Date of Award

Spring 5-10-2020

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

In my art practice, I strive to recover the value of non-human animals as fellow beings with whom we are in relation. In the last decade, “the animal question” has gained momentum across disciplines, and I situate myself as part of the effort to challenge the denigration of nonhuman animals that has led to the widespread exploitation of their labor and bodies. In my practice, I create paintings, drawings and mixed-media collages that recover the genesis of the word “animal” as meaning one with breath, one with soul. Through expressionist mark and material tactility, I create intimate and large-scale works that center on shared embodiment, particularly the entwinement of vulnerability and vitality. Employing painting as both haptic object and illusionary image, I create works that offer viewers stillness to experience empathetic connection with those nonhuman animals normally regarded as objects of consumption. The kind of empathy that I engage in during the making process and that I encourage for the viewer, is not one of simple emotional identification, but rather “feeling with” nonhuman animals, who, despite their enigmatic Otherness, are undeniably kin to us as embodied beings.

Language

English (en)

Program Director's Department

Graduate School of Art

Download

Share

COinS