The fourth winner of the Emma Mebane Magnificent Machine Award is Zane Shaw.
In 2015, an honorable mention was also named – Jae Vyskocil.
For the first time in the short history of the EMMMA scholarship, two individuals were selected as recipients in the annual selection process – Zane Shaw as winner and Jae Vyskocil as honorable mention. Their applications and works of art were both exceptional, but quite different in nature. The diversity of media and means of inspirational expression are qualities that make this award program especially dynamic.
Zane Shaw
Zane pretty much blew the socks off the selection committee with his well-crafted film inspired by the song In the Wind by Lord Huron. While still an “amateur” class movie in terms of technique, the structure, scene-setting, and story-telling were all very strong. And those familiar with Geneva, Illinois, will find numerous hometown touchpoints that anchor the film. Wonderfully tender, exceedingly well done. Congratulations, Zane!
View Zane’s artistic submission here – an original film titled In the Wind:
Zane was part of Geneva Community High School’s graduating class of 2015 and is headed to Arizona State University in the fall “to act, film, and create through all of college and beyond.” If Zane was not born with a video camera in his hand, he apparently grew one on his own. He said, “Every day that I walk out of the school at the end of the day, I grab my camera, and I just start filming anything and everything … When I don’t have an idea, I will just film the life happening around me. My camera is bound to capture something amazing.”
Zane’s Magnificent Machine
Zane’s Magnificent Machine is centered on photography & videography with this high-end digital camera:
Canon EOS 5D Mark III 22.3 MP – Body – $2,499.00
Full Frame CMOS with 1080p Full-HD Video Mode Digital SLR Camera
Jae Vyskocil
Jae Vyskocil’s 2015 entry won her the first honorable mention ever designated as part of the EMMMA scholarship program.
Jae’s creative work, as can be seen in the image to the right, is more traditional than Zane Shaw’s winning film entry, but the EMMMA selection committee found it to be exceptionally compelling. It is organized around the line from Lord Huron’s song In the Wind, “Death is a wall, but it can’t be the end,” and it presents some intriguing aspects of the transition space between life and death. Colors hint of brightness and hope – above the grounding in darkness and emptiness. Thank you, Jae, for your sensitive insight and expert artistic treatment.
Now a Geneva High School graduate, Jae is deferring her enrollment at the Art Institute of Chicago in order to participate in a year-long program in service to needy communities – in the U.S. (inner-city Denver) and in seven other countries. During her high school years, Jae was active in the National Art Honor Society (as vice president) and in supporting a variety of local community activities.
She offers this about her In the Wind composition, “The colorful hands on the top represent angels pulling a new soul up to a vibrant, joyful paradise. The black lower half … represents the darkness and pain we experience while grieving the loss of a loved one. I hope that this piece reminds the audience that death is certainly not the end.”
Jae’s Magnificent Machine
Like Zane Shaw, Jae went straight to a digital camera for her Magnificent Machine with this selection:
Nikon D5500 DX-format Digital SLR w/ 18-55mm VR II Kit – $903.07
Cash (for accessories, supplies, etc.) – $96.93
See information on all EMMMA Winners.