Commencement
An immersive, in person art exhibition. Part 3/3 of Undergrad: A series on ending well. Sponsored by The Pennsylvania College of Art and Design
Truly moving, impactful art is meant to be experienced— not limited to squares, and scrolling, and handheld screens.
Commencment was a multidisciplinary event at the Grotto Commons during the kickoff of York Arts Week. The main show was an immersive art installation produced by Boom Creative Design and O&W Co. ft. photos produced by Thesis that were projected onto silk screens. The room was swallowed up in cave like blackness with toys and props suspended from the ceiling thanks to the Dreamwrights props closet.
The full experience was an 8 minute show and while the slides were running Aortic Valve added distortions, flickers, and textures to increase tension, while Public Disco Porch played LIVE music composed exclusively for this event.
Attendees waitied in the lobby behind black curtains where they could hear bits and pieces of the soundtrack until the start of the next show which helped build anticipation and expectation…
Why an Installation?
At the beginning of this year one of my mentors, Tom, really encouraged me to shift my work from the digital sphere, stating that my art had greater capacity for impact and I was limiting it by only using a digital platform. His prompting intimidated me at first, and also felt out of touch with my foundation on instagram bedrock. I felt like my growth was only possible thus far due to social media connection— but maybe it was an illusion waiting to be challenged.
There’s a lot of things I learned from Tom, one of them being, “The easy way to do something has already been done— why do it again?”
Tom Ryan aka My Sensei 🙏🏽
In the thick of Undergrad I couldn’t stop thinking about that conversation from months before. A small seed had grown into something massively unexpected…
I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling betrayed by a platform that offered so much potential and in the end, seemed to take advantage of artists.
But weirdly, it’s ok? That pushed me to the next thing, and made me realize I don’t give a Sh** about trending on the internet. This summer series proved to me that my goal isn’t celebration, admiration, or appreciation as much as it is to literally rip someone’s heart out and hold it next to my own.
Dramatic, I know… But I’m an ✨ artist ✨
Artists learn a certain type of surrender to the craft, and in my surrender, I had allowed my own heart to be examined and exposed. There is and will always be in me a desire to hold up another’s heart next to mine, intently waiting and watching to see if we are in beating in tune; if we are not alone.
I felt it at Commencement…
I felt the anticipation, the tension, the wonder of transportation into a parallel universe WITH others. We took groups of 20 back to back through the exhibit for an hour and a half. Each time I walked into the waiting area, it was filled to the brim with bewildered people who had no idea what to expect and were eager to see what they were hearing about.
Their experiences were all so different—
The screens looked like they were breathing… like they were living beings singing with the music!
Having the musicians right by me was electric, the energy they created was palpable and sucked me in.
At first I thought the darkness was to create horror or fear, but then I realized it was more like a womb. So disarming, and then, comforting.
You’re supposed to get something out of art… I got it.
This exhibition proved one thing for sure— People want to experience art. Not just view it.
And look, I get it… it’s daunting to put something together like this… It took 20 hours alone just to install the exhibit, not including the design, photoshoot, editing, sourcing, communications, finding sponsors etc.
But it’s worth it. And it’s important. And something tells me that even though I’m desperate for a breather, I’m not gonna be able to shake this thought… we need more art in person.
We need more people making real art. Not just content, or something that sells, but something they put their soul into that invites others to bear theirs as well.
Feel the Commencement Vibes
