Date of Award

Spring 5-14-2015

Author's School

Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts

Author Department/Program

Graduate School of Art

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Visual Art

Degree Type

Thesis

Abstract

Thresholds, as a sign for that which is transitional, are ripe with metaphorical potential. One threshold that plays a major role in my work is the veil. The veil, as an object, provides more of a visual than a bodily obstruction. Because of this, some of the most potent metaphors surrounding the veil have to do with the threshold of human perception. By utilizing various veiling techniques, my work addresses the limitation of perception from multiple angles. Ultimately, encountering the boundary line of one’s perceptual capabilities gives insight into the possibility of the simultaneous existence of things both visible and unseen. The paradox inherent in such moments forms the basis of my artistic investigation.

Language

English (en)

Program Director

Patricia Olynyk

Program Director's Department

Graduate School of Art

Committee Member

Michael Byron

Committee Member

Michael Byron

Committee Member

Jamie Adams

Committee Member

Adrian Cox

Committee Member

Lyndon Barrois, Jr.

Artist's Statement

The image of the threshold is intriguing in its potential for expressing that which is liminal, or on the verge of transition. While thresholds exist as literal architectural devices, the term threshold can be used to describe a host of different liminal experiences.

One particularly significant manifestation of the threshold is the veil. By its nature, the veil represents the threshold’s capacity to be simultaneously a point of access as well as a barrier: to be opaque and transparent, reflective and absorptive. The veil also provides a material indication for the space that thresholds inhabit. In its concurrent fulfillment of seemingly paradoxical roles, the veil becomes a potent metaphor for human perceptual experience.

The act of painting or drawing is always, more or less, an act of veiling. Covering over or veiling foundational layers in a search for visual resolution presents the possibility for tactility and materiality not afforded by other methods. To that end, by exerting their textural influence on the image’s eventual resolution, these same foundational layers become evidence of what remains unseen.

Spaces that reside between defined spaces by very definition resist definition. It is for this reason that I am drawn to exploring thresholds: to demonstrate the limitations of description, to provide an analogy for the ineffable.

Permanent URL: https://doi.org/10.7936/K7X06573

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