Instead of sitting at desks, visualization students hurriedly move across the plaster-and-dust-covered floor of the Langford Architecture Building, putting last minute touches on their soon-to-be showcased visualization projects.Students from the Texas A&M Department of Visualization will launch the 20th annual project showcase Tuesday in Downtown Bryan. Entitled Viz-a-GoGo, the event will commence with an exhibition, featuring both physical and interactive work.
Fellow students and the general public can admire digital and traditional still life, painting, sculpture, photography, and game designs beginning at 12 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Visualization students, or “vizzers,” are anticipating the exhibition portion of Viz-a-GoGo, due to its prime location in the historic, newly restored Queen Theatre, which has not hosted a public event in more than 40 years.
“It’s exciting to be a part of bringing the Queen back to life,” said Jeff Gustafson, head of the interstitial committee.
Jack Eggebrecht, visualization graduate student and exhibition chair, said the location is a “blessing” and the Downtown Bryan Association has been helpful throughout the planning process. Despite last minute building code issues, Eggebrecht said Richard Davison, Bryan native and visualization professor, was instrumental in securing the Queen.
The second portion, held Friday evening at The Palace Theatre, is a screening of digital 3-D work fragmented into short movie-like “interstitials.” Davison said the event features students’ best “juried work.”
This year’s theme is “Viz to the Future!” – a take on the 1985 film “Back to the Future.” Highlighting the 20th anniversary, the plot begins in 2013 and then travels back to 1993, the year Viz-a-GoGo was first organized.
Another key change for this year’s event is the inclusion of undergraduate work. Generally a graduate-only event, undergraduates will have the opportunity to incorporate their work.
Both groups of students have been working diligently all semester on these projects. John Schmitz, junior visualization major, said the construction of his robot took more than 75 hours of labor.
Undergraduate work will be presented separately Wednesday to Saturday at the Federal Building. Viz-a-GoGo will also coincide with Downtown Bryan’s First Friday.