Willard, AderoReijnders, AntonHopp, JohnathanGill, JohnKelleher, MattSmythe, MeghanMcConnell, WalterEaston, Lukas2021-07-262021-07-262021-05http://hdl.handle.net/10829/24564Thesis 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.Through hand built sculptures of trees and rocks as well as life casts of roadkill animals, and video performance, I engage with our collective entanglement to contemplate human behavior. Narrative is built as I place singular images or objects together, building relationships through their proximity. Through the glitches caused by abject disruption, my work causes a moment of pause to allow for contemplation of our values. The instantaneous distribution of unreliable information across much of the world has desensitized many, including myself, and made it difficult to make sense of what is actually happening. I am reaching for an understanding of our collective entanglement that has been forgotten in the chaos of today. I use abjection as a glitch to help the viewer find landmarks in reality. Abjection does this by going beyond the expected and into territory so unacceptable to society that it gives us a chance to consider what we have decided to leave out of our moral equation and therefore clarifies what we value. My current work uses mortality as a glitch to cause disruption, and then offers space for contemplation.27 pagesen-USThe author has granted Alfred University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other rights.MFA thesisCeramic ArtMortalityDisruptionContemplationThesis