BFA THESIS EXHIBITS

Kelsey Kunkel

Year Graduated: 2018

Since the beginning of my life, art has intrigued me. The thought of creating or portraying something from nothing was fascinating. Crafting and scrapbooking were the first to spark my creativity and fascination with art. Luckily I had people in my life who supported, who cultivated, and taught me how to further pursue with art, and for all that I am grateful.

As I grew older I learned much more of that and took on many different mediums: charcoal, pastels, graphite, acrylic paint, watercolor, graphic design, and so on. But for as much as I learned, my curiosity for art grew. That is when my dream formed - I wanted to watch my art become mass produced. I wanted to share what I knew and learned with others. Since I came to the University of South Dakota, I have not viewed art the same way.

Graphic design has been my main form of expression. And with how much I have learned about graphic design, I have also learned a lot about other fields of art as well: painting, sculpture, pottery, printmaking, photography, and drawing. Art history has very much influenced my artwork. I have created many pieces influenced by some great artist that came before me such as: Vincent van Gogh, Rothko, and many more.

Graphic design has intrigued me for a while because it is so versatile and can be so useful in so many ways. That is why I chose and continue to choose to use graphic design as my main art medium. Graphic design is not a medium in itself, but entails many other skills that i have learned throughout my time at the University, along with many other technologies. Through my art, I hope to influence and help people as much as the great artists that have come before me. Until then, I design, continue learn,and will continue to grow as a graphic designer.

Artist Statement

Aura Accents is a company that wants to help you change the color of an accent wall or area without the hassle of painting. The app allows the user to change the color of a wall or surrounding area, essentially allowing them to make any wall into an accent wall. The app has many features including: suggestions for the right color to improve or brighten a mood, camera color picker, and many more. The packaging is meant to hold an Aura Bulb which is supposed to be controlled by the app. The installation (The Standing Model) was designed to help the aura bulbs project their light onto a wall to create an accent wall that can change colors whenever the users wants.

In Aura Accents, exploring different aspects of colored lighting, human psychology was key. How humans perceive color along with user interface design were critical to the design of the app, light bulb packaging, and installation. The app utilizes some of the most recent technology such as bluetooth that allows you to change the color of the bulbs all from the user’s apple or android device.

Aura Accents will hopefully change the way people feel comfortable in their homes. With its easily accessible user interface, anyone with a smartphone can navigate the app with ease. Aura Accents has a range of products such as: Aura Bulbs, the Aura Accent App, Hanging Model, and Hanging Model. For more information on each of these can be found on the prototyped Aura Accents App.

-Kelsey Kunkel

PORTFOLIO