3X8: Three New Media Projects by Eight Artists

This week, be sure to catch three new media artworks installed along Berry Main Street on the Dartmouth College campus. The projects were produced in the New Media Art class offered through Studio Art, taught by Professor Mary Flanagan. The students will be on-site and available to answer questions about the work on TUESDAY MARCH 6TH 2012 from 3-4pm.

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In the Front Hall: Uplift Me

By Hannah Collman ’15,  Kayla Gilbert ’12 and Shloka Kini ’13

“Uplift Me” is an interactive simulation based on the concept of cooperation. It uses the performance-based technology of the Kinect to render a life-like connection between the spectator and the spectacle: grey people who dwell in the world of the screen. The people walk along the cracked, entropy-ridden sidewalk of Reality. When they reach utter desolation, these shadows “fall through the cracks.” Only with the aid of a helping hand can the shadows rise to the world of the living once more, and gain solid ground. As a New Media artwork, “Uplift Me” reflects upon cooperation and interaction among people who might otherwise spend time alienated from or in competition with those around them.

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Near the Entrance to the Stacks: To Eat or Not to Eat

By Shenielle Thomas ’12, Billy Wang ’15 and Eric Whang ’14

“To Eat or Not to Eat” is a text-based game in which participants navigate a worm among pages from popular literary works. The worm is an avid consumer of words, and will eat any word it comes into contact with. The objective is for participants to determine which words are emotionally charged in the passages that appear and navigate the worm to prevent it from consuming those words, as this worm is a meek, gentle worm. Participants will have a chance to interact with texts ranging from Dr. Seuss to Friedrich Nietzsche and discover the meaning behind words they frequently see every day.

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Inside the Blitz Terminals: Cyber Mandala

By Cally Womick ’13 & Goyo Amaro, MALS Graduate Student

Cyber Mandala allows artists to draw online (at the Blitz Terminals) and share pictures together online. It is inspired by Oekaki a Japanese term to describe the act of drawing, meaning “doodle or scribble”. The work is saved and displayed in an online image gallery for others to see. Go ahead. Relax and express your feelings!