25: What Counts as Art? – A Conversation with Kai Franz

Kai Franz is an artist with a background in computer science and architecture. For the past five years, he’s been collaborating with a machine he designed and built called the Dual-Axis Precision Deposition System—or plopper. The plopper primarily fabricates sculptures, but also produces prints, drawings, and films. Kai describes it as “the bad conscience of formal idealism.” This is but one of his many collaborations.  Kai has taught at Princeton University and the Rhode Island School of Design, and he now splits his time between Berlin and Providence, Rhode Island, where he lives with his wife and children.  In this episode, he recounts his journey from Europe to North America, and we discuss his creative process, his expansive approach to collaborations, and more.