Date of Award
Spring 6-2-2018
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
Painting
First Advisor
Kevin Zucker
Second Advisor
Jackie Gendel
Third Advisor
Roger White
Abstract
For the past few years I have avidly collected oral histories, family memories and imagery as a way to better understand and contextualize myself, my roots, and my own personal path. My recent paintings reference my first-hand experience as an immigrant, as well as my family's long and complicated history with displacement. The paintings were put together much like a game of telephone, their narratives transmitted through generations, stretched and skewed by family members and friends, rendering them fragmented yet crystallized. In the process of painting, seeing parallels between the past and the present has been frustrating and disturbing. The fragility and tenderness of my relationships with family and friends are at the center of my paintings, and of the experience of being an immigrant. Developing strong ties with my family here and abroad, I am fascinated by the nuanced emotions of longing and separation, and the connections we make. My paintings, much like journal entries, relate to one another and thread together as segments of the same account.
Recommended Citation
Sarfaty, Ohad, "In a distant land" (2018). Masters Theses. 278.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/278
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.