In Roth’s case, that something is the combination of art and hacking. As a Parsons student in the MFA Design and Technology program, Roth was captivated by the graffiti art he saw on his daily commute. In class, he worked with artists and pored over code, finding connections between art and technology. “I was learning from people who approached problems with a hacker mentality and experimented with code in eye-opening ways,” Roth says.

After graduating, Roth established the Graffiti Research Lab and the Free Art & Technology Lab. Now based in Paris, Roth recently exhibited work at an exhibition marking the opening of the Parsons Paris campus. He credits New York—and Parsons—with shaping his practice. Roth strives to create work that “shakes people from their everyday routine, allowing them to see the world in a new way.” evan-roth.com