Dengke Chen’s Unvarnished Story
Over the summer of 2017, Dengke Chen’s Illustration and AR project, Unvarnished Story won the First Place Award in 30th September Competition.
The project had previously been on display in Stetson’s Hand Art Center, during the 2016 Spring Exhibition. Dengke describes this project in the following statement:
“The installation Unvarnished Story is a sequence of illustrations that created based on rare historical photos, and interacting with audiences in a gallery space using augmented reality technique to displaying 3D games and animations that confront social and ethical issues that surround us. Through animation based on art practice, by projecting my thoughts and my personal experience on distorted stories, I propose new insights and compel audiences to think about the unvarnished beauty and ugliness of the world. By bringing awareness of social problems and ethical issues and criticize them through animation, I’ll take my art as weapon and try to improve this world be more harmonious for every sentient life to live in.”
The 30th September Competition is an annual juried exhibition highlighting the work of contemporary artists in all media and styles created within the past two years. 52 artworks selected from over 250 international submissions are included in the exhibition and featured in a full-color print catalog. This year, the 45 selected artists represent 4 countries, 18 states, and 44 cities. The show exhibits from June 2nd to September 23rd, 2017 at Alexandria Museum of Art in Alexandria, LA.
To learn more about this exhibition at Alexandria Museum of Art, visit http://themuseum.org/exhibits/30th-september-competition.
Preserving Miao Cultural Heritage: A Virtual Reconstruction and Retrofit of a typical Diao Jiao House
In addition, Dengke Chen worked on a project over the summer in China. His research was supported by a summer grant from The Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs, in collaboration with the Brown Center for Faculty Innovation and Excellence and the Professional Development Committee.
Dengke Summer Project
“The Miao People migrated from China to Southeast Asia, especially to Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand, in the eighteenth century, and later their sub-group moved to United States and known as Hmong people. Such migration occurred due to both political unrest and the search of more arable land. Contemporary worldwide migration continues up to the present date and generations of intermarriage have caused Miaos of the younger generations to lose aspects of their historical identity and culture. As a manifestation of Miao’s culture, the historical wooden dwelling Diao Jiao House won’t exist long since the wood is highly perishable material which decays in time, causing the houses to become fragile and threatening their structural integrity. By integrating local landscape and virtual reconstructing a typical Diao Jiao House through strategic research and design, I created a virtual reality interactive installation to motivate contemporary audiences’ appreciation. By doing so, to preserve an endangered cultural heritage by creating a sample that other researchers can use to preserve more endangered cultural heritage sites worldwide.”
Visit http://www.chendengke.com/ to learn about Dengke Chen’s past projects.
test2
