My name is Charlie Brooks and I am a Mechanical Engineering senior. I wanted to take this practicum because I am interested in art and I thought the chance to make light art sounded interesting. Also, the light art installed on the library interested me.
I don’t have a ton of experience with art other than the general courses that you take in school. I have taken Fundamentals of Art, Animation 1, and Intro to Photoshop here at WPI, and I found Animation to be the most interesting because we got the chance to do something completely unique instead of all painting the same cup/face/scene like we did in Fundamentals. I am excited for this course because it seems that we will be able to each go in our own direction and make something different.
I have very little programming experience, and have always preferred working on mechanical things as opposed to programming or working with electronics. I would like to delve into that world a bit for this course, but I will have to weigh the time spent learning against the deadline to finish.
Whenever I have made art, I always prefer to work with sharp, geometric shapes and clean designs as opposed to something abstract or vague. I think that is why I am drawn to the artwork on the library, because at night the light creates hard, jagged shapes that dance together. I am also inspired a lot by architecture, especially the modern buildings that are pushing the boundaries of what people expect. I have been to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water (a modern house in PA) and I really enjoy how he decided to shape that house.
I hope to one day work on the development of a new product or object, and I always try to consider the form and appearance of whatever I create or design as much as the functionality. I think that art would play a huge role in helping me learn to refine a design and create something appealing.
