MFA (CP) is an industry-focused, practical degree. It includes a creative project in which the students were mentored to complete work that showcases their abilities and pushes boundaries in their field.

Coin

Coin is a surreal short film that explores the question of whether it's really good to work incessantly for money through the aesthetic of horror.

”The MFA program not only gave me the opportunity to complete my portfolio, but also practiced my skills in all aspects. During the study, I had the opportunity to learn more about the fields I am interested in, such as simulation and lighting in games and films. And in the process of learning and producing my project, I have identified the field I really like to work on in the future. In the future, I would like to work on lighting for games or films” Maxy Yuan describes.

Recurrence

"Recurrence is a piece about the nature of creating; specifically, how our creations take on a life of their own. We all create with specific intentions. With an idea about what our piece is meant to be about and what it’s meant to do, but at some point we as creators lose control over our creations. This is true as artists and designers, scientists and engineers. But this is also true of what is argued are our greatest creations: our children, and the generations after us. Recurrence focuses on both of these and how as creators we can instil as much as we can into something, but at the end of the day that creation will ultimately live its own life away from us, deciding what they will become.

When is that moment, that we stop creating? When do our children take the lead in their own lives? Or on that larger scale, when does the next generation take lead of our society? When is that torch of creation passed from the maker to the made?" Ben Spearman asks the audience.

"The MFA is a degree centred around what you want to create. The courses you take get to tie into your final capstone project so that you get two full trimesters of concepting and prototyping your project before you go to build it in trimester 3. Throughout the building of my project, I taught myself valuable skills that would have been difficult to learn without the chance to focus solely on one large project for a full year. I found out about how I work best over long periods of time, as well as how to budget, manage, and market my own artistic work." summarises Spearman.

Spearman’s work is also included in the Solo49 exhibition at NZAFA from the 6th of February to the 14th of March.

Contact

Maxy Yuan maxyblackluck@gmail.com

Ben Spearman spearman@tuta.io