Spring 2021 Senior Projects Exhibition: Department of Art BFA

My name is Ben Conrad, I am graduating with a BFA from the Art & Technology program. I have a fascination and focus on using cutting edge software to create visual art which tell human stories. I mainly focus on 3D animation, but anything that intersects the cutting of edge of tech has my interest.

I saw this exhibition as an opportunity to display a transition from the artistic identity of a student to that of a professional artist. As such I wanted my process to be as solidified, professional, and concrete as possible. I researched the processes used by professional animation studios and curated a workflow that could be done on a project with one creator. Once that was established, the work became ritual and followed a tight schedule.

Since I began my time at Ohio State in the Computer Science Engineering department, I was able to experience firsthand what made the art department so unique when compared to other disciplines. The engineering school always curated an environment of competition with other students. You competed for grades, internships, scholarships, almost everything pitted you against your classmates. I can remember wishing that other students would fail difficult exams so that there would be a higher curve. This could not be more different to what I felt in the Art Department. That spirit of competition was replaced by a spirit of camaraderie and cooperation, and yielded allies, mentors, and lifelong friends.

The Department of Art gave me the wonderful opportunity to make art that just a few years ago I did not even know was being made. The access to technology, experienced mentors, and idiosyncratic artists with their own unique things to teach gave me a deep familiarity with processes and workflows I never would have discovered otherwise.

Hello, my name is Chancis Green and I’m a 22 artist that mainly focuses on animation and illustration! My area of focus within the BFA program is Art and Tech. As an artist, I like to dive into the strange and unexpected and combine that with the expected. Clowns having a family dinner, using vampirism to explore self-discovery, animals taking drugs at a party, it goes on.  I like making work that’s obscure at times. I know people will apply their own meanings to my work, so it’s best if I give them a little something to work with.

For the exhibition, I knew I wanted to make another animated film. I had thoughts of making the film about death or revenge, something edgy. Through the creative process I kept circling around the idea of death. I then thought about death that wasn’t physical, which lead me to think about the death in oneself. Like a butterfly. That transition from caterpillar to butterfly. In a way, the caterpillar dies and becomes the butterfly. People can do these transitions to. I wanted the transition to more dramatic and extravagant though. So, I believed the best way to show someone’s transitioning was vampirism. Human to vampire, the death of your old body and becoming something else entirely, Dysnomia’s Affliction. I knew the film wouldn’t be too long, so I wanted to include two other films I already made last year. I chose Clownery and Nice Trip because they seemed more “finished” to me. They’re both vibrant and match the theme of darkness and light heartedness, which goes perfectly with Dysnomia’s Affliction.

 My time in the art department at OSU was lively and experimental for the most part. Yes of course there were professors I didn’t like or assignment I decided I didn’t want to do, but overall, the art department really helped me with discovering my creativity. I’ve met so many great people through the art department. Friends, lovers, people I hope to keep close, and people I won’t forget through the years. I’ve taken on an internship with Mitch Vicieux, my Moving Image professor, and that opened me up to experimenting and wanting to try new things. Thing skills I’ve learned from Dalena, my other Moving Image professor, have given me the inspiration to do more with my art, try new programs, and engage with skills outside my comfort zone. I’ve learned to work with 3D animation, Adobe programs, and even printmaking. Skills that I plan on using further in my work. The art department helps you become more than a one hit wonder. The more you engage here, the more you become an artist with many trades. And because of that, I will never forget my experience here at OSU and I honestly can’t see myself anywhere else.