Date of Award
Spring 5-19-2022
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Visual Art
Degree Type
Thesis
Abstract
I am a Guisado: a savory stew. A blend of two worlds: one of Nicaragua, and the other of the United States. I am both Nicaragaüense y Estadounidense. As an artist, I work with painting and collage as a form of image making that carefully takes inspiration from those traditions to create a new narrative. In my work, I examine both my struggle with identity and how I came to be the person I am today. As I am both Nicaragüense and Estadounidense it is important that my paintings reflect those two worlds.
The ingredients making up my Guisado are as follows: The Loss of the Mother Tongue, A Merging of Two Worlds, Nostalgia (The Longing for Wholeness), The Botched (An Other), and The Hybridity of Globalization. Combined, these ingredients are what makes my Guisado unique. Through the act of collaging and painting, my work takes society’s scraps of discarded material and my own personal history to create a new environment: one that celebrates my identity and creates a feeling of fulfilment for both myself and the viewer.
Language
English
Program Chair
Lisa Bulawsky
Thesis Text Advisor
Michael Byron
Thesis Text Advisor
Monika Weiss
Faculty Mentor
Michael Byron
Committee Member
Cheryl Wassenaar
Committee Member
Carmon Colangelo
Recommended Citation
Briceño, Quinn A., "Un Guisado: Allí, Allá and the Space In Between" (2022). MFA in Visual Art. 2.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/mfa_visual_art/2
Artist's Statement
I am a Guisado: A savory stew with ingredients that are both Nicaragüense and Estadounidense: Nicaraguan and American.
As an artist, I examine both my struggle with identity and how I came to be the person I am today. As I am both Nicaragüense and Estadounidense it is important that my paintings reflect those two worlds and creates a new space where people like me can belong.
Blending Americana with Latinx, my work gives dignity to the working class while expressing my own longing for acceptance from both worlds from which I feel excluded.
Through the act of collaging found materials connecting to my life in the United States with the painted imagery of Nicaragua, my work takes society’s scraps and the personal stories and histories of my family to create a new environment: one that celebrates my identity and how I came to be the person I am today.