, California. He is currently employed as a lecturer in the art department at Cal State University - East Bay, where he teaches classes in web design, digital imaging and professional practices. He is also serving as a thesis advisor for the Multimedia graduate program, advising students on projects that involve online communities, transnational collaboration and location-based storytelling.
Purdons works creatively in new media, installations, performance to create interactive peformance environments that invite audience interaction. Purdon has exhibited his work throughout the Bay Area, including solo exhibitons for Pro Arts Gallery and the June Steingart Gallery. He has also engaged in a large number of collaboration with Abraham Burickson through Odyssey Works.
Purdon has over nine years of Web experience as a designer, manager and programmer. As a freelance web design and UI consultant, he has worked for ChevronTexaco and Plurimi, a B2B start-up creating demand management solutions for the energy market. Prior to running his freelance business, he worked at CBS MarketWatch where he oversaw the implementation of co-branded Web sites, video and headline feeds for AOL. He started at CBS MarketWatch as a programmer contributing much of the functionality of the first generation publishing system. Purdon got his start working for Leo Burnett's Web shop Giantstep on Web sites for Oldsmobile, Hallmark and United Airlines. During this time, he was also the producer and creative director of The Campus Beat, Chicago's first interactive-improvised sitcom.
Purdon is also a professional actor whom you may have caught in the Bay Area at Marin Shakespeare, Ross Valley Players or Masquers Playhouse. He has also worked for Victory Gardens Theatre, Roadworks Production, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival and American Stage Festival. In Chicago, he studied improvisation with Del Close at ImprovOlympic.
Purdon recently received his MFA degree in Interdiscplinary Art & Performance from JFK University's Dept. of Arts and Consciousness. Purdon received his undergraduate degree at Northwestern University where he studied theatre and creative writing. While at Northwestern, he directed plays such as Death of A Salesman and Cyrano de Bergerac.
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