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Rob Sheridan

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Rob Sheridan
Rob Sheridan controlling stage lighting instruments
Rob Sheridan with How to Destroy Angels in 2013
Born
Robert Sheridan

(1979-10-11) October 11, 1979 (age 45)
NationalityAmerican
EducationPratt Institute
Known forart director, graphic designer, writer, photographer, comic book author

Robert Sheridan (born October 11, 1979) is an American graphic designer, art director, stage visual designer, photographer, and comic book author best known for his extensive work with the band Nine Inch Nails. He is widely known as a designer of stage visuals.[1][2] He is also an apparel designer, and co-founder of Glitch goods with his wife Stephanie Sheridan.[3][4][5][6]

Biography

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In April 1997, when Sheridan was 17, he created a website dedicated to the Dancing Baby animation, contributing to its popularity as an early internet meme.[7][8]

Sheridan attended art school at New York's Pratt Institute for one year before being hired at age 19 by Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor in 1999, on the merits of a Nine Inch Nails fansite he created during high school.[9] He was initially hired to maintain the newly launched official Nine Inch Nails website.[10] He then also took over as art director for the band, contributing photography, web design, album covers, music videos, live tour visuals, and two live concert films.[11] His tenure as art director spanned from 1999 to 2014.[12] He was also credited for assisting Trent Reznor with the mythology of the alternate reality game built around Nine Inch Nails' 2007 album Year Zero.[13] According to Nine Inch Nails lore, we’re living in Year Zero, which began on February 10, 2022. The album evokes a dystopian world where art is a form of resistance, with crackdowns on “disobedience” and “subversive materials.”[14]

In 2010, Sheridan co-founded the band How to Destroy Angels. He featured on all the studio releases, as well as touring with the band in 2013.

Sheridan is most widely known for his glitch art where he manipulates images and photographs to produce new works. He did the artwork for Nine Inch Nails’ The Social Network, which underwent revision at Sony’s request.[15][16][17] He has been perfecting his custom analog glitch process over the past several years, continuously refining and expanding the technique. The current methodology involves recording imagery onto deliberately damaged VHS tapes using old VCRs, which are then connected to vintage CRT televisions. This process allows him to manipulate the visuals in unique ways, creating his distinctive glitch art.[18] He is also well-recognized for his work in illustration, photography, graphic design, and as the director, editor, and director of photography responsible for concert films, as well as a director for the 2005 Nine Inch Nails music video The Hand That Feeds.

In 2018, Sheridan announced that he would be writing a comic book through the new launch of Vertigo on DC Comics, called High Level. The book was released in 2019.[19][20] He collaborated for a score for this series with Steven Alexander Ryan and Justin McGrath, his coworkers from the Nine Inch Nails’ Twenty Thirteen Tour.[21] Additionally, Sheridan is a co-inventor listed on a patent for a playlist distribution system within a music service, assigned to Apple Inc.[22]

Work with Nine Inch Nails

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Rob Sheridan on the set of Nine Inch Nails' "Wave Goodbye", August 26, 2009

Art direction

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Sheridan had been working with Trent Reznor for his other band How to Destroy Angels as the art director and was responsible for the visual design of the band’s live tour in April 2013.[1] He also created the artwork/package for the soundtrack release of the Academy Award-winning and Golden Globe-winning score for The Social Network, composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.[26]

Sheridan has explored alternate reality games and AI art, going viral in May 2022 with an AI-generated art piece.[14] In 2023 he circulated images of a supposed satanic fashion show, which sparked a flurry of social media posts from people who thought it was a genuine New York Fashion Week event. The images were 100 percent computer generated with AI and Photoshop, through a chain of all-digital processes summarized under the term “syntography.”[27] The graphic designer's original post, which was shared on Instagram, also includes a caption that reads as parody -- as if Satan had designed a collection for the fashion event -- accompanied by the hashtags "synthography," "aihorror" and "aiart." The post was so convincing that the Church of Satan issued a clarification denying it.[28]

Sheridan has also been long known for his work shooting, directing, and editing for other artists and musicians. Recently, in 2015, Sheridan shot, directed, and edited a video for the band The Black Queen called “Ice To Never.” [1] He has also worked with David Fincher on the soundtrack for the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,[29] and Maynard James Keenan, creating visuals and ambience for Puscifer's 2015-2017 shows.

