Department of Fine and Performing Arts
Justin Thomas
No-Ville
Thesis Statement
For my Senior Show, I titled the collection “No-Ville”. For my exhibition, I wanted to do something that expressed myself as an artist and person As a kid, I loved these two things: gemstones and space. Traveling to the Smithsonian for Air & Space is a core memory that I kept from childhood because looking at the stars and planets was mesmerizing. My research began Spring of 2021 when I saw a post on Instagram of this collage work with humans living in space. Little to my knowledge it was an aesthetic called “Retro Futurism” and because of curiosity, I learned it. My second source of inspiration and confirmation of wanting to do this concept was “Loki” & "WandaVision". Both productions are Marvel shows on Disney+ that had elements of retro-futurism and gave me tons of inspiration for my current pieces. The shows were so inspirational that I created my own hence the title “No-Ville.” I hope to transport my viewers to another world with my show. Everyone needs a little bit of escape from reality and No-Ville will take you there.
- Major and Concentration: VCDMA - Advertising Design
- Senior Thesis Website
As a child, I was obsessed with two things: gemstones and outer space. I vividly remember my mom taking me to the Smithsonian of Air & Space just walking through the space exhibit and learn more about NASA and planets. There was something about looking at the stars, galaxies, and the muted yet vibrant colors of the planets that were so intriguing to me. There’s the phase of children deciding on what they want to be. Options can range from presidents to police officers. I did not know the actual terminology at six years old, but I suppose my dream career was to be an astronomer working for NASA. When the time came around to develop my first thesis on my project, I was in the middle of relearning Adobe Photoshop and had just completed a 30-day goal.
Two of the pieces that I made for the challenge were inspired by surrealism and fantasy. Instantly, I knew exactly what I wanted to do not only stand out but help build my skills in learning a new aesthetic. Once all my ideas were gathered I settled on doing retro-futurism as my theme. In the summer of 2021, I did my research on Instagram pages that had that exact aesthetic like Flisrt or Space Rocket Art, and researched tutorials on YouTube to learn. Around the same time, Loki and WandaVision were streaming on Disney+ so watching those shows inspired me in creating my TV show called “No-Ville”. Similar to the Marvel shows they have a retro theme with fantasy elements. I want people to view my art and make them think, wish, and experience something they may not have seen before.
