Masters of the Universe: Jessica Henderson, Mark O’Brien and Casey Opstad

Masters of the Universe explores the work of three current graduate students at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Jessica Henderson, Mark O’Brien and Casey Opstad all investigate how the digital era effects social interactions and connections to our physical environment.

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Henderson states this about her work: “By observing, collecting, categorizing, and manipulating samples—i.e. screen shots and found images—from my daily experiences I strive to create work that raises an awareness in the viewer of a sense of fragmentation and distraction and invites them to see opportunities for introspection in the digital everyday.”

O’Brien creates situations in which the viewer is incorporated into his work, presenting the opportunity for the participant to reconnect with their physical surroundings. The work is asking the viewer to actively engage taking ownership of the experience and “witness the object becoming an extension of their body”.

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Opstad intertwines the traditions of landscape painting with the fragmentation of digital imaging. He sees the deconstruction of landscape images representing man’s attempt to digitize the world around us. “Whether we are turning music into MP3s or birthday party wishes into ones and zeros, we try to hold onto a moment by digital means. Yet this world is anything but ones and zeros. It is an organic, shifting and volatile environment.”