Date of Award

Spring 5-30-2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

Graphic Design

First Advisor

Bethany Johns

Second Advisor

Nancy Skolos

Third Advisor

Anther Kiley

Abstract

Small communities that were once reliant on the land for basic sustenance progressively grew into large urban states. Our current cities manufacture items that are exchanged for other goods, by building factories that exploit resources from the ground. These commodities are providing much more than just food and shelter. Industry makes sustenance a secondary need to production by objectifying nature.

Italian writer Italo Calvino compares the weight of two Industrial Revolutions, depicting the first with “rolling mills” and “molten steel,” the second “with bits of information that flow” also noting that everything we “value for lightness quickly reveals … unbearable heaviness.” The following works respond to the burden felt from relentless development of these revolutions and their hidden complexities.

Let’s Meet Over There is a series of curious, imaginative, and tactile artworks that address feelings of detachment from the Earth, by exploring the relationship between vision and perspective. The selected items span the sound of laughter, the subject of friendship, and even phone calls with local sparrows. The works embrace uncertainty even when the objective of each piece seems vague.

“Let’s meet over there” points to an ambiguous destination. The expression is both inviting and friendly, encouraging others to visit a range of landscapes with me. By offering various ways to see and to listen, I am hoping to make room for contemplation over comprehension. Ultimately, I wish to cultivate empathy for nature, for the unknown, and the living beings within it.

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