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Spring 2023
Art Director: Paul Kepple
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My senior thesis was an I Spy exhibition and book made up of personal objects, images and clippings. This was a four month long project structured and organized entirely by me.
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I found inspiration for my thesis while rifling through my childhood belongings and finding my collection of I Spy Books, written by Jean Marzollo and illustrated by Walter Wick. This was when the idea struck: could I make an I Spy book out of my own belongings? And furthermore, could I create an immersive I Spy experience?
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I decided to make collages of scenes made up of my photographs, scans and personal objects. These collages where accompanied by poetry I wrote following the I Spy book poetic formula.
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Because the objects being collaged were personal belongings, I wanted the poem and each spread to be about a different stages of my life (i.e childhood, school, summer camp, college, etc.)
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The opportunity to have a thesis show presented itself and I took it. I had a clear vision of what I wanted: an interactive I Spy exhibit. I wanted visitors to be able to play a giant version of I Spy together.
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I decided to make a large I Spy poster. This poster was a digital assembly of images tightly packed together. The final poster was about 3x6 feet large and covered the back wall of my exhibition space.
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On the back of my promotional postcard was a checklist of objects hidden in the poster, visitors were invited to get up close to my poster and find all of the hidden items.
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I wanted the space to reflect a nostalgic feeling so I filled the empty space with photos and personal items
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This project was a culmination of my learning at university and in itself a learning experience. I had never conceptualized, planned out and executed a project all by myself before. It was a challenge but from it I gleaned experience being my own project manager and critic. It propelled me forward into graduation with new confidence.
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