Date of Award

Spring 5-19-2017

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

Abstract

Through a study into the complex web of Church and State, I describe how the American condition falters under a Capitalist regime. Throughout this thesis, I identify incongruences within pervading socio-political tropes. By dissections of religion and culture, I identify how the American people are subjugated by their own ideologies, thereby perpetuating a cycle of class struggle and social injustice. I assert that the American hero has failed in the face of material desire and blind faith to a ruling plutocracy, and that organized religion has been ultimately subsumed by politics as a tool of control. Using the visual language of American culture against itself, I’ve created a series of works that reflect this dark underbelly of American culture. In doing so, I attempt to display how artworks can activate discourse on a sociopolitical level, and moreover emphasizes art’s obligation to do so.

Language

English (en)

Program Director

Patricia Olynyk

Program Director's Department

Graduate School of Art

Thesis Advisor

Buzz Spector

Committee Member

Timothy Portlock

Committee Member

Timothy Portlock

Committee Member

Thomas Reed

Artist's Statement


Art can either be used for propaganda or against it; it never remains neutral to its surroundings.

Permanent URL: https://doi.org/10.7936/K7F18X52

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