Finding The Sweet Spot: Adventures in Computer Animation and Visualization

Posted on February 13, 2013

Finding The Sweet Spot: Adventures in Computer Animation and Visualization

Lecture By Dane Webster

Associate Professor of Creative Technologies

Virginia Tech

 

Wednesday Feb 27^th, 2013

12pm-1pm

FA room #148

 

Dane Webster

Associate Professor -­‐School of Visual Arts

Associate Director -­‐Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology

Virginia Tech

webster@vt.edu

 

Artist Statement:

As an artist, I’m passionate about creating worlds, building experiments that unfold within the virtual space.  My experimental short films and installations like “With Delicate Risk” and “Always Uncoupled”* investigate creation myths, evolution, and the simple reactive qualities of a virtual biological form. My “Organica” still images are abstract designs influenced by my interpretations of the microscopic realm. And elements of this investigation are even found in my purely escapist short films such as “Idea Development” and “Sixty Second Tragedy.” While on the surface, the stories are about simple characters confronting a problem; under the hood, as an artist I get to be an amateur scientist, building worlds within the computer, exploring the use of virtual physics, anatomy, light and sound. As a scholar, I investigate my own ideas about the intersection of arts and sciences.

As a practitioner, I’m often partnering with researchers and scholars from outside of the arts. Entering into these collaborative, cross-­‐disciplinary projects allows me to learn something about a range of topics that I wouldn’t normally encounter. Using my skills in computer animation, I develop visualizations aimed at furthering the scholarship of my collaborators from disciplines such as history, science, architecture, and education. These projects help students learn about the history of Native Americans; help administrators visualize proposals for building projects; help engineers investigate new bio-­‐inspired forms.

*examples of the work mentioned in my statement can be found at

danewebster.com