More or Less
Date
2021-04-20
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Abstract
I find release, freedom and play in working without restraint or expectation. I respond intuitively to the process of making and find importance in the labor and work. Combining an array of materials in abundant, repetitive layers, I relish in the indulgent qualities of various mediums. In this way, I merge simple and accessible materials in extravagant ways that give them new life and unexpected qualities. It is not representational, rigid, or restricted but rather gestural, emotional, and spontaneous. I use no prior plan or outline for such works; they design themselves as materials build and decay upon their surface. The result is similar to the process: countless details and moments invite a distortion of self and require a curiosity and presence from the viewer. The photographs and texts I collage into my work allow me to be vulnerable, while the layers obscure and protect me. I make photographs to be collaged into the work using long exposure and high contrast, which contain elements of abstraction and distortion. In these images, I look at myself and my surroundings, documenting the mundane yet private moments from my daily life. The text I incorporate into my pieces is also intimate in these ways; journal entries, personal poems, and comments jotted in the margins of my notes. These subtle traces and details of my life enter the work in quiet ways yet hold the greatest significance.
Description
Thesis completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Alfred University Honors Program.
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Thesis
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Keywords
Honors thesis, Photography, Collages, Bradford, Mark