The 2022 Alkek One Student Gallery installations are now up and ready for visitors to experience. These awesome projects demonstrate how digital technologies and creativity align. Five student projects were selected among the entries to this second year of the competition to have their work installed in the first-floor lobby of the Alkek Library. Library staff partnered with the Common Experience team and selected the winners that represented the 2021-22 theme of Compassion. The article below profiles one of the participants whose work was selected for the gallery.
Ale, a senior physics major, believes that we are all co-creators in this world. As co-creators, our actions impact not only ourselves but also others. It is a ripple effect. Collectively, we must take responsibility for our actions, considering their impact.
“Waves is what we call it in physics. It’s sort of like what you would see if you threw a rock into water or liquid. That’s how I see each individual in real life – each of us making our own impact,” said Ale. “But then within that impact, if you are in the proximity of other individuals, then those waves would interact.”
This philosophy of interconnectedness guides her views on and understanding of compassion.
Ale’s submission to the 2022 Alkek One Student Gallery competition is a visual of interconnectedness with a special connection to Texas State. The submission, a mixed-media painted piece, depicts many familiar individuals from around the university community.
“The person on the bridge is supposed to be the bubble guy. And do you know of Frisbee Dan and the sun god? They are here as well… and this is me reading a book while looking at my daughter play with bubbles,” Ale explained as she pointed out the figures in her piece.
The painting is a vision of spectacular greenery, complete with skyscraping trees with yellow flowers and a flowing river, all set against a crepuscular sun ray effect.
The piece is not only a depiction of Ale’s imagination and the university community; it is also comprised of actual pieces of it. The rocks and dirt in her artwork were taken from the San Marcos River. The boards she used as her canvas were recycled from the curb. She made the tree leaves from receipt paper she had collected.
“I feel a personal duty to find a purpose for things that would otherwise be waste,” said Ale.
That’s not all. Ale used countless other compounds and resources to complete her piece.
“Noah [Brock] and Harley [Miller] (Alkek One staff) explained how the [3D printers and laser cutters] worked and helped me clarify concerns about materials,” said Ale. They also helped with some of the materials in the piece, like paint, and introduced me to others like an acrylic gel that makes acrylic paint dry slowly, which helps paint something that big. The MakerSpace staff, machines, resources, and space expanded and increased my potential.”
As it all came together, these separate pieces gathered together to create a work of art. Ale affirmed her view of co-creation as a show of compassion. Co-creation reiterates that we are all pieces of a more remarkable thing. We depend on one another.
This article was contributed by Angela Smith, marketing and promotions coordinator in the Division of IT Marketing and Communications office. To learn more about the Division of Information Technology, visit the Division of Information Technology Blog.