Six years ago, Fabian Wagmister would have listed himself in the sole category of "filmmaker."

Today, it's not that simple. Blending his extensive filmmaking background with new knowledge in engineering and computer science, Wagmister, assistant professor in the School of Theater, Film and Television, has moved into other realms and is giving the world new art forms that are being exhibited in museums in Germany, France and Latin America.

"It's exciting and challenging for me," said Wagmister of this transformation at the technological crossroads of film, electrical engineering and digital arts. "I was trained, and always thought of myself, as a filmmaker. Suddenly, I make other things that I'm just starting to understand."

Interdisciplinary collaborations with electrical engineers and other specialists on campus have spawned new excitement and energy for Wagmister. He beams when he talks about the recently established UCDARNET (University of California Digital Arts Network), a group of digital artists across the UC system working together to create new work that doesn't quite fit within typical departmental definitions.

"People from sculpture are working with people from film and people from electrical engineering," he explained. "And we're creating dynamic audiovisual interactive sculptures."

Much of Wagmister's work utilizes the human body as a method of control interfacing with art. For example, using a network of sensors and special software, viewers of a documentary he created can interact with it by moving their bodies. Walking toward a video sequence can result in a series of zooms, tilts and pans on the screen. "Our bodies are our interface with reality," he said. "I have always been frustrated with both the passivity of the theatrical viewing experience and limited capacities of the computer mouse."

A driving force at UCLA's Laboratory of New Media and the creator of the HyperMedia Studio on campus, Wagmister hails from a small town on the Argentine pampas. He began college as a law student but, after two years, most of which were spent in movie theaters, Wagmister went to UC Berkeley to study English, then UC Santa Cruz and finally UCLA for an M.A. in filmmaking. He stayed on to teach.

Wagmister doesn't shy away from political topics. For example, "Behind the Bars" is an art installation on the experience of political oppression in Argentina and Chile in the '70s and '80s.

Viewers walk through a "confrontational" prison cell environment. By touching the bars, they immediately switch perspectives, from the person on the outside looking into the cell to the person imprisoned.

"By exposing people's senses to the experience of being in prison, I hoped to penetrate their passive viewing habits," explained Wagmister. Several people broke down and cried after experiencing the powerful piece when it was shown in Panama and Nicaragua.

"I call it relational art - making new connections through new interfaces, creating new types of relationships between the body, the environment and the artwork," Wagmister said.