Benjamin Ross Nicholson - Student Work Portfolio

What follows are examples from classes I’ve taught at RMCAD and two particularly relevant classes I co-taught at USC (The Languages of Digital Media [2020], and World Building, Narrative Design, and Design Visualization [2021]).

FD1600 - Studio Seminar (Fall A 2023)

Jairo Flores, digital illustration and clay

Jairo had created a compelling work for his “three problems” assignment that depicted his sense of the national discourse in the United States concerning Mexican people, but expressed some dissatisfaction with how it turned out. I encouraged Jairo, for his “three iterations” assignment, to take this dissatisfaction and allow it to motivate a deeper exploration of the original idea. This led Jairo to develop one piece that presented his ideas in a similar aesthetic but with more provocative imagery, one piece that brought his idea into a more abstract use of form, and a final piece that brought the core form of the sun into three dimensions as a clay sculpture.

Ericka Jackson, digital illustration

For her “three iterations” assignment, Ericka wanted to work off of a nautical image she had produced for the prior assignment. Because she expressed interest in there being a through line between each of the three iterative pieces she developed, I suggested she consider working on the piece as a triptych, where each piece both functioned in its own right and contributed a larger piece of art. We discussed how to maintain some similarities throughout (particularly the use of blues and blacks and a central elliptical form) while making each image unique.

FD1020A - 2D (Spring A 2023, Spring B 2023)

MiKael Atkinson, digital zine

Coming into the class with incredibly strong animation and technical skills, MiKael took strongly to the control he was able to exercise over 2D design in Adobe Illustrator. For the final zine project, which was meant to share all of the work done in the class throughout the term, we discussed taking on the challenge of having each page include a design that specifically referenced the project it was demonstrating. Because of this, MiKael was able to have a high-level meta design for the zine as well as distinctive pages that highlighted the projects he was sharing.

Jackson Lindstrom, digital illustration

For our “surreal self-portrait” project, I was able to work with Jackson to help him see how his digital illustration practice could be augmented with some of the tools specific to Adobe Illustrator. In particular, we explored how the Image Tracing feature could allow him to bring real-world images into his illustrations and generate bizarre and arresting color arrangements. At the conclusion of the class, Jackson mentioned he felt like Illustrator would be the main tool he would use for his practice going forward.

FD2220 - Time-based Media (Fall B 2023, Spring A, 2024, Summer A 2024)

Kira Medina, video

The final project in my Time-based Media class asks students to experiment with some notion of “dream” and surreality. Because Kira had shown some really strong inclination towards performance, I suggested she insert herself into her dream project, in which we had discussed how to make the seemingly quotidian seem uncanny and disquieting. Throughout the term we had discussed the impact of diegetic and non-diegetic sound on audiences and Kira was able to use the blurring between the two to disorienting effect.

MJ Condra, digital animation

For their final assignment, I encouraged MJ to explore their ongoing dreams about horrible work experiences and their interest in animation and voiceover work. The result was a humorous (though dystopic) view into the world of retail work that resonated strongly with many of the students in the class (who were also working hourly-wage jobs).

Atlas Fuson, stop motion animation

For our stop motion animation assignment, I introduced Atlas to the practice of Foley for sound design. Rather than downloading sounds to accompany their stop motion piece, Atlas actually physically generated the sounds in the space where the stop motion was being photographed and incorporated them after the animation was complete, creating a greater sense of continuity and immersion in the work.

ART3500 - Experimental Studies (Fall B 2023)

Oli Coyle, cosplay and photography

Because many of students in my Experimental Studies class had deep familiarity with one another, I decided it would make for a compelling assignment to have students develop works based off of the practices of their classmates. Oli was assigned to explore Xavier Marquez’s practice, which explored notions of identity being a collection of masks. Using a sculpture of Xavier’s as a reference (depicting an alien smoking a cigarette), Oli furthered their own practice of using photography, makeup, and costume to challenge notions of stable identity by transforming themself into the Xavier’s alien.

Wren Holzinger, projection and fabric

Wren was asked to make a piece based of of Charla Barnish’s practice, which involved extensive use of old photographs to inspire paintings. Wren had already been collecting slide projectors and old slides, so for this assignment she decided to augment Charla’s practice of repurposing old images of women by projecting a selection of nostalgic images depicting people through thin fabric to create a ghostly installation evocative of fading memories. Wren ended up using portions of the work developed in my class for her contribution to the RMCAD senior show.

Jack Stevens, video projection and wood panel

For the final project in our Experimental Studies class, I introduced Jack to projection mapping after noticing that his practice (involving highly-geometric wood layers) would be incredibly well-suited to exploring projection. Though using an under-powered computer, we worked with Adobe After Effects to create a collection of video regions that mapped perfectly onto one of Jack’s wood sculptures. This video piece ended up being one of the key works featured in Jack’s senior artist talk.

World Building, Narrative Design and Design Visualization (Fall 2021, Spring 2022)

co-taught with Alex McDowell

Jiawei Ji, digital illustration

USC’s world building class concludes with each student developing a final media project. Jiawei was interested in depicting a single-image narrative of a bar in post-apocalyptic San Francisco. We investigated the graphic novel work of Chris Ware and discussed how to use diagrammatic elements, an isometric perspective, and bold color in order to bring the eye through a complicated image and tell a story.

Bri Sonner, narrative audio

For their final project, I worked with Bri to help record, edit, and introduce effects to this narrative audio piece exploring the discovery of a tape recording device in a post-apocalyptic future Tunisia. As most students develop visual work for their final projects in this class, working with Bri also involved introducing audio editing software and recording techniques that they had not previously used.

The Languages of Digital Media (Fall 2020)

co-taught with Virginia Kuhn

Annabelle Olson, digital remix

Annabelle was interested in remixing the aesthetics of Barbara Kruger to create a piece commenting on the brutality of labor conditions under a capitalist organization of society. I helped Annabelle explore what specific imagistic and linguistic elements made Kruger’s work so distinctive and to generate an prescient contemporary homage based on this understanding.

Karen Abe, video

Karen wanted to do something ambitious with our class’s video essay assignment and decided to do an auto-ethnographic piece in which she interviewed her family about their direct experiences of the firebombing of Tokyo towards the end of World War II. I worked with Karen to help her interweave interview footage with archival and cinematic footage depicting the events of the attack in order to help convey the tremendous (and enduring) pain caused by warfare.

Annie Zheng, collage

For this assignment, students were asked to use collage to respond to a pressing social issue that impacted them. I worked with Annie to discuss how to take anxieties about the prevalence of sexual assault, the curtailing of reproductive rights, and the upcoming 2020 election and translate them into striking images that critiqued the harms of a misogynistic society.