Finalists of the Stata Street Artwork Competition capture the MIT experience.
The next time you’re in the Ray and Maria Stata Center, take a walk down Charles M. Vest Student Street where you’ll find the ten winners of the Stata Street Artwork Competition on display. The images, known as the Stata Street Murals, were chosen for their creativity in depicting student life, learning and research at MIT; the artwork will hang in one of the Institute’s most iconic buildings for the next ten years.
But that’s not the final chapter for the Stata Street Murals. As part of the Computing Connection Challenges for the MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing Launch, MIT students have the opportunity to add their own creative interpretations to the ten images as part of the Mural Augmentation Challenge.
Mentored by members of the Borderline Student Group, the Mural Augmentation Challenge is hosted by Arts at MIT and focuses on Arts, Community, and Computing. The competition is one in a number of challenges that focus on innovation in arts and computing.
Check out the Stata Street Artwork Competition winners below and the inspirations behind their winning artworks.
Winter is Coming
By Raja W. Rajčić ’20, Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
“I was on my way to Hayden Library to study for exams when I paused to look out the window. It was a bleak and blustery winter day, but all was calm in the hallway where I stood. The scene was so intricately beautiful and evoked such a range of feelings that I just had to capture it.”
TF8 Assembly
By Matthew Carney G, Media Lab
“The picture expresses the landscape of an engineer’s desk. For me, it is a snapshot of a moment in time, neither the beginning nor the end, but a moment, one night, when all of the hard work of my PhD was laid out on the table while I was mid-stride.”
Colors of Fall
By Shichao Yue G, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
“I was standing in front of my window and was amazed by the colorful world outside. Trees were red and leaves covered the ground. Yet it was a rainy day and not ideal for photography. Suddenly the clouds parted and I can see the clear sky. I rushed downstairs and captured this moment, photographing a reflection from a puddle of water.”
Spring
By Wei Li G, Civil and Environmental Engineering
“Spring at MIT means the ice breaking on the Charles River. It also says: ‘Let’s go sailing!!!’. I captured this near sunset on the river. The river was only half open for sailing, but our students couldn’t wait to flip the boats already.”
Dissemination through Time and Space
By Dipo Doherty G, Integrated Design and Management
“In this work I attempt to imagine humanity living in an age of the digitized self, where lines are continuously being blurred between the tangible and intangible. Our social graphs, preferences, vitals, movement, speech, and intent have been poured into a transient space we call the internet.
It is my hope to inspire the next generation of individuals at the Stata center that would continue to question the boundaries of what is possible in our connected world today.”
Remembrance
By Sarah Lohmar ’22
“I enjoy taking images that ask people to see their surroundings in new perspectives. This piece also honors Officer Sean Collier and is representative of the greater unity of the MIT community.”
Writing Hand
By Robert M. Vunabandi ’20, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
“My first thoughts upon finding out about the Stata Art competition from a very good friend were a mix of excitement and anxiety. How am I supposed to take a picture that represents student life, learning and research and adheres to the other criteria in this competition? I spent almost every day pondering on this question until I had the idea of contacting my three grad student friends and asking them if I can take a photo of them in their regular environment.”
MIT Stata
By Navid Abedzadeh G, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
“Everyone shows their excitement for getting into MIT differently. As a hobbyist photographer, I addressed my enthusiasm by carrying my camera everywhere and taking pictures of MIT, especially of its most iconic building—Stata Center. This picture, which I later titled Self-reflection, is a product of that enthusiasm.”
Social Network
By Guillaume Leclerc G, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
“I took this picture a while ago in the photo studio we have at my parent’s house; it was not taken specifically for this contest. It was a shot that I found relevant after the fact.”
These photos will be on view in the Charles M. Vest Student Street inside of the Ray and Maria Stata Center (Building 32) for the next decade.