Photo: Margaret McKinney/Highlands University
Media arts Bachelor of Fine Arts candidate Ivana Moose Vidal uses a drill to install signage she designed for her branding project for Chilly Chili ice cream. Her project is part of the media arts Spring Exhibit.
Las Vegas, N.M – Highlands University media arts Bachelor of Fine Arts candidates will present their BFA projects in the Spring Exhibit May 11 at 5:30 p.m.
The public exhibit features projects with animation and video, graphic design, installation art, multimedia, interactivity, photography and websites. The exhibit is in the Media Arts East and West Building at 901 University Ave.
“The students’ work in this BFA exhibit is technically ambitious, dynamic and and impressive,” said media arts professor Mariah Fox Hausman, who supervised the exhibit. “Viewers will find themselves immersed in their senses of sight, smell, sound and even taste. I expect several of the projects will generate strong emotional responses from the audience.”
Hausman said the students’ work is well researched, and was thoughtfully developed over the course of several months.
“Visitors will see some stellar work,” Hausman said.
Ivana Moose Vidal developed branding for a spicy ice cream called Chilly Chili that includes a logo mark, brand name, tagline, color scheme, stationery, apparel, sample cups and napkins and a television advertisement.
“I’ve lived in New Mexico for five years now and I’ve grown to love everything it has to offer,” Vidal said. “The challenge of presenting an entire brand for a spicy ice cream was presented to me two years ago. I felt like there was a lot of potential for a product like this in an area where chili is held near and dear to New Mexicans’ hearts. My target audience for this brand is the adventurous type – the kind of person that is spontaneous and loves to challenge their taste buds.”
Shane Flores’ museum installation, Phantoms of a Rail Town, explores the undocumented late 19th century Chinese immigrant experience in Las Vegas, New Mexico. The installation includes audio visual components, a film and a website that documents historical excerpts from the Las Vegas Optic newspaper.
Tiare Gallegos developed branding for a tea shop called NudiTea that is meant to be edgy, yet comfortable and welcoming. Gallegos designed graphic materials such as signage, menus, business cards, wall hangings, a food truck and advertising including photography.
Gloria Lovato’s photography and multimedia installation The Inside Out explores the personalities people present to the outside world that conflict with what they actually feel. The exhibit strives to show that each person has two sides: one that they show and one that they think they show.
Julian Blythe’s multimedia project Nausea in Solidarity portrays how loneliness can still be felt when people are flooded with messages from social media like Snapchat and Facebook. He uses old cathode ray tube televisions to illuminate his exhibit and found objects for sensory effect.
Erick Rangel’s photography and animation installation piece The Cut documents his own experience as a wrestler over a two-week period when he lost 25 pounds to make the needed weight cut for competition. The project aims to raise awareness about the health and emotional issues associated with cutting weight for wrestling.
Christopher Killion’s short film Solitude deals with isolation and feelings of doubt that are part of the human condition, and his character must face his own emotions. Killion used stop-motion camera and video techniques, and built his own sets for this film.