Before coming to Dartmouth, Kwaii Bell ’16 thought that he was going to become a lawyer. He had planned on majoring in women and gender studies and psychology, hoping to eventually work in law as a gay rights activist. However, after making a documentary in a writing class his freshman year, Bell became fascinated with film and decided to explore the world behind the camera. After taking an editing class his sophomore year, he became a film and media studies major instead.
Bell works in a variety of media, from collage and sculpture to animation and film.
“I try to collage all my different skills into my own sort of aesthetic,” he said.
Jenny Ontiveros ’15, who was a TA for Bell’s animation class, “Cut and Paste: Collage Animation,” noted that he uses bold textures and colors in an innovative way.
“He worked with patterns and textures in a way that I haven’t seen many other students work,” Ontiveros said.
Although he originally thought that he would work with more traditional film, he soon realized that he was more interested in experimenting with nontraditional media and methods.
“Even when I’m doing traditional film, I have more of an experimental aesthetic,” Bell said.
After taking a class with film and media studies professor Jodie Mack last year, Bell began to combine different types of media and processes.
“She showed me all these amazing crossmodal possibilities,” Bell said.
Mack said that she thought that Bell “really gained a sense of materiality during the class.”
Over the summer Bell began to explore the plastic arts even further, building sculptures and installations out of painted pieces of paper.
The Black Family Visual Arts Center currently houses one of Bell’s sculptures, a paper tree made out of paper hearts, which Bell attached to the wall. He said that he was interested in the idea that smaller pieces of the same shape could be used to build an infinite number of things. He said that he got the idea from Minecraft.
Although he is interested in painting and sculpture, Bell developed his own nontraditional twist by combining these methods with digital programs like Photoshop to achieve his desired effect.
“I try to use digital programs to make up for the technical skill that I lack,” he said.
Ontiveros said that Bell uses these digital programs to create a fantastical world.
“[Bell] has a tendency to work towards really magical textures and mystical scenery,” she said. “He really likes the imagery of the bunny, which might tie in with his love of nature.”
Bell is currently working on his film and media studies culminating experience. For this project, he is working on an installation in which he will use painting and collage to create an animation. He will also build a structure to house the installation, which will be displayed in the film and media studies gallery on the second floor of the BVAC. The animation will build on the projects he worked on in an animation class in the fall.
Mack said that Bell’s style and concepts have developed over the past year.
“He’s started building his own visual style, which graduated out of the type of work he was making over the summer,” Mack said. “It’s exciting on my part; it’s all coming together.”
Bell said that if he had known that he wanted to major in film before applying to college he might have considered going to a school with a more technical focus. However, he said that there are benefits to studying the arts at Dartmouth, and that the college has more resources in film and media than he had expected.
“Coming from Dartmouth you have more access to opportunities, he said. “In getting those opportunities and being able to prove yourself you gain more technical skills.”
Bell has taken advantage of many of the different opportunities Dartmouth has to offer. This term Bell is the BVAC digital arts intern. He has also worked as a teaching assistant for “Filmmaking 1.”
He also did an independent study with Mack, in which they made a rotoscope animation for a music video featuring the Chicago band Roommate.
Bell said he often finds inspiring work and artists online. He is currently interested in the work by new media artist Nick Briz and installation artist Crystal Wagner. He also looks to other artists for examples of process and work ethic.
“I like hard workers,” he said.
Bell said that he tries to bring awareness to social issues through his work.
Ontiveros said that in Bell’s final piece for the animation class, he sent an environmental message.
“In his final piece he was trying to send a message about how humans don’t really pay attention to nature and don’t realize the harm that they’re causing,” Ontiveros said. “But he does it in a very magical way, which makes it approachable for viewers.”
“I’m an artist under the belief that it’s an artist’s job to comment on the times and to bring light to things that we think are important,” he said. He said that he is inspired by work that explores issues of race, gender and sexuality and the environment.
Mack said that Bell’s subject matter, especially his interest in the environment and landscape devastation, also shows an interest in media and material.
“His concept approaches materiality,” she said.
Bell said that although he likes creating work that is fun and fantastic, he always wants it to be grounded in reality and in real world problems.
“I really like my art to balance playfulness in terms of construction and aesthetic, and maybe a sort of fantasticalness or unreality, but at the same time to be calling attention to important issues,” he said.
Quick Quotes:
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live: The Redwoods in California
Favorite snack: Dried mangoes and popcorn
Favorite color: Silver
