JR Roykovich - Student Works Portfolio 2024-2025
This portfolio is intended to be viewed online, and can be found at the following URL:
https://www.jrroykovich.com/jrr-student-works-portfolio-2024-2025

I would like to note that for the majority of my teaching career, across institutions, I have taught a significant number of non-art majors; in fact, the art majors that I have had in my classes were often in the minority. I mention this because the classes I have taught have historically rarely had any prerequisites, even for intermediate or advanced classes. Because of such, many students were coming to art-making with no prior background or education the visual arts, both in terms of foundational training, but also in terms of software or technical knowledge. Therefore, there is often a wide range of intellectual approaches to the class projects. However, I am also constantly impressed by how all students in my classes, regardless of artistic exposure, rise to the occasion of creating meaningful work.

1. Rice University
FOTO 205 - Introduction to Photography (Darkroom - Multiple Semesters)
Project 1: Photograms
Project Prompt: Create a series of three photograms that relate to each other in a formal, visual way.

Student Artists:
Top Row - Louis Neel
Bottom Row - Steven Schara

2. Rice University, FILM 287 - Intro to Video and Installation Art (Fall 2021).

Project: Exquisite Corpse (Runtime 24:30)

Project Prompt: Students were tasked with a semester long endeavor of a creating a video Exquisite Corpse. After deciding on an overall theme as a group, we implemented a successive order and each student was given a time period (roughly ten days) and tasked with creating a 2-3 minute video related to that theme. Once their segment was filmed and edited, the first student to film then gave the last five seconds of their video, in a separate clip, to the next student in the predetermined order. That student then filmed their clip using the previous five seconds given to them as a starting off point, and then passed on their five seconds to the next student, and so on. The theme decided for this group Exquisite Corpse was “dreams”, and the students could interpret that theme however they wished.

Featured student artists in order of clips: Nasha Wanichwecharungruang, Jared Snow, Erin Vance, Anthony Nguyen, Shannon Dunwell, Shiyu Miao, Jason Bugg, Paul Filerio, Shreya Menon

3. Rice University, FILM 287 - Intro to Video and Installation Art (Fall 2021)

Project: Final Installation of Interactive Video Works (Run time 00:50, no sound)

For the final projects in the class, students were able to determine and come up with their own concepts. There was to be a large show in the basement of one of the buildings on campus that would house the final projects from the class, along with photographic student work.

For this project, the student decided to do projection mapping on several household objects. He came up with this idea of the "Elevator Time Machine”, where when the elevator button was pressed, a projector from the opposite of the elevator would project nostalgic pop culture media (for him anyway) onto the household objets. There was also a soundtrack involved that had music corresponding to the visuals, which were snippets of pop songs.

Student Artist: Jared Snow

4. Rice University, FILM 287 - Intro to Video and Installation Art (Fall 2021)

Project: Final Installation of Interactive Video Works (Run time 03:32, no sound - the video is non-linear, it can be skipped around and watched at any desired length)

For this video, the student facilitated an attempted stereoscopic visual work to produce an environment of enhanced depth. Included with the video where two sheets of mylar, one red and one blue; the viewer was meant to put the mylar over one eye, thereby either eliminating or enhancing one channel of the video. The work further had a soundtrack that was taken from a book about perception, and trying to choose between two distinct metaphorical paths.

Student Artist: Anthony Nguyen

5. Rice University
FOTO 205 - Introduction to Photography (Darkroom - Multiple Semesters)
Project 3: Horror/Noir
Project Prompt: Using 3200 speed film, known for its inherent grain and susceptibility for shadow, create an image that pays homage to either the “horror” or “film noir” genre of filmmaking.

Student Artists (in order, L to R): Agnessa Schmundke, Abril Dominguez, Ivanna Garcia, Colleen Smith, Kim Wood

6. Rice University, Special Projects - Mavis C. Pittman Grant and Exhibition Sponsor

For the 2019-2020 academic year, I was the faculty sponsor for Terrence Liu, who through my guidance won a competitive departmental grant to further his photographic work. Terrence was particularly interested in quotidian landscapes and compositions from his native China, and arranged an exhibition based on his documentation from his trips home. His work explored the “relationship between the temporal presence and the perpetual space, between the physical object and the subconscious emotion.” He furthered this idea into a small spread for Rice Magazine that focused on Galveston.

