Holly Herndon

Holly Herndon is a composer, musician, and sound artist recognized for her innovative integration of human singing voices, computer-based music, and artificial intelligence in her work. After earning the prestigious Elizabeth Mills Crothers award for best composer in 2010 for her vocal-generated piece ‘195,’ Holly Herndon cultivated a distinctive artistic practice, integrating human voices, computer-based music, and artificial intelligence into her work. Having earned her MFA in Electronic Music and Recording Media from Mills College and pursuing doctoral studies at Stanford University, Herndon developed a unique compositional approach, primarily using a laptop to program custom instruments and vocal processes with the visual programming language Max/MSP. Her debut album, ‘Movement,’ released in November 2012 via RVNG Intl., garnered critical acclaim for its innovative blend of academic experimentation and electronic accessibility.

Building on her commitment to ethical technology in art, Herndon co-founded Spawning in 2022 alongside Mathew Dryhurst, Jordan Meyer, and Patrick Hoepner. This innovative initiative empowers artists to manage whether their work is used in AI art generator datasets, advocating for creators’ rights in the evolving digital landscape. For their transformative work on ‘Holly+,’ Herndon and Dryhurst were jointly awarded the prestigious 2022 Ars Electronica STARTS prize for digital art, recognizing their profound contributions to the field.