JENNIFER
CRATON
ARTIST & APPLICANT
My name is Jennifer Craton, and I would like to thank you for coming! I am a freelance artist and Graduate Program applicant, here's a restricted portfolio of some of my digital works and more about me. Thanks for being here!
APPLICANT PROFILE
​My main goal as an artist is to examine and witness. I am particularly drawn to exploring the ways in which we transform as humans, and what pushes us to change. In my professional, academic, and artistic careers, I explore the relationships of creators and their artifacts with the society in which they were produced. Building on this, I have used art as a platform to directly and indirectly address the disparity in representation that people of color, first-generation college students, and lower socioeconomic populations face, and aid in supporting those populations with platforms to contribute their own voices to the digital world.
I have a BA from Georgia State University in Philosophy and a Minor in Art where I graduated with distinction in the Philosophy Department, Magna Cum Laude, and a 3.76 GPA. I have worked with a variety of universities and nonprofit organizations over the years, and I produced digital content for the purpose of encouraging local high school students, veterans, and families from populations that qualify as historically marginalized in collegiate environments to pursue and succeed in their postsecondary goals. While working at KSU, I studied at Georgia Tech in their Digital Media Graduate Program, where I learned a lot about the relationship of humans with the digital legacy we leave, including my own. I also worked with a team of peers to found an organization called Unite Dallas where we helped provide voter education the community of Dallas, GA and fight for marginalized voices to be heard. Currently, I am freelancing and fostering a couple of pet projects of my own.
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I am now seeking opportunities to build on my diverse education and experience and challenge me to grow. I would love to invite you to check out the rest of my content here and get to know me more. If you think there's a potential project we could work on reach out! If you're a grad program, please click the button below for access to my CV and Resume. Thanks for your time!
PURPOSE STATEMENT
My diverse educational background in the fields of philosophy and art combined with my work experience with outreach programs give me a unique perspective on how art reflects and contributes to communities' perception of cultural ideals and the legacy that will be comprised of the visual content we produce. If accepted into your graduate program, I hope to make connections with like-minded people who also use their insight to positively affect our culture, become familiar with new technology to accomplish my goals, and better refine my skills.
WRITING SAMPLE
Given the popularity of the Disney franchise and the advent of the Disney+ Streaming App, Disney is now one of the most successful companies in modern times. For better or for worse, Disney offers an almost religious sentimentality and an alluring guarantee of simplicity in an uncertain world. However, digital media like the sweet kitsch of Disney princess movies is often criticized for creating oversimplified and superficial cultural values, and opponents advocate that there is cause for increased concern about the effect that streaming platforms will have on upcoming generations. In this paper, I argue that sweet kitsch artifacts, like Disney princess movies, is a byproduct of established cultural shifts, rather than the cause of the formation of those social values. I then examine the impact that this conclusion has on the moral responsibility of digital media content creators.