The goal of this project was to evaluate and integrate 3D graphics animation software into the Art Department’s studio curriculum. The Murdock grant complemented a collaborative research grant, and together they produced a body of photographic images and research exploring the landscape of the planet Mars. The final product, Photographs showing Landscapes, Geological, and other Features of portions of the planet Mars, deliberately compared the exploratory practice of 19th century American landscape photography with the current multifaceted technological exploration of Mars. Our access to the software and technical expertise, funded by the Murdock grant, was invaluable to the completion of the product and has resulted in the permanent place for 3-D visualization in Art Department curriculum.
The project involved an investigation of the Martian landscape through image making, supported and facilitated by research, computer programming, and 3-dimensional data processing. Landscape photographs of Mars were produced by digitally modeling its surface from satellite data and interpolating, moving or inventing necessary details. The photographs were not to function only as isolated aesthetic objects, but as part of a complex of related information. We selected topography from digital maps of Mars, added generated surface texture (shading) and combined them with photographs (both historical and contemporary). Refined compositions, were rendered to film and printed in a traditional darkroom.

With the help of funding from the Murdock grant, we purchased several licenses for the software package Maya. Maya is designed for all aspects of 3D design, animation, and production. We also upgraded certain of our computers to make the most of the software. Maya was invaluable to our task of modeling the surface of a distant planet by translating numerical values into landforms and allowing us to explore them visually. Our work on this project contributed immensely to our understanding of the capabilities and limitations of the software and its application in studio practice.