Amanda M. Stojanov, M.F.A., assistant professor of digital media in the Department of Communication, will have an augmented reality artwork, “EcoFemAR,” included, along with music by Daniel Krashen, at the opening of “Now You Don’t,” a solo art installation by Suzan Globus at the ChaShaMa Matawan gallery on Saturday, March 18 from 5-8 p.m. An artists’ talk will follow on Sunday, April 2 at 3 p.m. The exhibition is free and open to the public Mondays, 9-noon and by appointment. The closing reception is Saturday, April 22, 2-4 p.m.
Stojanov’s “EcoFemAR” is an immersive augmented reality artwork that fuses natural and synthetic elements. The organic movements and cycling of objects and words beckon viewers to enter the piece and evoke memories of their past interactions with nature. The artwork emphasizes the importance of the environment and the parallel between caring for nature and caring for human beings.
“I am excited to feature this prescient installation as we approach Earth Day and the increasing interest in taking care of our environment,” said ChaShaMa Matawan Gallery Director Donna Kessinger. The multi-media exhibit includes sculpture, painting, printmaking, photography, and video work addressing often overlooked environmental and cultural issues. Discarded materials like tree bark and window screening are used in dimensional work often replicating the female form to reference shedding, uncovering, revealing, rejuvenation, and transformation over time. A variety of painted bark pieces, prints, photographs, and paintings invite a closer look at the usually unseen.
According to the Gallery, “The augmented reality work by Amanda Stojanov emphasizes the ephemerality of the subject. The work seeks to promote rejuvenation of the fraying relationships among humans and between humans and the natural world by raising awareness of the beauty inherent in the effects of the natural progression of time.”
An interactive media artist, Stojanov investigates how innovations in communication technologies affect perceptions of identity, agency, and visibility, emphasizing concepts of embodiment and the “historically constituted body” within a networked society. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally in renowned venues such as the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Ars Electronica, Linz; and the New Museum (online exhibition). Her work has also been featured in outlets like “Artillery Magazine,” “The New York Times,” and The Associated Press.
