Collected Writings

On Art: “The Importance of Ambiguity,” Published in a Collection of Graduate Essays at VCU

In this image from my “Creek Series,” it’s hard to decipher precisely what the object is, why it is isolated in the water, and how it got there. It elicits more questions than answers. Its power lies in its indeterminacy. As a graphic design MFA student, I often experience ambiguity in the field to be considered inadequate or disregarded altogether. This is due to the strongly upheld and historical emphasis on immediately clear communication as evidence of success. During the It’s Nice That Annual Conference of 2017, David Heasty of Triboro (Design) “declared an appreciation of ambiguity in design; a love for images and messages that were not obliged to reveal everything in one hit.” (Eye Magazine) We must embrace ambiguity by first understanding its potency. Here I examine how a group of artists––painters, photographers, filmmakers, and sculptors––approach ambiguity in their work. The answer is almost always about presenting something that takes time for the viewer to interpret. How and why each artist gets there, however, is different.

On Intuition: Graduate School Candidacy Proposal

“Today, cognitive scientists think of intuition as a set of non-conscious cognitive and affective processes; the outcome of these processes is often difficult to articulate and is not based on deliberate thinking, but it’s real and (sometimes) effective nonetheless,” says psychologist, professor, and Ph.D. Massimo Pigliucci. Because of its elusive nature, intuition is often discounted. I believe it shouldn’t be. Graphic designer Daniel van der Velden, of Metahaven, spoke of the potential of designers who mine their intuition, telling online publication That New Design Smell, “The crucial point is to talk about that moment; to talk about the moment when you decided ‘it should be like this.’ ” I endeavor to address this through my design practice–to examine the conscious reasoning that exists on all sides of the intuitive ‘aha’ moment–and use what I learn to inform and propel my creative process. I hope that in doing so, I will contribute to demystifying intuitive processes so that they may be harnessed in graphic design.

On Dance: Successful Grant Proposal for S. J. Ewing & Dancers

TRANSIT (pictured) was created and presented through a Performance, Event and Festival Grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities with the support of CulturalDC's Inaugural Space4: Performing Arts season and CityDance.

Directed by Sarah J. Ewing Choreography by S. J. Ewing in collaboration with the dancers Projection Design by Jonathan Hsu

What follows is excerpted from the proposal: TRANSIT is an original dance-theater work created to be presented in the Dupont Underground. The work asks––as we move through time, what bridges our intangible interior lives with the physically constructed environments we have built? The lateral space between action and impact, between our interior lives and our actual environment, doesn’t seem to be accurately captured by our conventional understanding of time. Does physics define what a lifetime looks like, or do we? An essential component of modern and contemporary art is its relevance and responsiveness to current social norms or expressions. TRANSIT seeks to reach DC’s eclectic audience of residents and visitors. The accessible location, artistic content, and technological aspects of the work are well suited to this progressive and engaged city and residents who are hungry for forward-thinking art.

This Must Be The Place: Graduate Thesis, MFA Document (Excerpt)

For the School of the Arts MFA Show at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Anderson Gallery, I showed a piece called “This Must Be The Place,” a 3D realization of my current photography work. In the spirit of (Karl) Klingbiel, I said in my accompanying statement, “It is my hope that as you experience this work you will become part of the texture of it.” The work is a six-foot by six-foot transparent acrylic cube which features a colorful three and a half foot by three and a half foot acrylic cube inside it. This colorful interior cube has images of the natural world accompanied by images of flowing hand-dyed fabric wrapping around each side. A light installed in the interior cube generates a sparkling, diffused glow. Though structural in form, the work is malleable in the way it is perceived. It’s ever-changing with the light, weather, and crowd surrounding it. Branches and leaves land on the sky image printed on the interior cube and look as though they hope to join the tableau. When photographed, the people, trees and objects close by become flattened into the plane and look as though they are part of the work. Every image is a new image.