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A visual examination of artificial life and science fiction using 3D computer graphics and animation

Warren, John Rodger

Abstract Details

1997, Master of Fine Arts, Ohio State University, Art.

My work creates a tension between the fascination of an active/living object and the uncomfortable realization that the artificial life form mirrors ourselves and confronts the problematic implications of a "designed" existence. In particular, the images are designed so that a human observer is aware of the similarities between the alife object and themselves. This connection is established through references to the human body (e.g., the incorporation of forms derived from human physiology and morphology). The work attempts to establish a dialog between the fact that the entities are created and the fact that they exhibit human-like qualities - questioning the ethics behind a "designed" existence through empathic analysis rather than scientific inquiry. Indeed, people who have seen the work identify this relation almost immediately and without prior knowledge about the thinking behind the work.

The work is realized as an installation composed of a series of slides and animated segments that are simultaneously projected in a large soundstage. The work employs computer graphics for several reasons: activating the viewer's unconscious regarding a synthetic image and the implications therein - spawning notions about constructed reality, control over two-dimensional and three-dimensional design issues, ability to work with the traditional language of film and the resultant suspension of disbelief, and lastly the permanence of digital imagery.

Midori Kitagawa-DeLeon (Advisor)
41 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Warren, J. R. (1997). A visual examination of artificial life and science fiction using 3D computer graphics and animation [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1382949898

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Warren, John. A visual examination of artificial life and science fiction using 3D computer graphics and animation. 1997. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1382949898.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Warren, John. "A visual examination of artificial life and science fiction using 3D computer graphics and animation." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 1997. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1382949898

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)