Date of Award
Spring 5-2017
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Visual Art
Degree Type
Thesis
Abstract
The body is the intermediary between the immaterial and material world and allows for the expression of one’s psychological and physical identity. The perception of the body and mind within space and time provides opportunities for change. Representation through figurative sculpture is a common thread over historical time. Works from Greek Classicism, like Kritios Boy, exemplify how a body’s physical condition is directly contingent on an individual’s psychological state. Alberto Giacometti and Antony Gormley further expand upon this as they present the body as a channel between the mind and the surrounding enviroment. Each artist creates alterations in scale, form, and position within a space to highlight how meaning can be expressed through inanimate materials. Further photo documentation, such as that of Andy Goldsworthy, records the link between the mind and body through the duration of a sensory experience. My recent work uses the gesture, posture, and context of the body to exemplify purpose within the passage of time. Perception allows the mind to process the external world; the body is the channel through which we can physically engage with what we perceive, and time is the reminder of the preciousness of each moment we experience.
Language
English (en)
Program Director
Patricia Olynyk
Program Director's Department
Graduate School of Art
Thesis Advisor
Buzz Spector
Committee Member
Cheryl Wassenaar
Committee Member
Cheryl Wassenaar
Committee Member
Arny Nadler
Committee Member
Jon Navy
Recommended Citation
Riefe, Tommy, "Meaning in Perception: Metaphor in Figurative Sculpture" (2017). Graduate School of Art Theses. ETD 89. https://doi.org/10.7936/K7ZS2TXN.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/samfox_art_etds/89
Included in
Contemporary Art Commons, Fine Arts Commons, Sculpture Commons
Artist's Statement
Permanent URL: https://doi.org/10.7936/K7ZS2TXN