Visiting Lecturer in Digital/New Media Art, Fine Arts Department, Zhaoqing University, Zhaoqing, China (2005 - 2007)

Tom R. Chambers joined the Department to develop and teach a Digital/New Media Art Program. He and his students collaborated with Beijing Film Academy (Beijing, China), Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University (Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.), Maine College of Art (Portland, Maine, U.S.A.), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, New York, U.S.A.), National Chengchi University (Taipei, Taiwan), Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S.A.) and University of Louisville (Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.A.) in joint student projects/exhibitions, off- and on-line.

Student Exhibitions (tomrchambers.com)


October, 2005 class activities. The third-year art students seen below are participating in RED ... a collaborative digital art project with art students at the Art Institute of Boston [Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.] ... and they are seen along with Visiting Lecturer, Tom R. Chambers discussing their concepts for the project. Chambers' translator, Shan Shan [Gina] is seen to his right.





This project is a collaboration between students in China and America under the instruction of Tom R. Chambers at Zhaoqing University (Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province, China) and Carmin Karasic at the Art Institute of Boston (Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.).

In China, red is everywhere and one of the two official colors on the Chinese flag (the other being yellow). It is deep-rooted in their culture. For the Chinese, red represents the sun, the phoenix, fire, summer, the south, joy, good fortune and happiness. It is the luckiest of all colors. Bright red envelopes are used to present gifts of money in China. On the Chinese stage, a character with a red face is a sacred person. It is used in wedding ceremonies, and it has been used during revolutions. It's identified with Communism [Socialist red], and it was associated with political vehicles such as the 'Red Guards' during the Cultural Revolution. And Mao Zedong is sometimes referred to as a 'red sun'.

In America, and for the Cherokee tribes, red was a symbol of success. Red beads were used when praying to ask for long life or recovery from illness. The Native Americans associate red with faith and communication. But generally, it's characterized by violence or bloodshed, and is reminiscent of the color of blood, cherries, tomatoes, rubies, hair and wine. And it's especially related to emotion or exertion. Red catches people's attention, and is often used to indicate danger or emergency, and it denotes, 'stop'. And it is the color of both romantic and carnal love [red-light district]. It's one of the three official colors on the American flag, and it leads the other two colors in the patriotic and proverbial phrase of 'the red, white and blue'. And within a political context, it helps differentiate the parties and process. It also has connotations of 'Red China' during the Cold War of the 20th century and 'the Redcoats [British] are coming' during the American Revolutionary War.

Analysis:

"The descriptions above about the color, red seem to be in line with the images. The images by the Chinese students follow traditional, cultural and political mores whilst the images by the American students are in keeping with the generalities of the color: romance [sex], danger, emergency, passion, bloodshed and Hell. So conformity is confirmed as a result of this project. This comparison reveals differences based on societal systems ... within open and closed contexts ... and familial/communal upbringing or a lack of.

As Chinese society and culture go, the images reflect a sense of pride in their long history and civilized society [The reserved and harmonious nature of the people and the prestige of the state and its popular identification with the highest values of Chinese civilization are the final result of a centuries-long program of indoctrination and education directed by the Confucian scholar-officials.]. To mention that these Chinese students are Junior design majors is significant due to seen skills in most of the works, but what seems to lie deeper is the formalized approach due to the long-standing adherence to recognized forms and proper procedures.

And as American society and lifestyle go, the images reflect a much looser existence with a lack of well-defined and long-standing societal values. Many of the images relate the color, red to romance with sexual and almost carnal connotations. There's no design standard or basis that seems to set a foundation that's seen within most of the images by the Chinese students. This may be due to the collective spirit and approach that's prominent in Chinese society versus the very individual style in American society. Within this comparative context, there's an immediate surface treatment to the color. And in a general sense, this treatment seems to be the only attachment for these American students."

A few examples of the students' work follow:







November, 2005 class activities. These second-year art students are participating in SELF ... a collaborative digital art project with art students at the Maine College of Art [Portland, Maine, U.S.A.] ... and they are seen along with Visiting Lecturer, Tom R. Chambers discussing their concepts for the project. Chambers' translator, Shan Shan [Gina] is seen to his right.




This project is a collaboration between students in China and America under the instruction of Tom R. Chambers at Zhaoqing University (Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province, China) and George LaRou at the Maine College of Art (Portland, Maine, U.S.A.).

The self-portrait gives the artist the greatest freedom from external constraints. Because the artist is his or her own cheapest and most available model, the self-portrait is the finest opportunity to make the most flattering statement or the most penetrating revelation of character of which he or she is capable [The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright 2005, Columbia University Press]. The artist tries not only to express his inner drive through aesthetic presentation, but also to examine that drive through portrayal of the most intimate subject, the self.

Analysis:

"Even though the assignment parameters have created an inherent difference between the Chinese and American self-portraits, there are other differences ... albeit, subtle ... that are seen/felt between the two. Perhaps there's a bit more sophistication in this subtle form for the American self-portraits with an inclination towards the representation of the photographic image rather than its blatant manipulation and added elements as seen within the Chinese self-portraits. Again, this blatant manipulation and added elements are most likely due to the assignment parameter of requiring the students to utilize layers, masks and filters for graphics skills improvement.

These added elements ... more detailing or 'storyboarding' [embellishment] ... within the Chinese self-portraits create busier images for the eye. The American self-portraits are relatively 'plain/simple' [unembellished] in their syle. Elevated ideals or conduct [emotionalism] run through the Chinese self-portraits ... a high mindedness and passion that are prevalent within Chinese youth who have the opportunity to attend college for a better future. The American self-portraits touch on the intellect and as it relates to the assignment parameter of working in a variety of approaches which were influenced by artists they found compelling [according to the instructor, George LaRou]."