Live stage visuals

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In 2024, Sheridan worked with Pearl Jam. Their 2024 Dark Matter tour featured stage visuals by the Seattle native. With his wife, Stephanie, he set up a lab, where they captured chemical reactions and light interactions at 1,000 frames per second using a macro lens. This marked the band's first use of such video visuals on tour, with Sheridan's work also appearing in their "Wreckage" live music video.[29][30]

Recognition

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In December 2008, in recognition for his work in Art Direction on the Ghosts I–IV box set, Sheridan was nominated for a Grammy award for "Best Box Set or Limited Edition Package"[31] and in 2013 for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Hurst, Nathan (Apr 19, 2013). "Trent Reznor's How to Destroy Angels Plays Light Like an Instrument". Wired. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  2. ^ Gardiner, Bryan (Dec 11, 2013). "Building 'Tension': An Inside Look at NIN's Massive Arena Tour". Wired. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  3. ^ Spiers, Elizabeth (Jul 22, 2023). "Whatever You Think of the Movies, the Barbenheimer Memes are Glorious". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  4. ^ Wampler, Scott (May 29, 2020). "Rob Sheridan's Movie Monster Masks Make Mask-Wearing Fun for Everyone". Birth Movies Death. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  5. ^ Sprague, Mike (Jul 20, 2020). "Rob Sheridan's MOVIE MONSTERS Face Masks - I Want That!". Dread Central. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  6. ^ Dorn, Lori (Aug 24, 2020). "Creepy Movie Monster Face Masks by Rob Sheridan". Laughing Squid. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  7. ^ Jacqui, Palumbo (5 May 2022). "The internet's famous dancing baby from 1996 is getting a new look". CNN. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  8. ^ Schroeder, Audra (Nov 12, 2021). "The many lives of the Dancing Baby, cyberspace's first cringe meme". Daily Dot. Retrieved Mar 23, 2023.
  9. ^ Biographical information from artist's portfolio: http://www.rob-sheridan.com, http://www.rob-sheridan.com/main.php#/ABOUT
  10. ^ Sheridan was credited with "web integration" in the liner notes for the 1999 Nine Inch Nails album The Fragile.
  11. ^ Projects listed in artist's portfolio: http://www.rob-sheridan.com
  12. ^ Chilton, Louis (Jul 15, 2020). "Nine Inch Nails Artist Ridicules Pro-Trump Fan Group: "You've Never Actually Listened to the Lyrics"". Independent. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  13. ^ Sheridan was credited with "world building" alongside Reznor in the liner notes for Year Zero. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1056593/otherworks
  14. ^ a b Ong, Alexis (Jul 15, 2022). "An Experimental Horror ARG is Testing the Boundaries of AI Art". The Verge. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  15. ^ Sheridan, Rob. "analog(one)". Rob Sheridan. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  16. ^ Sheridan, Rob. "the social network soundtrack art". Rob Sheridan. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  17. ^ Conlin, Dan (Oct 4, 2020). "The Fascinating Story of the Social Network Soundtrack Artwork". GameRant. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  18. ^ Stuart, Michael B (Nov 2, 2018). "Veteran Creative Director Creates a Horror Glitch Series Using Analog Effects". Fstoppers. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  19. ^ Sheridan, Rob. "date". Twitter. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  20. ^ Estrella, Ernie (Feb 19, 2019). "Exclusive First Look: Rob Sheridan's New Cyberpunk Vertigo Title High Level". Syfy. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  21. ^ Limbert, Alex (Aug 22, 2020). "Steven Alexander Ryan and Justin McGrath of the Black Queen to Score New DC Comics Release High Level Created by Former Nine Inch Nails Art Director Rob Sheridan". Mxdwn.com. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  22. ^ "Patents by Inventor Fredric Vinna". Justia Patents. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  23. ^ Rob Sheridan at IMDb
  24. ^ Trent Reznor (2005-02-26). "Acces". nin.com. Archived from the original on 2009-04-24. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
  25. ^ a b c "Rob Sheridan". IMDb. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  26. ^ "the social network soundtrack: artwork by rob sheridan". rob-sheridan.com. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  27. ^ "Images of a 'Satanic Fashion Show' were Digitally Created, Not Taken at New York Fashion Week". Reuters. Reuters Fact Check. Mar 1, 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  28. ^ Alonso, Nahiara S (Feb 24, 2023). "Digital Artwork Miscaptioned as Satanic Runway Show". AFP. Agence France Presse. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  29. ^ a b "PEARL JAM Releases 'Wreckage' Live Video". blabbermouth.net. 2024-08-12. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  30. ^ "Pearl Jam's world tour has a different look. This WA artist designed it". seattletimes.com. 2024-05-22. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  31. ^ "The 51st Annual Grammy Awards Nominations List - Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package nominees". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2009-02-08.
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