Faculty Members Explore Research And Creative Works At Annual Symposium
Faculty members in the Texas A&M College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts showcased their expertise and scholarly passions during the 2024 Research and Creative Works Day.
The annual spring symposium held at the Stella Hotel in Bryan featured research presentations across all disciplines in the college, along with several performances by faculty members.
In her opening remarks, Dr. Ann McNamara, professor and associate dean for research and creative works, said the day demonstrated a “vibrant community brought together by imagination, intellect and creativity.”
“I am so excited to be a part of a school dedicated to pushing the boundaries of knowledge and creativity in the arts and technology,” McNamara said. “During our celebration of art and design, visual computing, dance, music, theatre, performance and cultural studies, each of us has a unique note to play in the symphony of our scholarly endeavors.”
Faculty Presentations
Dr. Edgar Rojas-Muñoz, assistant professor in Visualization, discussed his research in virtual and augmented reality and how they can be utilized in education, workplace safety, health care and other industries. One of his projects examines remote education, allowing students to use augmented reality for study group sessions from different locations.
“I truly believe these technologies are meant to become the user interface of the future,” he said. “I look at the technical aspects, user considerations and the overall applications that need to be done to get there — how you make people interact with the data and how do you use that technology in a good way.”
Dr. Susanneh Bieber, associate professor in Visualization, and Rayna Dexter, interim program director for Theatre and instructional associate professor, presented an inflatable that was created in a Design as Performance course they instructed. A few students were in attendance to present the wearable bubble inflatable that resembled a COVID-19 pathogen.
Vanessa Reiser, lecturer in the Dance Science program, presented her dissertation research about contact improvisation, which is a spontaneous and collaborative dance practice. She analyzed the relationship between dancers taking risks while in a flow state of mind.
Reiser conducted interviews with pre-professional and professional dancers and found that a level of vulnerability is needed in dance practice. By taking risks and choosing to push boundaries, dancers may experience a creative flow state of mind, she said.
Abby Williams Chin, lecturer in Dance Science, discussed the Dancing Plague of 1518 in Strasburg, Germany. Chin said that a woman started dancing in front of her house for no apparent reason, jumping erratically from foot to foot. The woman continued dancing until she passed out, then woke up and continued dancing for two weeks, she said. People then started to join the woman, and it became a psychogenic event where people danced themselves to exhaustion or death as a form of protest, she said.
“Marginalized groups often do not have resources to protest, so they use what they do have — their bodies,” Chin said. “In my research, I look at how can we think about this in terms of marches, sit-ins, hunger strikes, and from an altered state of consciousness or unconsciousness.”
Game engines and visual culture are the focus of research conducted by Dr. Patrick Sullivan, instructional assistant professor and Performance and Visual Studies undergraduate program director. Sullivan discussed “unrealism” in relation to game technology and visual culture.
“Unrealism accounts for the historical shift away from realism grounded in indexical media such as photography, video and film, to emergent forms of realism brought about by gaming and visual effects technology that more and more shape the contemporary visual field,” he said. “In doing so, it addresses changes in the relationship between knowledge and the image, aesthetic experience and media literacy.”
Dr. Matthew Campbell, assistant program director in Performance and Visual Studies, reflected on LoreFest, a three-night October festival in Downtown Bryan. Created by Campbell and Dr. Will Connor, LoreFest featured storytelling and folklore to immerse students in the culture of Bryan-College Station.
Students in the Performance and World Cultures course were able explore local folk stories and research and perform them, Campbell said. The first night was a storytelling session, followed by a film festival, and the final night took place at the Frame Gallery with a ghost walk and puppet parade.
Keynote Speakers
Musicians Dorothy Chan and Lucy Yao, known as Chromic Duo, discussed several projects they created with various universities. Through their collaborations at Texas A&M, the duo worked with Visualization professors and students to tell the stories of Aggieland through augmented reality, narrative writing and music. The duo also previously performed a classical, traditional and toy piano concert at Rudder Forum for the college.
The second keynote address was led by Dr. Dawn Jourdan, dean of the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at the University of Maryland. Jourdan was the previous executive associate dean in the College of Architecture at Texas A&M.
Through interdisciplinary collaborations, universities have opportunities to change the world, she said.
“That is one thing we do better than anyone else in the research circle — we dream,” Jourdan said. “How can you use your big, beautiful ideas to help others dream in big, beautiful ways? The heart of your work should be joy. Don’t forget that people come to universities because they want to have an impact.”
Performances
Jessica Boone, lecturer in Dance Science, performed an improvised piece to illustrate “a dance made in the moment.”
“Through dance improvisation we get to practice being more resilient,” Boone said as she danced across the room. “Through new experiences we have new ways of learning, understanding and knowing ourselves and others in our lives.”
Dr. David Wilborn, associate professor in Performance and Visual Studies, played bass trombone on an original score titled “Concertante Caprice.”
Dr. Will Connor, Performance and Visual Studies lecturer, presented a video featuring an instrument he created similar to a sheet metal cello. Connor said he created the “Cthulhuphone” to make “otherworldly sounds.”
Virginia Figueiredo, instructional associate professor in Music Performance, played a solo clarinet piece titled “Clair-et-net” by Clotilde Rosa. The piece is part of her project that represents women composers.
“I like to research and present work by underrepresented groups, and women have been historically underrepresented when it comes to music,” she said. “Clotilde Rosa was a Portuguese composer who was part of a chamber music group that was often persecuted by the Portuguese regime, under the Portuguese dictatorship. Rosa’s music is irreverent and avant-garde, a rebellious musical style against the directives of the fascist regime.”
Honors
Two professors were awarded for their efforts in interdisciplinary work, research leadership and student mentorship. Felice House, associate professor in Visualization, received an award for being an exemplary tenured associate professor. She also gave a presentation on her artwork of Western heroes as contemporary women.
Dr. Jian Tao, assistant professor in Visualization, received an award for being an outstanding tenure-track assistant professor. Tao also discussed his collaboration with the college and the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service to create a digital-twin-enabled testbed as a training facility for first responders.
Top photo: Dr. Ann McNamara, professor and associate dean for research and creative works, gave opening remarks at Research and Creative Works Day. Photo by Glen Vigus.
