Whitney Bandel
Email: wbandel@ksu.eduWebsite: www.wbandel.com
Office: Willard Hall, Room 106
MFA in Time Arts, Northern Illinois UniversityBFA in Drawing, Kansas State University
BS in Art Education, Kansas State University
Background
Whitney Bandel is a New Media artist. She began her studies in traditional media, exploring drawing, painting, and fibers as part of her BFA degree from Kansas State University. From there she moved to Illinois to study digital media through her MFA in Time Arts. Moving back to Kansas, she currently teaches within the Fine Arts department of Kansas State University as well as the Web Department & Digital Media department at Johnson County Community College.
Artist Statement:
My artwork investigates the relationships between controversial technologies, media, and user interactivity. Through my research I aim to personalize politics, give them a physical platform, and provide a middle ground to foster social consciousness and communication. By encouraging my audience to actively engage with social and political issues through interactive media, it is my goal to spread social awareness. The intention of my work is not to influence or orchestrate a desired social or political opinion, but to build a platform where participants can openly communicate verbally and physically with one another. Participants are encouraged to interact with the artwork and each other through controllers and gestures, allowing them to actively engage in various roles within a simulated environment that acts as a microcosm of contemporary sociopolitical issues. These interactions and performances are then documented as a reflection on our present culture.