Life @ Otis : Faculty Life : Faculty Development

Dana Duff: 2011 Report


2011-12 Faculty Development Grant

With funds provided by the Faculty Development Grant I was awarded at the end of 2011 I was able to purchase upgraded camera equipment that made it possible to shoot video and still photography of the same subjects from studio setups that I’ve been working on for a year. 

Dana Duff 2011 FacDev Report WUDa  Dana Duff 2011 FacDev Report WUDb

The Canon DSLR camera is now the industry standard for shooting video and allows me to produce artwork at a decent technical level. With this camera I can shoot very sharp and fine close-up images of constructed scenery built in a glass tank in my studio, and I am in the process of producing photographs of the same subject printed by a professional printer. The beautifully crisp and colorful images produced with the macro-photography of the Canon camera, as well as its telephoto lens will allow shooting all of my films for a long time to come. 

This grant has already provided a real boost in support of my professional work, allowing me to create the work for the first of three exhibitions that will take place over the next couple of years. Shooting with the new equipment I was recently able to complete a video installation in collaboration with sculptor Shirley Tse at an important gallery in Santa Monica. The exhibition at Shoshana Wayne Gallery runs from February 25 to March 24, 2012.

Dana Duff 2011 FacDev Report WUDc  Dana Duff 2011 FacDev Report WUDd

I believe that the quality and visibility of these exhibitions make a positive contribution to the visibility and reputation of the college by virtue of my standing as a longtime faculty member. Students from my Senior Studio mentor group, as well as my Experimental Film class, attended the opening at Shoshana Wayne Gallery. I gave a talk to my students at the gallery on the development of this work.

The Otis Community was invited to the exhibition and several colleagues attended the opening.

I am including installation shots from the gallery and a link to the Vimeo video documentation for the Otis Faculty Development webpage.

 

Download Report [PDF]
http://vimeo.com/38076623 [video]