Date of Award

Spring 5-20-2021

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

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.

Language

English (en)

Program Director

Lisa Bulawsky

Program Director's Department

Graduate School of Art

Thesis Advisor

Monika Weiss

Studio/Primary Advisor

Jamie Adams

Studio/Primary Advisor

Lisa Bulawsky

Committee Member

Richard Krueger

Committee Member

Richard Krueger

Artist's Statement

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.

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