Julie Kress is a designer, educator, and animation enthusiast. As the Fellow at the University of Tennessee's College of Architecture and Design, she teaches studios and seminars concerned with processes of architectural representation, aesthetics, materiality, and digital culture. Her research centers on 3D animation and simulation, driving her exploration of alternative modes for disseminating digital artwork beyond traditional printed formats. Prior to joining UTK she completed her M.Arch at Rhode Island School of Design, and worked as an exhibition/digital experience designer for the Boston firm IKD, contributing to projects at the Boston MFA and the MIT Museum.

Lecture Abstract

“Disorderly Constructs” is an animation series, exhibition, and lecture culminating Julie Kress’s teaching and research as the Tennessee Fellow. The work offers new perspectives on how we interact with and preserve our natural surroundings within the complex entanglements of nature and technology. Physical stop-motion animations, an inky pen plotter machine, bouncy hair simulations, and a digitally preserved wilderness come together in a playful blend of digital precision and messy improvisation. As a transplant to Tennessee, Kress explores the region through her technique of digitally harvesting and altering landforms with 3D scanning, what she refers to as “landscape taxidermy”. Her scanning and animation process highlights creativity and slowness in an era of digital automation, prompting deeper reflection on human roles in capture, transcription, and replication.