Our project calls into question the nature of a book’s existence within a library. Libraries are thought of as epicenters of cultural preservation. But what is the role of a book if seen from that perspective? A book is categorized: organized by subject matter or writing style and then placed alongside things similar to it. While the act of categorization can accelerate understandings of specific fields, this same act disallows that book from being approached or arrived upon through different fields of thought. This is why we have chosen to write a book. The book has no title, and gives no explicit reference to style, genre, or subject matter. In fact, the book’s contents are made up exclusively of things that were required to bring the book into existence. From transcribed discussions between the authors, to interviews, to emails, to photographs of persons and places we went to research bookmaking, this book tells only of its own manifestation.

Once the book was completed, it was placed on a shelf in one of University of Washington’s many libraries. There the book will sit until someone incidentally finds it. From here, it will travel through the channels until it is placed in a situation where a decision needs to be made: throw the book away, or accession it into the library? And if it is accessioned, what number will be prescribed to the book? Whatever its number, that is how it will be understood from that point on, which severs the continuum of possibilities by which it could have been understood before it was processed.
The interest of our project is to research and react to the origins of the printing press. Through this, we will better understand how this invention reignited public literacy, introduced information abundance, and eventually led to the confusion of roles in a class-driven society. The intent of our research is to illustrate the present-day conflict btween the accessibility of information and the general public's unparalleled consumption of redundant, fruitless media distractions. The role of academic institution is  to cut through the ocean of information and bring students directly to the core of critical thought. Also in play is the impending commercialization and exploitation of students with products, (i.e. monopoly over which books students are required to purchase to learn.) Abstract notes: 1) Accessibility of information of public vs. distraction. 2) The more access the public has, the more junk enters the stratosphere to fill in the cracks. 3) Corporate strategies for popularizing their products through fraudulent representation of consumer opinion (i.e. books which are up-rated by bots in order to improve interest and sales). 4) Often times the newest edition of a required book has almost no alteration and is only published to re-inflate the book market.

In sculpture, pursuing the marriage between metal and glass presents a constant challenge working around their opposing material properties and entirely different working methods. Using electroforming I can create seamless structural connections between blown borosilicate glass and fabricated metal forms. If electroforming can deposit enough non-ferrous metal on to blown glass, then metal structures can be soldered and mechanically attached to the glass providing a secure, form-specific and easily manipulated connection. This method minimizes stress on the glass, tool marks, and excessive heat in fabricating the connection. Electroforming is a process of creating a structural layer of metal through electrodeposition of copper on a conductive base (mandrel) in an electrolytic plating bath. Creating a circuit where the copper in the bath is positively charged and the work piece, or glass in this case, is negatively charged; the current pulls ions of pure copper into the solution and is deposited onto the vessel. The bath consists of distilled water, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid and copper sulfate, facilitating conductivity and chemical reaction. The deposited copper then becomes a base from which to bridge materials. This seamless sleeve of copper eliminates the need for a flexible buffer like rubber or fabric to cushion the connection between the two rigid materials. Electroforming offers a new way to approach sculpture. It can introduce conductivity, create exact replicas of complex non-conductive forms, and provide sophisticated connections between diverse materials.

The human figure has been used in sculpture both symbolically and literally to ask life’s most challenging questions since antiquity. By creating images of ourselves we can both record the history of who we are at this moment in time and tell stories about what it means to be human. Some of our oldest surviving sculptures are of the human figure and I believe that this subject will continue to hold our interest for quite some time. In my work I use grotesque figures to not only refer to the body itself but as an allegorical vehicle to explore social, political, and autobiographical subjects. Questions that arise from viewing the body as it is, in spite of our perceived failings (rather than in an ideal state, as the ancient Greeks often did) fuel my creative practice. The grotesque figure is one that induces both empathy and disgust in the viewer; however, the source of that empathy or disgust is not clear. I am using the grotesque figure to explore whether or not it personifies our own failings or illuminates our own personal biases. I want to challenge the viewer to participate with the work while they decide whether or not they are disgusted with the figure or themselves. Currently I am using allegorical figures in historical paintings as a starting point for creating my own allegorical figures in ceramics and monoprints. By recontextualizing these historical figures, I am able to explore themes of identity and self which are constants throughout my work.

