Jonathan Jennings Harris (born August 27, 1979) is an American artist and technologist, known for his work with data, documentary, and ritual.
He attended St. Bernard’s School in New York City, then studied painting and drawing at Deerfield Academy, computer science at Princeton University, interaction design at Fabrica, and shamanism with The Power Path.
His work with data visualization (2002–2015) helped to establish that burgeoning field by rejoicing in the beauty of the newly social Internet — through pioneering digital projects like We Feel Fine, Wordcount, 10x10, Yahoo Time Capsule, I Want You To Want Me, and Network Effect. Projects from this series have been exhibited by TED, AIGA, Le Centre Pompidou, The World Economic Forum, and The Museum of Modern Art.
His work with interactive documentary (2007–2018) combined the digital and physical worlds by using algorithmic rule sets to govern data collection in real-life situations. These ritualistic experiments included The Whale Hunt, I Love Your Work, Balloons of Bhutan, and Today, a daily photo practice continued for 440 days. Today evolved into Cowbird, a storytelling platform open to all that ended up amassing 100,000 stories from 25,000 authors in 200 countries — until the changing nature of the Internet led to its closure. He explored these dynamics in the essays World Building in a Crazy World, Modern Medicine, Data Will Help Us, and Navigating Stuckness. Projects from this series have been featured at numerous film festivals including Sundance, Tribeca, and IDFA, where he was the 2017 Guest of Honor.
His work with magical ritual (2015–2022) was rooted at High Acres Farm, his mother’s ancestral home in Shelburne, Vermont. He spent seven years working to transform old family patterns there, practicing what he came to call Life Art through a series of 21 rituals and matching films — ultimately released in 2022 as the alchemical opus In Fragments. The spiritual origins of this work are outlined in the essays Powers of Ten and Working with Life. The ritual work of In Fragments catalyzed the Linestone collective — an evolving community working together to bring new forms of beauty into existence.
His current work of wisdom teaching (2024–) happens through Sunlight — a project to energize, clarify, and illuminate a diversity of timeless wisdom.
He lives between Santa Fe, New Mexico and Shelburne, Vermont, where he continues to serve as a steward of High Acres Farm.
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Photo by Nicola Pianalto at Fabrica