The campus community is invited to step into the world of “Immersive Elements,” an ARTSwego project presented by NOIRFLUX's Electric Heliotrope Theater with student collaboration, running April 23 through May 4 in 133 Marano Campus Center.

The interactive exhibition will be viewable daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. those days, with an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. during Quest on Wednesday, April 23. 

For this imaginative display, renowned artist Lorne Covington of NOIRFLUX collaborated with talented SUNY Oswego students to bring to life an original student-developed immersive interactive experience that includes sculpture, drawing, audio, video and interaction design. 

“When I was thinking about programming this season, I wanted to include something a little different,” said Lowell Hutcheson, ARTSwego director. A previous projection project –- “Monuments” created by Craig Walsh –- had done well, and this had the added element of intensive student collaboration.

Hutcheson said Covington came recommended, and also knew him via the Society for New Music in Syracuse. She reached out and asked in particular if Covington would be interested in working with students, which he was. 

The next step was to connect him with Cara Thompson’s “Special Topics” (Art 333) and Graduate “Multimedia Installation” (Art 533) classes. 

The courses bring together a wide variety of artistic backgrounds and majors, ranging from interaction design and studio art undergraduates to graduate students including from the master’s in art teaching program and human-computer interaction.

“We spent about the first month brainstorming, looking at other installations,” Thompson said. “Then we narrowed things down to become a little more practical. We ended up deciding to work with the four elements.”

Thompson then asked the students to break into smaller groups to conceive the graphical components –- deciding how to depict water, air, fire and earth –- and then create the visuals that Covington will project into interactive pieces.

Student experiences

Students such as Emily Rushinko found lessons that apply to skills both in and out of academic settings.

“I learned a lot about not only the process of working with other artists, but also how to work with others in digital 3D elements,” Rushinko said. “I also realized it can be harder to work with others when it’s not in the same room. But I had fun.”

Another student in the class, Cristopher Montesano, found the experience of such an expansive collaboration unusual but also rewarding.

“Even though we had a fairly large group, it provided opportunities for us to do things we haven’t done before,” Montesano said.

“ARTSwego will only work with visiting artists if they’re willing to work with students, and that’s often a lecture or demonstration,” Hutscheson said. “Since I’ve been here, I don’t think we’ve had such an engaging project over this period of time or in this much depth. I’m incredibly impressed with everything I’ve seen so far.”

This installation invites visitors to engage with art in a new way, blending creativity and technology for a journey where all visitors might discover something different. 

To incorporate more community participation, campus parking will be free for those visiting this installation, although a parking pass will be required via the Parking Services Office.