What resulted as a photo show of medium sized prints, roughly 8” x 10” to 13” x 19”, hung in a gallery on campus. I helped Terrence plan and execute his exhibition, from thinking about what kind of photos he wanted to take, to the editing and printing, to framing and then to the final hanging in the gallery space.

7. Rice University, FILM 287 - Intro to Video and Installation Art (Fall 2021)

Project: Appropriation

Project Prompt: “The second project for FILM 287 will involve using appropriated imagery to create a themed installation. Each student will use a small, approximately 2" by 3" monitor to show a video piece which they put together by using an experimental or non-narrative structure. These videos will be played on looping DVDs and will be installed in a location that is partially determined by the theme that is chosen by the class. Because of the nature of the installation, and the fact that viewers will enter and exit the piece at different points, it will be important to think about how a viewer can come to the piece at any time in its duration and still be able to get a general sense of what the piece is. Because of this, working in an again experimental or abstract sense may be beneficial.

Students may also work in a particular method of craft if they like, utilizing rotoscoping, or other formal methods such as looping video and so on.

It is important to note that each student video will have no individual sound, but we can explore if the overall installation should have a soundtrack as a whole.

The general them of "appropriation" is meant to inform the project as to where to gain the source material for the videos, but also to underlay some thoughts about content. Artworks that use appropriation often touch upon the postmodern topic of "remix culture," or recontextualizing existing footage to create a new way of viewing that content. Examples of this include artists examples discussed in class, but also many others. Appropriation also often instills a sense of where we gain our popular culture, how our popular culture informs us, but also how we then inform it, and how that cycle then continues. This is a part of longer, media-based theoretical discussion that we will discuss over several class periods, along with the work and writings of Marshall MacLuhan and Guy Debord, among others.”

As a class, it was decided to use the structure of a house as a format to both obtain footage and build a structure to “house” the video works. The class worked with Rice’s (then) wonderful sculpture tech, Ryan Crowley, to design and build the interface that would hold the videos. There was a shelf in the back to hold small DVD players, of which each small screen was attached.

8. Rice University, FOTO 310 - Intermediate Digital Photography (Multiple Semesters)

Project: Artificial Landscapes

Project Prompt: For our second project, you will create a hypothetical traditional landscape photograph using found materials using the photographers David LaChappelle and Erin Sullivan as inspiration. You may choose the source material that you choose to pull from for your landscape. To be clear, you are making your own landscape photo, not simply recreating a photo that already exists.

With your found materials, it will obviously not look like an exact re-creation, but you should set yourselves up for success in all the ways you can: be aware of your general lighting, be aware of your background and make sure that you are conscientious of everything that is appearing in your shot. Do your best to not take your viewer out of the illusion you are trying to create. You can also utilize the lighting studio to help should you want to.

Keep in mind that you should use found objects that look like the environments that you are trying to recreate; meaning simply, that if you want to recreate a forest photo, you should find things that look like trees, not use tiny plastic trees themselves. (Think broccoli trees, or the like.)

Your final images should be printed on 13x19 luster.

Student Artists (in order, L to R): Brendon Farmer, Marcella Molinar, Sandy Wu, Yuliia Suprun

9. Gustavus Adolphus College, Art 220 - Intro to Graphic Design (Spring, 2017)

Project: Typography Research and Poster

Project Prompt: As a class, we divvied up the most common and historical fonts that are still in use, and students voted on which fonts they wanted to research. In addition, each student was tasked with creating a informational poster about their chosen font, visually communicating its history through how they designed the poster. The poster had to contain examples for the characters of the full 26 letter English alphabet, as well as the most common glyphs for the typeface. Finally, they were to print their posters, at 24” x 36”, on luster photographic paper.

Student Designers (in order, L to R): Emily Dzieweczynski, Kate, Dudley, Katie Nelson, Sylvia Michels

10. Gustavus Adolphus College, Independent Study (Spring 2017) - 3 Days After, a short film by Nick Campbell. (runtime 12:30)

While I was at Gustavus Adolphus College, a promising and talented student, Nick Campbell, wanted to do an Independent Study with me to produce a short film. Together, I helped him research his topic, refine his story, suggest different angles of shots, obtain the correct equipment, provided him with outside inspiration and just generally guided his crafting of the film. The result of the semester long endeavor is below.

