Final Project

Artist Statement:

The University of Nevada, Reno recently implemented a program called 15 to finish that puts a requirement on certain financial aid options and on-campus jobs that makes it so a student must take 15 credits or more a semester in order to receive any of those benefits or work on campus. This is putting a great deal of unnecessary pressure on students in order for the university to get more funding based on its four year graduation rates. With my final, this was the more conceptual piece of artwork I believe I have ever made. I used a picture of our library to represent the quality of our education. I 3D modeled and printed the library and I also took that 3D model, textured it and animated it being built. I then light the model on fire with a blowtorch. The picture in the background represents the unmoving standard we have for our education: pristine and sharp. The next layer is the animated model being built, showing that at its core the university is a place that furthers the education of the people who attend it. The final layer is the burning of the printed 3D model with represents what we are currently doing to that standard by forcing people to take more credits each semester which in turn is causing one person to spread thin with the requirement of all the class work leading to a less impactful learning environment. The sounds I paired with the piece are the sounds of a 3D printer at work to represent the push for newer technology, the sounds of a construction site which ties to the fact that our campus always seems to be under construction and the final sound which is the sounds of a blowtorch burning a 3D model to emphasize what is happening to the quality of the students education.