For the Undergraduate Research Symposium I propose to present two 13x19'' archival inkjet prints from the series, Near the Tower 2014. I visited home for the first time in three years. My home is near a famous tower that was constructed 2200 years ago entirely from wood, with no nails or beams. The height and shape of new buildings on the street confuses me. The change of the city growth is so fast it is hard to recognize what I am familiar with. Yet, after all these years, the furniture and shoes remain the same in my house, with a few extra colours and wrinkles. It has become hard to distinguish between what is old and familiar with what is new and familiar.

In the discipline of environmental field research, researchers usually work toward the objective of being immersed in the environment while still being mindful of the impact of one's presence and trying to observe without disturbing the preexisting environmental conditions. In designing this field lab for high school students in Discovery Park, I was inspired by the goals and methods of research conducted in the field. I transferred these ideas to my architecture studio project by creating an observation bridge that cuts through the forest-meadow ecotone in Discovery Park, yet has structural supports that cluster or disperse in response to the location of major roots from nearby trees. The intent was to allow students to be elevated and immersed in the trees and habitats that they would study, without harming the existing ecosystem with columns that disturb the critical root zones of trees. This bridge spans through the trees to join two buildings that sit in the meadow on either side of the forest: one serves as a sleeping space for students, while the other contains an open-air classroom and enclosed lab with sliding panels, which open the space up to the meadow and create a natural flow between observation and analysis. These building designs also respond to the natural elements and forces that act on the site - specifically rainfall and daylight - in their site orientation and form. The roofs are designed to direct rainfall back down to the meadow, and the walls are placed in response to the directionality of light throughout the day as it relates to the use of the space. This display consists of a poster that illustrates my concept in further detail, as well as a model of the design at 1/8th inch scale.

My portraits are releases- tentative outbursts or moments of clarity. The faces demand your attention, they contest your own personal reflections with their expressions. I capture moments of deep self involvement, a highly reflexive internal dialogue that is impossible to contain. I work from life, conceptually and materially. As I work quickly, oil paints take on a transparency, similar to emotions as they play across a face. I depict these quick glimpses of time with thin paintings, having the highlights of the skin be the canvas. My use of an oil medium mirrors the intense moments I capture; violently thick, or washy calm. Human expression is complicated and fleeting. These works are preservations of these glimpses; still frames of endless times. My intent is for viewers to come face to face with the subjects of my paintings, entering into an internal dialogue and gaining introspective knowledge. For updates on my latest works and endeavors visit, www.rhyn.com.
 

Light is everything. // As a student, I've come to realize that life is fleeting. And, as cliche as that may sound, it's 100% true. My time here at the University of Washington has not always been efficient. It has not always been profound, or especially moving, or even at all productive at times. But when it has - when it's been profound and moving and productive and all at the same time, this University becomes more than just a place. It becomes a space in time, and like life, I've found it fleeting. // Photography is the process of capturing light. Light illuminates; it allows us to see and understand and comprehend so much of the world around us. The shape of a landscape, the form of a building, the glimmer of life and comprehension in the human eye: these are all made known to us because light allows them to exist. And as I explored the nooks and crannies between light and emotion, I began to fully understand the potential of my camera. // These are my emotions. Some are peaceful, built in serenity and quietude. Others are chaotic, built in euphoria and madness. And yet others still are built in the moments between the two. I have found and explored an incredible amount here at this University, and the best way for me to share that sentiment with you is in, and with the light that gave it its meaning. // This is my UW. // Lux Sit

Koncentrik series is my intention of exploring some existential questions, as well as current artistic concerns, chief among them questions of authorship, ownership, and commodity production. Hopefully, it poses questions such as what occurs to a creator once the work has been completed. The series also tests social assumptions, as well as providing an institutional critique. An image of an artist emerges, a practitioner of capturing the inevitability of lost time. I find that presenting an artist as a metaphorhelps further explore certain universal themes which, in my opinion, are applicable to all. Each painting provides the viewer with a look into the creative process, as well as an intimate connection to the subject; this creates the conceptual framing. The viewer is presented with a portrait of each sitter, set against a bare, texturized, mostly monochromatic background. The desolation of figure reflects the solitude of the creative process, as well as points to the medium specificity itself, thus framing the experience. It also further blurs the lines between perception and reality. To increase the drama the pallet is limited, and predominately we see the use of white, black, and shades of gray. This allows for a play of formal elements (such as space), as well as posing questions of dimensionality. The size of each painting (8 x 7 feet) is intended to intensify the viewer’s presence. As confronted by a massive face staring down on the viewer, a form of transcendence is achieved. As the viewer becomes one with the creation, our visualization becomes part of the art creation.