CMP student Emilio Vavarella (Art, Film, and Visual Studies) was named one of nine Harvard Horizons Scholars by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. This program recognizes extraordinary PhD research and offers opportunities for long-lasting community, mentorship, and professional and artistic growth. The scholars will present brief talks at the 2023 Harvard Horizons Symposium at Sanders Theatre on April 11 at 5pm.
The GSAS recently interviewed Emilio about his CMP capstone project The Other Shapes of Me, which is the result of Emilio’s research into “the origin and current applications of binary technology: from weaving to programming, algorithms, software, automation processes, up to the complete computerization of a human being.”
The Other Shapes of Me includes several components, the central of which is an installation of a modified 19th century Jacquard loom – one of the first modern computational machines – on which Emilio’s mother wove a textile based on Emilio’s complete genetic code. The film Genesis, documenting this year-long performance, is both part of the installation and a standalone piece. Medium-scale tapestries comprise Sections (The Other Shapes of Me) and small-scale tapestries comprise Samples (The Other Shapes of Me), all of which explore the technical limits and possibilities of contemporary digital looms. An artist book published by Mousse, rs548049170_1_69869_TT, includes documentation of the work and contributions from 15 thinkers and practitioners in art, philosophy, bioengineering, media theory, and the history of science and technology.
Emilio’s dissertation,“Techniques and Technologies of Thought: A Short History of Media Models,” is an interdisciplinary study of the relationship between technology and thought.