11. George Mason University, AVT 280 - Introduction to New Media Art (Spring 2015)

Project: Collaborative Class Project (Monsters)

Student Artist: Gunther Urbano

Project Prompt: This piece was for a collaborative class project, under the chosen them of “Monsters”. Each student received an older tube-TV monitor to display a work that they created under that theme, using any moving image/film/video media that they wished. Gunther chose to design an open-ended game, where the characters were small monsters of his design. The game essentially had no distinct objective, other than to maneuver the monsters around the screen.

The class then installed all the tube monitors in an exhibition area within the School of Art at George Mason University.

Note: Though the video is 10.5 minutes long, it is the same content throughout; choosing a 15-20 second snippet anywhere in the duration will give an overall sense of what the game is like.

12. George Mason University, AVT 280 - Introduction to New Media Art (Spring 2015)

Project: Collaborative Class Project (Monsters)

Student Artist: Hatum Saenz Painemilla

Project Prompt: This piece was for a collaborative class project, under the chosen them of “Monsters”. Each student received an older tube-TV monitor to display a work that they created under that theme, using any moving image/film/video media that they wished. Using a combination of hand-drawn images and After Effects, Hatum designed and animated a short, one minute narrative that would then loop back the the beginning.

The class then installed all the tube monitors in an exhibition area within the School of Art at George Mason University.

13. George Mason Univeristy, AVT 253: Introduction to Digital Photography (Spring 2016)

Final Project: Photo Essay

Student Artist: Raamezah Ahmad

Project Prompt: Create a multi-image photo essay on the topic of the student’s choosing. The essay should have a minimum of five photos, printed at the size of the student’s discretion.

This particular photo essay was about Raamezah’s refusal to be apart of an arranged marriage set up by her family.

14. George Mason Univeristy, AVT 253: Introduction to Digital Photography (Fall 2015)

Final Project: Photo Essay

Student Artist: Zoe Diamond Tapper

Project Prompt: Create a multi-image photo essay on the topic of the student’s choosing. The essay should have a minimum of five photos, printed at the size of the student’s discretion.

This project was in response to a friend of Zoe’s who struggled with depression, an eating disorder and suicide. Adding to a sense of surrealism regarding the relationship, they both worked as seasonal performers for a haunted house attraction in Northern Virginia. From her artist statement for the piece:

“Five days, a work week, made a perfect parallel to my closest friend’s two years of hell. Two years, only two, less than five, less than ten, fifteen, but still anxious, depressed, self-harming, suicidal, eating disordered hell. Ropes hung from my wrists for five days like my closest friend was hanged for two years. Just as she managed to break free of her own execution, her horror story, these ropes are retired, retired from their first job as restraints for my horrifying haunted house character and their second job as a social experiment on my peers and myself.

My closest friend’s struggle held a self-stifled cry for help. I didn’t want them to see and question, didn’t want them to notice, but they should have known, they should have heard, they should have seen the ropes that hanged from my wrists. As part of me and my closest friend wished, they had no response except, “I didn’t even notice.” I found a world of people as painfully self-involved as my closest friend in her two years of hell. Everyone has their own executioners to cut down every day, and those who will stop to help bring down others’ executioners often have less time for their own. Fewer and fewer of us left.

My closest friend and I were lucky to find some who could stop to help. “What are those for? Not just a fashion statement, are they…They remind me of breaking free.” They saved her, but ultimately she saved herself because she was everyone: the executioner, the victim…and me. I will always have my broken bonds because I could never and would never choose to be rid of them. They are my greatest teacher.”

Zoe hung a series of photos, found objects, her wall text in a gallery space, along with a set of speakers that played several different pieces of audio, sung by Zoe. An example of one piece is included above.

15. George Mason University, AVT 253: Introduction to Digital Photography (Spring 2015)

Final Project: Photo Essay

Student Artist: Haya Al-Watban

Project Prompt: Create a multi-image photo essay on the topic of the student’s choosing. The essay should have a minimum of five photos, printed at the size of the student’s discretion.

