Palpably Synthetic

December 5th, 2014 – March 8th, 2015

Melissa Harvey, 2014

For eons, the human imagination lived within the individualized sphere of the mind, manifesting itself in a myriad of vessels, from language to technology to art. Until recently, the universe of the mind was an invisible playground from which our dreams were born, but was trapped inside our biology. In the last fifty years this confinement has been overcome, with our technology allowing us to create countless virtual realities that not only nurture our imagination, but also give it a palpable location. Much like our thoughts, inside virtual reality anything is possible, limited only by the imagination of the user. However, unlike our bodies, virtual realities can be duplicated, shared and most recently, birthed into our world by means of 3D printing robots.

By using the software package Cinema 4D, a tool designed to allow our biology to interact with virtuality, the artists in the exhibition Palpably Synthetic chronicle the art that can be generated inside our new digital horizon. Approaching concept from a variety of perspectives, all the artists in this exhibition share the common bond of venturing bravely into the hybrid universe of the digital mind; a future reality that will not be foreign, but that we will all recognize as home.

-Fernando Orellana

Fernando Orellana, Associate Professor of Visual Arts, (Digital, Robotic, Interactive Art and Design), is the sponsoring faculty member, and the exhibition showcases student work from his 3D Computer Modeling course held this past fall. The show will include 3D-rendered drawings, videos, and 3D-printed sculptures.

Artists: Frank Chiarulli (’17), John Famulare (’15), Kristofer Hammer (’15), Melissa Harvey (’15), John Hatheway (’15), Mark Hilbert (’17), Sheila Kang (’17), Joshua Loew (’16), Sarka Sochorova, Michael Vallejo (’16)