Zack Dixon BFA Animated Art Thesis Fall 2013
Our interactions our increasingly mediated by abstract spaces, which inevitably impose an influence. Many aspects of ourselves are have the potential to be shaped by the unpredictable, ambiguous rhythms of the virtual world, including our very concept of permanence.
In this thesis, I made an animation with a narrative centered around a particular type of response to change, that I believed to be reinforced by virtual mediations. Despite the fantastical nature of the change, the main character responded with a type of ambivalence. Proving that she already expects impermanence, and has learned to deal with the nature of flux as a part of life.
The medium itself is representative of a fluency in adaptation. Even though stop-motion is no longer demanded by industry, or an integral character in pop culture, it has found a way to maintain relevance and by augmenting itself with contemporary technologies. CGI and digital compositing lend it the language of contemporary media, while preserving it’s past.
We live in an era of accelerating change, and ever present insta-
bility. In this thesis, I maintain that we will move on to the next stage in our history with internalized methods of adaptation, and an indifference to permanence.