Date of Submission

Spring 2012

Academic Program

Studio Arts

Project Advisor 1

Hap Tivey

Project Advisor 2

Daniella Dooling

Abstract/Artist's Statement

For anyone who has stared at a textured ceiling until the moment of pareidolia, this piece is for you. My project is a window into a dream world where creatures materialize from abstract forms, breaking off and moving around the landscape. The viewer becomes a scientist, and a dreamer, and has the experience of being immersed in this world while looking into it from the outside.

I wanted the installation to make an intimate setting where visitors feel comfortable getting up close to the piece to closely observe the aesthetic and movement interactions.

The piece is an atmospheric installation—there is no narrative, just constant movement, noise, and repetition. There is always a lot going on, but there is never one thing that commands all focus. The eyes flit around, trying to soak up all the information, but forms appear and disappear, only to reappear later. The animation plays both with the brain's desire to identify undefined forms, as well as our want as humans to observe and understand strange worlds and creatures.

There are moments when a seemingly still piece of the drawing suddenly comes to life and begins moving. Some of these creatures are recognizable, others less so. They all weave through the painted forms, interacting with their world, sometimes appearing and disappearing but all together in a symphony of movement.

I used textures and colors for the animations that would best evoke the natural world, and interact in beautiful and interesting ways with the background and each other. Part of my love in their piece is for the moments of overlapping colors created by varied transparencies and light, all textured by the grain of the wood panel.

The music was included to set a mood of wonder, magic, and constant noise. I wanted a piece that was atmospheric, vaguely optimistic, repetitious, and had a lot going on at once. In the animation and the music, I wanted to evoke the idea of sleep and dreams. The piece straddles the dream and real world, where fantastic things happen but many of the forms are rooted and recognizable.

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