Jan Roberts-Breslin

Graduate Program Director and Associate Professor of Visual and Media Arts

Jan Roberts-Breslin is an independent media artist, a broad title that only hints at the depth of her abilities. Jan’s background is in photography, film, and video production.

In recent work, Jan has moved from linear film and video to interactive works using video. She has produced two interactive pieces on CD-ROM—an experimental documentary about housework and another about the bubonic plague. She also produced an instructional CD-ROM to accompany the textbook she published with Focal Press, Making Media: Foundations of Sound and Image Production. She is currently developing an experimental video exploring the subject of risk tolerance.

During her twelve years at Emerson, Jan has observed how well the Media Arts program serves extremely motivated students, even those without a specific background in media. “Our students can find success in a relatively short period. Those who aren’t afraid to innovate are the ones who get noticed.“

Jan also teaches her students the importance of experimentation. “Even if you want to work within mainstream commercial media, it’s not enough to learn existing techniques. It’s also important to push the boundaries, to experiment, to discover new approaches.”