Spotlight Lecture: Racial dimensions of screen aesthetics
Join in online on 12 May at 12:30pm to Victoria University’s spotlight lecture on ‘Racial dimensions of screen aesthetics’ with experts Raqi Syed and Missy Molloy as they discuss racial dimensions of screen aesthetics from different angles.
This post is proudly sponsored by Victoria University of Wellington Te Herenga Waka
In our digital and virtual age, we are haunted by principles of “beauty” from both European and colonial art that are complex and fraught. As we increasingly incorporate digital representations of people into cinema, how do we account for the racial and colonial underpinnings of the technology and conventions that ground these representations? Most significantly, how can we look to mātauranga design for more equitable and future focused ways of accommodating genuinely diverse representations on screen?
“The idea of a virtual human is something that scientists have been thinking about for a long time and it means different things to different people – a virtual assistant, a stunt double, or a character in a video game. Increasingly, the digital human is a vehicle for storytelling . . .
The algorithms used to create the ‘traditional’ digital human are centred around white Caucasian skin and straight hair. When we try to create a Black or Brown digital human, we are likely to end up with something that’s fundamentally incorrect,”
– Raqi Syed, Programme Director and Senior Lecturer in Master of Design Technology, School of Design Innovation at Te Herenga Waka–Victoria University of Wellington
Join experts Raqi Syed and Missy Molloy on 12 May from 12:30-1:30pm as they discuss racial dimensions of screen aesthetics from different angles.
Raqi will address these questions with reference to her own work in visual effects and real-time immersive technologies, while Missy will tackle the controversial question of whether women of colour have a place in Jane Campion’s celebrated screen feminism.
This lecture will prompt the audience to ask where they stand on these issues.
Register to attend the event here.
