by Amy Crocker

It always pays to be smart, but sometimes it really pays.

Last week, The MacArthur Fellows Program awarded San Francisco digital artist Camillie Utterback $500,000. Commonly referred to as a “genius grant,” this money comes with no strings attached. The MacAurther Foundation is “in support of people, not projects,” according to their website.

So who is this person?

For starters, she moved to San Francisco in 2005. She has a BA in Art from Williams College, and a Masters degree from The Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. While at NYU in the mid 90’s, she experimented with early versions of avatars and began to question what was human presence over a network and what do you need to feel connected to a person. An interactive artist was born and her work has been displayed in public spaces across the country, including San Jose.

But to move beyond her resume, SFist spoke with Utterback to find a portrait of the artist in her prime.

SF: So how will the MacArthur grant change the way to you work?

CU: I can relax a little; I don’t have to apply to every single thing. I don’t have to do every speaking engagement or every show. I can clear out some time and focus on the projects I want to do. I don’t have much time to really brainstorm and play around anymore. So I think that will really change my work, having the time to try new things.

SF: What sort of new things will you try?

CU: Having that money might also allow me to actually give other artists that I’ve been wanting to work with, or other technologists, the ability to take some time off and work with me. I always talk about how it would be fun to work with other artists, but if you say, “Let’s work together for a couple of weeks, I can give you this artists fee,” then they can devote some time to it.

SF: What would you have done without the grant money?