Art and Design Commons^™

Screen Assault, Julie Orr

The STEAM Journal

My work is both a commentary on the pervasive societal ills of disposability and detachment in contemporary culture and an active participant in the same environment it criticizes. I demonstrate my simultaneous revulsion and fascination with disposable goods. I photograph myself with such chemically toxic substances as cosmetics, sodas and cleaning products, speaking to their harmful nature while also reveling in their shimmering color. Their clever design is no accident and I find myself giving into the marketing seduction. The same goes for such other harmful behaviors as obsessive use of cell phones and social media, and rabid consumption of …

Is This Art?, Susan Joyce

The STEAM Journal

Is This Art?

Fringe Exhibitions began in 1999 as an independent curatorial practice. My primary area of research was the intersection of art, science, and technology. I decided go this route because I was interested in finding a way to engage the contemporary art audience. I was inspired by Eduardo Kac, an artist I first worked with as a curator on an exhibition featuring his “Holopoems”. I continued working for several more years organizing exhibitions in university art museums and galleries where support for this type of interdisciplinary work and experimentation was well received and encouraged. The research I conducted …

Engaging Many Minds: Nurturing Collaboration In A Steam Context, Mark Dzula

The STEAM Journal

This field note describes a recent interdisciplinary project facilitated by Jeremy Gercke, an art teacher at the Bishop's School in La Jolla, California. The project creates ceramic tile markers for flora around the Bishop's School campus. The markers feature QR codes linking to websites populated with student content, including: drawings, information, and oral histories. In this project, Mr. Gercke synthesizes his interests as an artist; maximizes his social connections to mentors, peers and students; and bridges disciplines to create opportunities for interdisciplinary (STEAM) inquiry.

Ecoscience + Art Initiative: Designing A New Paradigm For College Education, Scholarship, And Service, Changwoo Ahn

The STEAM Journal

The paper presents a new initiative, EcoScience + Art, which blooms at George Mason University. The creator explains the background, history, and recent activities of the initiative, and also introduces an on-going special project called “The Rain Project”, a student participatory project to design, construct, and monitor a green infrastructure (i.e., floating wetland) for sustainable stormwater management on campus. The special project is geared to design and present a new paradigm to integrate college education, scholarship, and service. The relevance of the initiative and the special project to STEAM education is discussed.

Prancing Shadow Connecting Worlds, Tiffany D. Randle

The STEAM Journal

The practice of being conscious about the environment and how shadows, light, and movement create an intellectual space for different interpretations allows the viewer to make their own associations. Concrete, the ground that people of different shades walk on, to one person can look and seem like an ethereal and unknown environment, but to another may seem like a moving body of liquid. When artists stop and look at the simple things such a concrete, and water, or passersby they can capture a moment in time that transcends the mundane and suddenly the artist is in a position to present …