Artif(fice)fact

Date

2017-05

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Abstract

Much of my practice functions as a means to reflect selectively on my surroundings. This usually begins in the form of collecting, often in relationship to being an active practitioner of consumerism. I am undeniably attracted to kitsch relating to a fake rusticity or ancient motif that surfaces in the form of low brow imagery in pop culture, consumer market, or regional style. I aim to appropriate the appropriated as a means of reflecting on the first removal and any absurdity that may arise in its initial theft. My goal is to use the same tools of absurdity twice over, or to re-layer and configure the same cultural paradoxes in a manner that may point to this absurdity in all its problems and poetics. This often happens in relationship to a sign, motif, or practice that is not intrinsic to a specific area or time period but does become a type of vernacular. This balance between the extrinsic and the everyday is where my interest lies. Due to the complexity of globalization and the movements of practices and motifs cross-culturally, I choose to pull from how these issues may surface directly around me.

Description

Thesis completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Fine Arts degree in the School of Art and Design at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Alfred, NY.

Keywords

MFA thesis, Ceramic Art, Installations (art), Yoga, Hula hooping, Bikram, Nag champa, Chill, Makapansgat

Citation

DOI