Date of Graduation

5-2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts in Art (MFA)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Art

Advisor/Mentor

Springer, Bethany L.

Committee Member

Hulen, Jeannie L.

Second Committee Member

Gibbs, David A.

Third Committee Member

Kelley, John C.

Fourth Committee Member

McConnell, Mathew S.

Fifth Committee Member

Walls, Alissa A.

Keywords

Comunication and the arts; Art; Installation; Nature; Sculpture Simulation; Technology

Abstract

Void loop is an exhibition that addresses the dynamics of survival through an investigation of power, predation, migration, destruction, and renewal. As an installation of sculpture, video, and sound, the work on display explores associations between the human and natural worlds that inform who we are as individual, Social and biological beings. The repeated code surrounding the “void loop” title is a basic call and response serial communication between the microcontroller and the sensors. It commands the microcontroller to infinitely loop all code following the function, mimicking the repetitions of a pulsing heart. For the exhibition each piece is based on the action of summon and response, specifically with responses to historical and contemporary events that not only have shaped our society, but also continue to affect our environment. With the advancement of technology, most of our contemporary experiences are increasingly being mediated. I designed the exhibition as a simulation of natural world responses partially controlled by the viewer. Imagery, personal history, observation, and experience sourced for creating an immersive interactive environment are comparatively driven by the writings of Roy Ascott on “Behaviorist Art and the Cybernetic Vision,” a suggestion of interactive work governed by the viewer with artworks viewed as experiences instead of objects. The sculptural elements combine the natural with the artificial to help simulate these behavioral responses, partly inspired by the writings of Jean Baudrillard on “Simulacra and Simulation,” in which the image is a copy with no original to reference.

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