A few examples of the students' work follow:








April, 2006 class activities. These second-year art students are participating in INTO THE FUTURE ... a collaborative digital art project with art students at National Chengchi University [Taipei, Taiwan] ... and they are seen along with Visiting Lecturer, Tom R. Chambers discussing their concepts for the project. Chambers' translator, Shan Shan [Gina] is seen to his right.




This project is a collaboration between students in China and Taiwan under the instruction of Tom R. Chambers at Zhaoqing University (Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province, China) and John Labadie at National Chengchi University (Taipei, Taiwan).

Analysis:

"According to the World Future Society [http://www.wfs.org/], the future doesn't just happen. People create it through their action ... or inaction ... today. And by studying the future, people can better anticipate what lies ahead. They can actively decide how to live in the future by making choices today and realizing the consequences of their decisions.

Opportunity as well as difficulty lies ahead, and it seems that the above students from both institutions ... Zhaoqing University and National Chengchi University ... have visually made their farsighted decisions. No one knows exactly what will happen in the future, but most of these digital considerations are an attempt to rationalize a desirable future through achievement. Within most of the works, there's a good sense of awareness of the rapidly changing world and its effect on values, attitudes and beliefs. And this fast pace of making it difficult to prepare for tomorrow is also inherent in many of the pieces.

The digital art ranges from negativism/skepticism to optimism. There seems to be more of a collective concern regarding the environment and technology within the works by the Zhaoqing University art students whereas some of the works by the National Chengchi University art students border on lightheartedness. There is a degree of intellect that seems to be more apparent within a few of the works by the National Chengchi Univerity art students but generally, both groups of students seem to be on equal standing in terms of artistic skill and application."

Comment by Laurence Gartel, Pioneer of Digital Art, Miami, Florida, U.S.A.:

"Good Project. Its always interesting to see who has vision and who doesn't. Most follow as you know. When I started making digital images in 1975 there weren't any personal computers. People didn't understand what the word CYBERNETIC meant and more over the word DIGITAL was not a vocabulary word. The future can now be fairly predictable: technology will be part of their future. The future has actually been set. But what will be interesting is if these students predict what global warming will do, what natural disasters will do, and how it will effect the economy. In any case, these students are getting a real privilege having Chambers there and getting his artistic insights and cultural experience."

Review by Shankar Barua, Digital Artist and Director, CeC/CaC, India:

"What a lovely collection of images, and how startling that they should be so distinctly different from one university to the next."

A few examples of the students' work follow:




SELF/SOUL:  This project is a collaboration between Freshman [Grade 1] students in China and America under the instruction of Tom R. Chambers at Zhaoqing University (Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province, China) and Chan Ying Kit at Allen R. Hite Art Institute, University of Louisville (Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.A.).

The self-portrait gives the artist the greatest freedom from external constraints. Because the artist is his or her own cheapest and most available model, the self-portrait is the finest opportunity to make the most flattering statement or the most penetrating revelation of character of which he or she is capable. The artist tries not only to express his inner drive through aesthetic presentation, but also to examine that drive through portrayal of the most intimate subject, the self [The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright 2005, Columbia University Press].

The soul, according to many religious and philosophical traditions, is a self-aware ethereal substance particular to a unique living being. In these traditions the soul is thought to incorporate the inner essence of each living being, and to be the true basis for sentience. In distinction to spirit which may or may not be eternal, souls are usually (but not always as explained below) considered to be immortal and to pre-exist their incarnation in flesh. The concept of the soul has strong links with notions of an afterlife, but opinions may vary wildly, even within a given religion, as to what may happen to the soul after the death of the body. Many within these religions and philosophies see the soul as immaterial, while others consider it to possibly have a material component, and some have even tried to establish the mass (weight) of the soul [Wikipedia].

Review by J.D. Jarvis, Artist and Art Critic, New Mexico, U.S.A.:

"It is my observation that American students suffer when asked to create work within the limits of a theme. I was impressed by the Chinese students who seemed less hampered by the thought of the theme of Self/Soul and found ways to be much more expressive than the American counterparts. I also see within the Chinese work much more exploration with the digital tools and a better overall sense for design and color. I believe Chambers can take credit for the former, but I am fairly sure the sense of design and color comes from a culture that has not yet sidelined the arts in favor of football. My compliments on another successful and interesting collaboration."

Review by Bruce Hanks, Media Artist, Canada:

"Identity, and the image we project - so important/meaningful. Looking at the Self/Soul exhibition, I am struck by how cluttered the images are. At that explosive age of youth, we want to contain and express the entirety of everything simultaneously. Such valiant effort, and a lovely beginning. Again, a fantastic collaboration between students in two different hemispheres. It is noteworthy how this exercise does not present two different worlds. The images could be interchanged and it would be hard to say who is/was from where. Identity in a global youth culture is mediated through recent advancements in (portable) technology. The students work is a public."

A few examples of the students' work follow:










CHINA VIEWS:  This exhibition is a result of the first photography class for these Freshman art students at Zhaoqing University [China], and it comprises a great deal of field documentation in various locations. The focus is on fine art photography with classroom discussion on composition ... foreground-background interest, lightplay-shadowplay, juxtaposition, angularity, camera position, perspective, shape/form ... using the students', Tom R. Chambers' [Instructor's] and Master photographers' photographs. Photoshop is used to acquire skills in resizing, cropping and enhancement via filters such as sharpen and brightness/contrast. An important aspect of the class is exposure to the environs to become more aware of and have greater appreciation for the surroundings through their "mind's eye".

The opening:










Poster:


Examples of the students' work follow:








Photo class:











Reference letter from Dean Luli, Department of Fine Arts:

























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