John Wang, MA

Sessional Assistant Professor of Art + Design
I constantly witness the Aha! moments in animation classes and design classes. The moment students discovered their natural gifts and possible future paths. The English adjective animate meaning “alive” comes from the Latin verb animare, meaning “to give life to”. Through teaching and learning, I hope to help my students to bring fullest potential and life transformation.

 

John Wang is a professional visual artist and certified animator. With sustained passion for exploring various means of expressing arts, he naturally leans toward interdisciplinary collaboration and multidisciplinary study.

John holds an MA in Interactive Arts and Technologies from Simon Fraser University and an MAVA in Visual Arts from Griffith University. His research (MA thesis "A whole-body, kinaesthetic digital drawing tool for art therapy.") focuses on bridging technology and creative expression to enhance mental equilibrium. He loves investigating creative processes, human-computer interaction and innovative design methodologies to assist therapists in achieving therapeutic goals and facilitate clients to express themselves creatively.

During his MAVA study at Griffith University, John was interested in 19th-century optical toys and moving images. In order to reveal animation in the physical presence, his interactive kinetic sculpture ("Life outside of Box") utilized strobe lights to generate animated shadows. John’s experimental animations were exhibited in Canada, Spain and Australia. 

Throughout his professional career, John has been a Visual Design Project Manager, Illustrator, and Animator in the Asia-Pacific region. In regards to animation, he is experienced in concept art development, storyboarding, animatic, 2D animation and 3D animation. A wide array of art practices and industry experience led him to bring out students’ fullest potential in learning visual aesthetics and storytelling. John's portfolio website can be accessed at www.mindraw.ca

Outside of work, John is a husband of a published writer at home. Together they love hiking, travelling and taking Lulu, a little Maltese, for walks. 

 

  • MA - Interactive Arts and Technologies (Simon Fraser University)
  • MAVA - Visual Arts (Griffith University)
  • BA – Animation (Griffith University)

Expertise

Animation, Illustration, Previsualization, Visual Storytelling, Concept Art, Graphic Design, Motion Graphic, Interactive Arts, Computer-Human Interaction, Psychiatry and Art Research, Interdisciplinary Collaboration

  • Graduate Fellowship Scholarship| Simon Fraser University - Awarded to by selected applicant through the department, and academic accomplishments (2009)

Awards & Honors

  • Griffith Academic Excellence Award | Griffith University - Awarded to top graduate of Bachelor of Animation program by notable participation in school activities and outstanding scholastic achievements (2003)

Recent Publications

Thesis

  • Wang J. A whole body, kinaesthetic digital drawing tool for art therapy, MA. Dissertation. / by John (Chang Hao) Wang. Simon Fraser University; 2012.

Conferences + Exhibitions

  • Research “A Whole Body Kinaesthetic Digital Drawing Tool for Art Therapy”, 2019 - Presented at 19th Verge Conference, Trinity Western University, Canada
  • Kinetic Sculpture with Animated Shadows “Life Outside 0f A Box”, 2004  - Exhibited at Queensland College of Art, Australia
  • Animated short film “Yummy! Yummy!”, 2004  - Exhibited at 11th Alternative Independent Cinema of Barcelona, Spain

  • ART 250 Fundamentals of Digital Design
  • GAME 231 Foundations of Animation
  • GAME 232 Foundations of 3D Graphics
  • GAME 331 Video Game Art
  • GAME 332 Advanced Animation Projects
  • GAME 470 User Experience Design