Angel Aparicio’s Virtual Reality 360 Video Earns Dean’s Award In ‘Fresh Forward’ Student Exhibition
Angel Aparicio received the Dean’s Selection Award at the closing reception for the “Fresh Forward” student exhibition.
The annual Wright Gallery exhibition features student projects from the Texas A&M College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts and College of Architecture from summer 2023 through spring 2024.
Aparicio created a virtual reality 360 video performance for mobile devices titled “Look Around.” When viewers played the video on YouTube, they could put their phones up and move it around to see a virtual reality setting.
The video features a fantasy character, played by Aparicio’s brother, who sits and blinks in a fantasy world surrounded by animated figures. Aparicio recorded the video with a 360 camera and used animation and virtual reality tools to edit. He said he enjoyed exploring technology in a new way.
“I never really had any experience working with 360 footage before this,” he said. “It was really cool to experience especially because you can move it around, and it’s cooler than a stationary video because you become the character.”
Aparicio said he hopes viewers explore the details within the virtual environment.
“It is a very trippy world,” Aparicio said. “It has elements and inspirations from ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ and is just a journey where you just have to look around. I hope those who watch it really slow down a little bit, take a breather and look around.”
“Look Around” was created in the Performance in Virtual and Augmented Realities course taught by Merli V. Guerra, assistant professor of Dance Technology in the Dance Science program. Guerra said Aparicio, a senior Communications student, showed a “genuine curiosity and desire” to immerse himself in the project.
“’Look Around’ beautifully exemplifies the goals of this course: to engage participants in a visceral experience while exploring the performer’s role in virtual environments,” she said. “Angel has created a work that is at once mysterious, introspective, humorous and inviting. I am delighted and impressed by his attention to costuming, including traditional masks, site-specific filming and the addition of stop-motion animated characters. He has set the bar high for future iterations of this course.”
Dean Tim McLaughlin said Aparicio’s project expands on what the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts can do across disciplines.
“This combination of performing arts and visual arts is a great example of why the college was established and how we’re working to engage students around emerging forms of interdisciplinary art combined with technology,” he said.
Rebecca Pugh, instructional assistant professor and Wright Gallery curator, said it’s rewarding to provide students with an opportunity to exhibit their work in an art gallery.
“The participation of several students in the gallery tour was a highlight,” she said. “It was great to have students talk about their projects with a large crowd of visitors.”
Additional award recognition:
- “Deconstructed Blanket,” created by students in Visual Studies courses taught by Tina Budzise-Weaver, associate professor in Visualization, earned honorable mention.
- “Deer Park Master Plan,” created by Grace Canady, earned the College of Architecture Dean’s Selection Award.
- “Green and Yellow Model,” created by students in the College of Architecture, earned honorable mention.
Photo: Angel Aparicio holds the Dean’s Selection Award with Tim McLaughlin, dean of the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts. Photo courtesy of Angel Aparicio.
