initial concept drawings from 2019 submission
documentation of "Pink Pottery" on the marquee from street level
Artist Statement for 2019 AOTM:
"Blue and Pink Pottery" culminated as an offshoot of a short animated film I have been working on over the past year. Like the film, this AOTM project renders material culture, such as pottery, in modern, saturated colors like neon pink and rich cobalt blue. This pottery is activated through idling animation in the second half of the animation. With this method the individual objects undulate, allowing the quintessential idea of the objects’ platonic forms to become juxtaposed with the
distinct shapes of the individual pieces in the sequence. The juxtaposition of the piles of ancient pottery underwater with the blue and pink pottery from around the world collapses the expanse of time separating modern humans from their ancestors creating a space with no distinction between past and present. In this space, there is a freedom to be more objective in one’s experience of the imagery – erasing the tendency to think of ancient people as others compared to the present day.
Blue and Pink Pottery originated from a deep love and appreciation of art history along with the constant disillusion of the trajectory of humanity based on the more destructive tendencies. The past tends to be glorified and its people as other than those that exist today – with different tendencies and instincts. However, it cannot be denied that violence and destruction through direct actions or merely neglect have always played a part in human persistence.
distinct shapes of the individual pieces in the sequence. The juxtaposition of the piles of ancient pottery underwater with the blue and pink pottery from around the world collapses the expanse of time separating modern humans from their ancestors creating a space with no distinction between past and present. In this space, there is a freedom to be more objective in one’s experience of the imagery – erasing the tendency to think of ancient people as others compared to the present day.
Blue and Pink Pottery originated from a deep love and appreciation of art history along with the constant disillusion of the trajectory of humanity based on the more destructive tendencies. The past tends to be glorified and its people as other than those that exist today – with different tendencies and instincts. However, it cannot be denied that violence and destruction through direct actions or merely neglect have always played a part in human persistence.
Artist Statement for 2017 AOTM:
When I was first conceiving this animation I was considering two diametrically opposed aspects of humanity, our scientific progress, and how we can simultaneously regress on a societal level. I decided to focus on the technological achievements of humanity using imagery of a space shuttle launch. I have chosen this specific metaphor for scientific progress because I believe it is symbolic of our species’ greatest strengths. We are the only mammal to migrate and thrive in every unique environment on planet Earth. I feel that it is absolutely remarkable that we then looked up and chose to travel to an environment completely inhospitable to us – space. I added a clip of Belka and Strelka, two Soviet space dogs who were launched into low Earth orbit for a day and were the first Earth-born creatures to go into space and return safely, thus paving the way for increasingly complicated manned missions.
I planned this animation to have the aesthetic of a moving ink drawing to purposely give a sense of tradition and physicality in juxtaposition to the mechanical engineering required for launching such complicated machinery into space. Additionally, I felt the appearance of a traditional medium on such a modern site as the marquee would further highlight our technological progress while staying cognizant of our humanity.
About Art on the Marquee:
Boston Cyberarts and the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority have teamed up to create “Art on the Marquee,” an ongoing project to commission public media art for display on the new 80-foot-tall multi-screen LED marquee outside the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in South Boston. The largest urban screen in New England, this unique digital canvas is one of the first of its kind in the U.S. to integrate art alongside commercial and informational content as part of the MCCA’s longstanding neighborhood art program.
“Art on the Marquee” offers artists more than 3,000 square feet of digital display on seven screens, providing full-motion video and a viewership of more than 100,000 pedestrians and motorists. The marquee is visible for half a mile in many directions and is seen by traffic on Summer, D, and Congress streets, as well as from the surrounding hotels, office buildings, and the Seaport World Trade Center.