For this project, Haya displayed a really whimsical storytelling approach, where she first prompted the viewer to think that the essay was about a child being bullied, where as a matter of fact, she is actually documenting the (then) annual pillow fight in Washington, D.C.

16. George Mason University, AVT 180: New Media in the Creative Arts (Multiple Semesters)

Project 4: A Self-Portrait Gif

Project Prompt: For this beginning New Media course, students were tasked with creating a self-portrait, but in .gif form. They had to take into account the inherently low file size of the .gif format, as well as the capability for endless looping. The successful projects where the ones that were able to have embedded in them a higher level of file quality, along with being able to play through a standard browser, as well as a meaningful conceptual element that utilized the looping nature of the file type.

17. Rutgers University, Media 1a: Introduction to Theory and Techniques of Video Art (Fall 2013)

Project 3: Bodies

Student Artist: Ryan Davis

Project Prompt: Create a 2-3 minute video that explores the them of “bodies”, thinking back to a previous lecture on Gender and Sexuality within Video Art.

18. Rice University
Student: Jinhong Shangguan
Independent Reseach, 2024
I have worked with Jinhong over several semesters now, both in traditional coursework and in furthering his independent projects. For the summer of 2024, he and I worked together to develop a body of work that explores his past as a student in rural China, reconciling the dreams he had for himself as a child with where he is today as burgeoning adult. Together, we took his ideas from a storyboard to preparing steps for actualization while he was at home in China during the summer of 2024.

Project Title: When the Flowers of Lilac Blossom

School Days - 初中的日子

Overview：每当我想起初中时光，记忆就会像苏打汽水一般涌现，酸甜各一半，随着味蕾绽开，直冲上心头。初中我有一群伙伴，感谢他们，枯燥的重复的上学日子变成一场场马戏表演。有一次，课间的时候，我们玩起了一种游戏。说起来十分疯狂，我们会将塑料做的尺子放在椅子上，特意留出一段悬空，我们将橡皮擦（又或者是各种各样的文具）放在尺子的另一侧，之后用脚猛地一踩，将放在尺子上的物品飞速地发射出去。我还记得，我的物理老师在一节课上因为某一位上课睡觉的同学生气：“xxx 你给我记住啊”。 “记住什么？”那位同学半梦半醒地回复。正巧不巧，也刚从睡梦中醒来的我补了一句：“君子报仇，十年不晚”。结果呢，我的耳朵都被这位老师捏得肿了起来。这样的瞬间还有很多，不知道为什么，这些时刻最近总是出现在我的睡梦中，又或者是白天清醒地走在路上的时候。我想，那段时光一定有着某种魔力，虽然总是让我感到挫折和疲惫，但是让我难以忘怀。我希望通过stage photography（舞台摄影）的形式，让这些时光重新焕发光彩。与此同时，我也将探寻以下几个问题：1. 重复出现在我记忆中的那几个画面，它们是否都蕴含着同一种种信息/能量/品质，如果有，这些信息会是什么。

Every time I think of middle school, my memories would bubble up like soda - the soda that tastes both sweet and tart. Back in middle school, I had a group of friends. Thanks to them, every single boring school day turned into a drama show. I remember there was a kind of game we used to play during the breaks. We would put various things, for example, an eraser on a ruler which was then placed on a chair to serve as a lever to launch. We would give the ruler a powerful stamp and the things, whatever we put on the ruler, will fly out like a rocket. I know it sounds crazy but we were young, reckless, and bored. During the school days, We were dying for games like this one. I also remember the “event” in physics class in which I slept during the class and mumbled some nonsense. The result? Well, my ear was pinched hard by the physics teacher and it looked literally like a rabbit ear. There are countless moments like these. Lately, I kept thinking of them. I don’t know the reason but when I walked on a street or when I was half-sleep, these moments kept occuring in my head. These moments must have some kind of magical power that deeply bewitches me. Despite occasional despair and weariness, I often think of those moments and they are just so unforgettable. So I started a stage photography project, When the Flowers of Lilac Blossom, to capture them. In this project, I see photos as a way to vitalize distant memories, shine lights on them, and make them ever-lasting.

Jinhong Shangguan