Bring Fractal to Figurative Art

2013 Honorable Mention

Student: Wanyi Chen
Course: Independent
Medium: 2d Images
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Description: Fractal maybe the cutest subjects that captures both science and art's view. Yet most artworks concerning fractal are abstract digital art. In this series of multi-media artworks, I combine photos, digital paintings, fractal fires generated in a software called Apophysis, and also some images produced by me in Mathematica to create a flavor of figurative art that features fractal element.
(Artists' statement:) It's widely observed that the work of nature sometimes follows  fractal rules, such as the structure of plants and texture of landform. If we jump out from this scientific view, and embrace the aesthetic perspective of fractal fires, I find that they seem to convey a much broader image of concrete objects. When I first play around with fractal and generate a picture with some random parameters, I was so amazed that it looked so much like feathers seen under a microscope. And that's the beginning of everything you see here...

Dyslexia

2013 Honorable Mention

Student: Maria Swanke
Course: English 100
Instructor: Devin Garofolo
Medium: Comicdoc
Read this comic!

Description: Dyslexia is a common learning disability that so many people do not understand, so when I was making this project, I tried to be informative. Growing up with dyslexia, I struggled with knowing that other people saw me as a child with a disability. Some of my teachers I had in elementary school were supportive, but many of my teachers ignored the signs, got frustrated with me and would embarrass me in front of my peers. It was at an early age that I decided I wanted to be an elementary school teacher, so I could be the compassionate and caring teacher for another student who struggled with school.There are so many better methods for teaching all children (especially dyslexic children) how to read and write using more sensory based learning techniques. My project discusses those techniques and the warning signs of dyslexia.

Tall, Dark, and Loathsome: The Emergence of a Legend Matrix in the Digital Age

2013 Best of Show

Student: Andrew Peck
Course: Comm-Arts 609
Instructor: Eric Hoyt
Medium: Video (6:56)
Watch this video!

Description: The faceless, tall, eerily long-limbed humanoid clad in a black suit emerges in an online forum as a pair of photoshops and a half dozen lines of text. Soon, this so-called “Slender Man” begins appearing in images, videos, stories, and blogs across the Internet. By sharing, discussing, and commenting on these artifacts in participatory media, users create legendary narratives and audio/visual “evidence” that present researchers with a new kind of digital folk practice. Enabled by the affordances of digital and social networks, this digital legend matrix serves as an example of a new form of digital folklore that combines the generic conventions of oral and visual storytelling with the collaborative potential of networked communication.