{"id":171419,"date":"2021-04-21T07:00:34","date_gmt":"2021-04-21T11:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=171419"},"modified":"2023-06-27T13:00:24","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T17:00:24","slug":"mfa-exhibits-at-benton-showcase-work-by-dmd-studio-art-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2021\/04\/mfa-exhibits-at-benton-showcase-work-by-dmd-studio-art-students\/","title":{"rendered":"MFA Exhibits at Benton Showcase Work by DMD, Studio Art Students"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

One of the attractions for enrolling in the Master of Fine Arts in Digital Media & Design (DMD) is the opportunity to work on collaborative projects within the community of creative artists in the School of Fine Arts and beyond.

As a senior in film studies at Chung-Ang University, one of South Korea\u2019s leading private comprehensive research universities, Hongju (Hannah) Lim was becoming interested in exploring 3D animation, and also wanted to work more collaboratively with other visual media. One of her professors told her about UConn\u2019s MFA in DMD.

\u201cDMD brings together multiple disciplines. I thought, if I go there I will have the opportunity to really collaborate with others, and I really did,\u201d says Lim, who is completing the DMD MFA program this spring. \u201cDuring my graduate study, I\u2019ve worked on developing animations for projection mapping in the lobby of The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford<\/a> and I\u2019ve also created scientific visualizations in collaboration with researchers in the Department of Marine Sciences and with other DMD students.\u201d

Lim\u2019s MFA thesis project, the 3D animated short film \u201cEnsemble,\u201d is part of the annual Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition at The William Benton Museum of Art, which continues online at The Benton website<\/a>. The exhibition includes works by graduating Studio Art and DMD MFA students. The Studio Art exhibition, titled \u201cSour Milk,\u201d features works in photography, mixed media, video, animation, book arts, drawing, printmaking, and painting. The DMD exhibition, titled \u201cTurning Point,\u201d features 2D and 3D animations, UI\/UX interactions and designs, digital games, and virtual reality.

Lim\u2019s work \u201cEnsemble\u201d tells the story of a young composer who ignores his outgoing neighbors as he struggles to write music. Ultimately, he learns that the answer to making powerful music is not in his isolation, but in his interactions with neighbors. In the film, the composer leads his neighbors as they play their own instruments, which allows him to complete his new composition. Lim says the film reflects her own experiences.

\u201cIn my undergraduate years, people would ask me to spend some time with them, such as traveling to other cities together or going over to their houses to talk and play. However, I said \u2018No, I need to study, I need to write my script because I need to concentrate on my school work,’\u201d she says. \u201cAfter I came here to the USA, I have noticed that for all those years I have missed my chance to learn from people around me. This new environment has helped me to learn by looking around at the people, places, and cultures that surround me. \u2018Ensemble\u2019 shows that the more you disconnect from reality, the more likely you will be to miss out on valuable interactions.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\"A
A scene from \u201cEnsemble,\u201d the MFA thesis project by Hongju (Hannah) Lim, part of the 2021 Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition online at The William Benton Museum of Art. (Courtesy of Hongju Lim)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

Lim focused on character animation during her MFA work and telling stories about young adults and children. She originally wrote the script for \u201cEnsemble\u201d using only young adult characters but thought the storyline was too serious. She added children and music to the script to make it both lighter and more meaningful.

\u201cAdding characters who are children to my film really conveyed what I want to say through the animation. Children are genuine and innocent, so their silly actions are more easily accepted. I believe the protagonist decided to spend time with the children because instinctively he doesn\u2019t want to hurt their feelings. I decided to make the protagonist a composer, because music is something that can be very personal, but it is also something that you could collaborate on together,\u201d she says. Lim has collaborated with a Korean music producer Ju Won Lee in making music for \u201cEnsemble.\u201d

In addition to Lim, the 2021 DMD MFA Exhibition \u201cTurning Point\u201d features the work of: Emma Atkinson, \u201cwhen we were,\u201d virtual reality video game; Yucheng Hang, \u201cCybertown,\u201d interactive educational platform; Wenchao Lou, \u201cMemory-Home-Food,\u201d 2D cooking game; Claudia Nunez, \u201cAs You Wish,\u201d 2D animation and pitch bible; and Renoj Varghese, \u201cMicrointeractions in Chatbots,\u201d interaction design.

The 2021 MFA Studio Art exhibition \u201cSour Milk\u201d considers what has soured, creating potential for positive change or harmful destruction. Judith Thorpe, professor of photography and MFA Program director, and Janet Pritchard, professor of photography and MFA Project Seminar coordinator, noted the challenges faced by this year\u2019s MFA class: \u201cGraduating during the time of COVID-19, the class of 2021 has encountered challenges never before imagined. Last year\u2019s class bravely pivoted mid-spring while this year\u2019s class continued facing a year of uncertainty. Blocked from their studios for months, they encountered and mastered alternate means of instruction, conception, production, and fabrication, always adjusting on the fly, driven by their will to create. We celebrate their accomplishments. They challenged themselves, creating new work in unexpected ways that reflect their insights and development over the past three years. Their creative work asks questions and then asks more questions. Their art is visual poetry that will continue to grow and develop after graduate school.\u201d

\u201cSour Milk\u201d features works by Joseph Caster, photography; Shelby Charlesworth, mixed media installation; Rachel Dickson, photography and video; Paul Michael, books arts and video; and Magdalena Pawlowski, painting and etchings.

An Emerging Artist Talk with the Studio Art MFA candidates will take place on Wednesday April 21 from 3 to 5 p.m. EDT via Zoom. Visit the online exhibition to register.<\/a>


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