Cody Norman
is a designer, self-taught engineer, and graduate of SAIC and Cranbrook Academy of Art.
Cody Norman (b. 1992) is a Chicago-based artist, designer, and educator. He currently serves as part-time faculty in the Sculpture and Designed Objects departments at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He graduated with a BFA from SAIC in 2016 and earned an MFA in 3D Design from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2020. Norman works with both digital and analog fabrication processes to transform recycled and bio plastics into functional art objects. Creating enigmatic forms that feel at once familiar and foreign, Norman’s process physically blurs the line between digital and hand craft.
Norman’s forms are inspired by biomimicry and sustainability. He designs, builds, and creatively misuses his own tools, such as the handheld plastic extrusion gun, which melts recycled plastic into improvisational organic forms. Norman uses a KUKA industrial robot, formerly a tool of mass production, to create one of a kind objects in unique ways. His objects resemble nature but have a chaotic and unpredictable materiality, as well as an element of function alluding to the “usefulness” of plastic objects.
Norman’s recent shows and public installations include collaborators like Chicago Botanic Garden, Upper Iowa University and Oak Park Sculpture Walk.
News: Cranbrook Art Museum acquires Trace chair by Cody Norman
January 2024 - We are thrilled to announce the addition of Norman’s Trace chair to the permanent collection of the Cranbrook Art Museum. Joining important design past and present, Trace chair now resides in the museum’s Plaza Vault.
To delve into the Trace chair, we asked Norman a few questions…