Date of Award
Spring 5-16-2019
Degree Name
Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)
Restricted/Unrestricted
Unrestricted
Abstract
I present this statement under three loose categories: People, Objects and their Environment. I consider People as human, Objects as art objects, domestic objects, and food, and Environment as the shared space of the former groups. Food directs this statement as I present each concept and creative process as a metaphorical dish. Material exploration carried me from a direct practice of reorienting acrylic paint and questioning object functionality through personified sculptures into theoretical thesis work in which I use interpersonal relations and the idea of consumption to translate tactile, gustatory and olfactory sensations into digital film. In this meal I use my artwork as well as work of other makers to locate precedents for using falsehood and misdirection to convey information and for granting agency to objects. The theoretical realms of Object Oriented Ontology and the Theatre of Cruelty inspired me to infuse banal objects with vitality and write nonlinear scripts for my thesis. Cartoonist Winsor McCay, filmmaker Chantal Akerman, and playwriters Eugene Ionesco and Truman Capote inspired me to create videos in an absurd style where I devalue spoken language in favor of sound and visual cues and allow food and consumption to hold leading roles in my narratives.
Please enjoy.
Mentor/Primary Advisor
Lisa Bulawsky (Thesis Advisor) / Michael Byron (4-Year Advisor)
Recommended Citation
Halpern, Madeline, "Universe of Things: A human presentation of food-for-thought." (2019). Bachelor of Fine Arts Senior Papers. 62.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/bfa/62
Included in
Applied Ethics Commons, Art and Materials Conservation Commons, Audio Arts and Acoustics Commons, Contemporary Art Commons, Epistemology Commons, Fiber, Textile, and Weaving Arts Commons, Fiction Commons, Film Production Commons, Fine Arts Commons, Food Science Commons, Interactive Arts Commons, Interdisciplinary Arts and Media Commons, Language Interpretation and Translation Commons, Nonfiction Commons, Other American Studies Commons, Other Arts and Humanities Commons, Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures Commons, Painting Commons, Philosophy of Language Commons, Philosophy of Mind Commons, Photography Commons, Poetry Commons, Sculpture Commons, Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons, Theory and Criticism Commons, Visual Studies Commons