Abstract
I present a delusion where you, the reader, are a hitchhiker on a journey toward an alternate realm guided by a god-like buffoon. While I take you on a journey through my daydreams and my musings on an alternate existence, a tour guide will lead the way to an otherworldly realm called The Garden of Extraterrestrial Deee-Lites, reflective of a tourist experience to a faraway destination. The tour will culminate in an uncanny space where curious life forms converge with familiar objects to encourage a sense of wonder while promoting ideas of interconnectedness within the world around us.
Committee Chair
Richard Krueger
Committee Members
Richard Krueger
Degree
Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Visual Art
Author's Department
Graduate School of Art
Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
Spring 5-20-2021
Language
English (en)
Recommended Citation
Bremehr, Jessica, "The Garden of Extraterrestrial Deee-Lites" (2021). Graduate School of Art Theses. ETD 152.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.7936/nnrq-4k79
Included in
Botany Commons, Cell Biology Commons, Interdisciplinary Arts and Media Commons, Microbiology Commons, Painting Commons, Philosophy of Mind Commons, Sculpture Commons
Comments
I often find myself dancing in a sort of delusion; a place where I set aside logic to let intuition guide my thinking and making. In these modes of thinking, I daydream about different ways of being and existing and visualize these daydreams through painting, sculpture, and installation. I create mythological narratives composed of characters at various stages of transformation reflecting an interest in science fiction and fantasy.
My project The Garden of Extraterrestrial Deee-Lites encourages an expanded sense of wonder and bewilderment, and non-human beings are deemed animate promoting ideas of interconnectedness within the world around us. Within this project, I build armatures from the detritus of my environment including cardboard, Styrofoam, to-go containers, and other found objects covered in papier-mâché and handmade paper clay. Utilizing my background in painting, I bring the figures to life using paint to cover the paper clay in patterns that evoke amoeba and cellular structures of the living world. Rather than beginning with a specific subject, I generate forms first and piece them together, twisting and inserting pieces like a puzzle. The sculptures take on organic shapes, and the resulting effect leaves the life forms like something of science fiction, fantasy, and a theatrical chorus. The organic lines and shapes suggest plants, body parts, and other natural motifs while remaining semi-abstract hovering in a hybrid of worlds.