Das Event 2: Professor Victoria Vesna Guest Lecture @ Monash Art & Design, Australia

 

“Africa, Morocco, Tissint Stony Meteorite.” [Alien] Star Dust, https://alienstardust.com/ar/. Accessed 2 May 2022

Professor Vesna’s discussion with the Monash Art & Design students was quite intriguing, with discussions ranging from her noise aquarium project to her studies on meteorites. Her project, entitled “[Alien] Star Dust”, was installed at the National History Museum in Vienna mere days before the COVID shutdown, and displayed the micrometeorite stardust exhibits in a beautiful way. I was truly intrigued by the noise aquarium project, which highlighted 3D renderings of plankton within the context of a soundscape and immersive experience. 

Screenshot from Professor Vesna's presentation to contextualize noise pollution

My experience at this event truly expanded my understanding of technology’s power and experience in the context of this course. Vesna mentioned that technology amplifies a message on the Zoom, and referenced the call as a prime example of this, as she was speaking to students in China, Australia, and UCLA all at once. Even then, she described how some of the most basic ideas and technologies are critical to understand, and without a powerful foundation in the basics, success in technology and the arts is difficult to obtain. I appreciated this idea even more with the walkthrough she provided of her process with these projects, explaining how the noise aquarium took its shape. Originally created for use in a movie, the 3D renderings of 7 species were already fully completed when the team approached Vesna. She posed the question, “how does underwater noise pollution impact these micro creatures?”, and thus, the noise aquarium project was born. 

“3D Rendered Plankton.” Noise Aquarium, https://noiseaquarium.com/ar/. Accessed 2 May 2022. 

I would highly recommend this event to my classmates, not only was it a joy to be able to learn from Professor Vesna in a live setting, but getting to understand the ins-and-outs of how these projects came to fruition, and also getting the opportunity to ask questions of our own, was riveting and informative. 


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