Zebbler Peter Berdovsky

Position
Assistant Professor
Faculty Bio E-Mail
Telephone
617-747-8991

For media inquiries, please contact Media Relations

Career Highlights
  • More than 800 performances and multi-media installations, with major U.S. video projection (VJ) tours including Ozric Tentacles (2006), Shpongle (2009–2011; 2014, 2015), EOTO (2011–2013), and Zebbler Encanti Experience (2011, 2014-2017)
  • Pioneered the design of video-mapped touring concert stages/sculptures, creating Shpongle(tron) and EOTO Lotus stages, as well as contributing to several other touring productions
  • Notable projects include annual large-scale interactive installations for DEF CON (20,000 person hacking conference in Las Vegas), a permanent video-mapped treatment of Verizon Innovation Center in Boston and several video mapped stage designs for Envision Festival in Costa Rica.
  • Owner of Zebbler Studios, LLC, a multimedia company
  • Creative director/event curator at Vermin Street Records (2008–2015)
  • Official VJ for Red Bull North America (2007–2008)
  • Visual arts manager at Together Festival (2009–2010)
  • 2015 exhibit of selected video works at Venice Biennale champagne reception
  • 2015 artist residency at Eagleman Lab in Houston, Texas
  • Listed in Top 20 International VJs in DJ Magazine poll
Awards
  • Second and third placement in “Most Epic Projection Mapped Stages” (2014 ProducerDJ.com selection) 10 Best DJ Booths in EDM (2012 Miami New Times selection)
  • Best Visual Artist of Boston in 2009 (Boston Phoenix selection)
  • Top 20 International VJs 2007 poll by London-based DJ Magazine (debuted in 12th place)
  • Best Boston Artist of 2007 (official selection by Improper Bostonian)
  • Rhode Island State Council on the Arts Fellowship panelist (selected as an expert to award the New Genres Fellowship for 2006)
  • MassArt Merit Scholarship Foundation Award, 2000
Education
  • B.A.S., Massachusetts College of Art, studio for interrelated media 2006, completion with distinction
In Their Own Words

“I believe in the Occam’s razor style of teaching: there should be the shortest possible distance between teaching and learning, and no unnecessary lectures on unrelated topics to fill time. We are all action in class, learning by being practical, by trying things out in a very hands-on way. I show you examples of three types of music video styles, we analyze how they are made, and then we immediately work on making our own, doing the bulk of the workload in class, so that I can be present to correct any mistakes and help you learn the software and the hardware techniques through constant experimentation and feedback.”

“Teaching exists as a service to the students first and foremost. I find it important to discuss everyone’s interests at the beginning of a semester and to be able to adjust my curriculum or one-on-one meetings to accommodate the ultimate learning goals of the students. It also allows me to be honest: if some other class or professor may be able to do a better job transmitting the knowledge a particular student seeks, I will direct them to the best possible learning tools, setting all ego aside.”

"Ultimately, I believe the best way to learn something is to both hear how something works and try to do it yourself. It is through this repetition of doing that artistic styles and perfection of craft appear."

“The bulk of my experience comes from being a touring visual artist. I jumped into the touring world immediately after completing my studies at the Massachusetts College of Art in 2006, following my own philosophy of hands-on learning being the best kind. Since then, I’ve done one or more major U.S. tours per year as a VJ (video projection artist) and as a DJ with my own A/V act, Zebbler Encanti Experience. Several years ago, I started my own company to create touring video-­mapped stages and designs, music videos, and multimedia sculptures for a variety of clients. With all of my experiences, I am positioned very nicely to act as a translator between the musician’s world and the realm of the visual artist. I speak both of these cultural languages fluently and love to share all of my experiences."