STORY AND PHOTO BY JONAS CORLISS, STAFF WRITER
The Media Arts and Design (MAD) program took over the College Complex to display works of art from both worldwide artists and students on Thursday, April 18, 2024.
The medium presented, called projection mapping, involves projecting digital works onto buildings– in this case, the College Complex, campanile, and Student Center. The main purpose of this showcase was to display student’s art in the real world, according to Katalin Angelov, department coordinator of MAD and the head organizer of the event. “[The show] is hard to describe, you just have to see it,” said Angelov.
The evening began with music and pizza, with simple light displays plastering the complex and campanile. The show began when the sun set and the sky darkened, making the visuals easier to view.
First, numerous pieces from all over the world were displayed upon the complex, some were accompanied by thematic audio. The artworks varied in tone, ranging from cute, ominous, silly, and even psychedelic.
After the complex segment, the show moved to the campanile. Kaleidoscopes of colors, words, and visuals were blasted upon the tower with some including special audio to enhance the experience. This segment showed how the artworks interacted with the geometry of the structures they were presented on.
Finally, students had their chosen works displayed on the Student Center wall. Works from the Photo, MAD, and Motion Design divisions were shown, with their creators present in the crowd.
One artist, Salem Planbeck, talked about how nice it is to see each artist’s works together at such a grand display. “It’s great to get together and see each other’s work,” said Planbeck. The students cheered each other on as their artworks were displayed.
This was not the first time the event had been held on campus but it was the largest it has ever been. Planbeck has been a part of numerous of these showcases and explained that this was the first time that artwork from worldwide artists was a part of the show. They also stated that the turnout was the biggest that it had ever been. The complexity and beauty of the artworks need to be seen in person to truly experience the show.
