Dartmouth Digital Arts Students’ Work Showcased in Downtown Hanover

Susan J. Boutwell

Dartmouth will roll out a real red carpet in downtown Hanover for “DAX v.1,” the first exhibition of student work in the Digital Arts, at a festival that will include a screening of student computer animation. The May 10 event is free and open to the public.

Along with the Hollywood-style entrance on the Nugget Theater’s terrace, there will be opportunities to “paint on walls” using projections on the exterior walls of the Nugget building from 7-11 p.m. Visitors can enjoy the projections and sample a free gelato while listening to live music from students in the Digital Music Department.

The evening’s offerings will include 3D computer animations including “Steamduck,” by Sam McIntire ’11, Brenton Rayner ’10 and Kent Sutherland ’10, a short animation about a robot on an assembly line; “Spooked and Confused,” by Graham Baecher ’10, Jen Huang ’09, Justin Slick ’09 and Tim Tregubov ’11, about an alien trying to get home on Halloween night; and “The Void,” by Nathaniel Seymour ’12, about a rock, paper, scissors game gone wrong.

A computer-animated film by Davey Barnwell ’13, shown above, is an example of the type of student work that will be part of the exhibition.

“We wanted a fun, innovative, and interactive way to showcase the work of students in the digital arts minor at Dartmouth. Since the work combines technology, science, and art, we wanted a spot where we could have a variety of things going on and ways for visitors to make their own digital art,” said Lorie Loeb, research associate professor in computer science and director of the Digital Arts minor at Dartmouth. “We hope there will be a DAX v.2, and that this becomes an annual event.”

Student work will also be on display, beginning at 7 p.m., at Cynthia Reeves Gallery, next door to the Nugget. The gallery exhibition will run through May 13.

Also on May 10, winners of the 2012 Neukom Institute “Seeing Science” competition, a contest designed to promote visual approaches to science understanding, will be presented with their prizes at 9 p.m., at the Nugget.

The festival is sponsored by a number of departments in addition to Digital Arts, including Computer Science, Theater, and Digital Music, with additional support from the Neukom Institute and Microsoft.

Dartmouth’s minor in Digital Arts, first offered in 2006, is part of the Computer Science Department, in collaboration with the departments of Studio Art, Theater, Psychological and Brain Sciences, and Film and Media Studies.

“Because the Digital Arts minor has been growing steadily for six years, we figured it was time we shared our work with the greater community, and let people see what’s going on in the basement of Sudikoff,” Loeb said.