The Object
Emerson Pappas
December 3rd, 2025
Major: Chemistry and Studio Art
Genre/Medium: Mixed media acrylic paint on canvas and acrylic beads
About thee work:
“The Object” explores the focus and destination of the Psyche mission, the asteroid Psyche herself, in a mixed media acrylic painting with embroidered acrylic beads and graphic text. I wanted to highlight the different aspects of the Psyche mission, first being the asteroid, starting in this mixed media work. I treat my canvas like typical fabric by adding embroidery with beads on top of my paintings to show depth and texture. This changes the way the painting looks under different lighting and points of view, adding a sculptural element to an otherwise two dimensional medium. But, moving down the painting, the text at the bottom flattens the image again into a graphic advertisement. Over the past few years I have gravitated towards adding bold words to my work- I love the contrast between organic shapes like Psyche and the structure of English text. Like many science fiction lovers I grew up watching Star Trek, which I pull inspiration from in the slanted style of text I chose to paint. The colors I painted with, blue and orange, are not true to the asteroid, but instead are an over-saturated interpretation. Shadows often reflect cool tones whereas highlights pull warm, so I chose to dial up what I saw in images of the asteroid.
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