Date of Award
Spring 5-30-2020
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
Painting
First Advisor
Craig Taylor
Abstract
I work serially, using autobiography as a jumping-off point for satire, humiliation, and explorations of the grotesque. My paintings tackle a variety of topics, including religious and cultish indoctrination, the use of technology and its effect on societal discourse, and stereotypical notions of masculinity that find their way into every subject I explore. Using my personal experiences as a foundation, my paintings have questioned archetypes found within these themes, all the while challenging my own values and beliefs. I position myself as an anti-proselytizer, complicating the easy answer and presenting morally questionable individuals with the intent of causing contradictory interpretations by the viewer. Navigating this discomfort is vital when searching for a greater truth.
My recent body of work has been a meditation on my challenging upbringing. I am currently focused on constructing paintings of "father figures:" semiotic stand-ins constructed from found, manipulated, and appropriated images, compiled into a flimsy, unsteady mass. The images used are derived from memory, stereotypical representations of masculinity, video games and technology, and airbrush vernacular. This assortment of signs is airbrushed thinly upon a textural, archetypal male silhouette, as if projected upon a man made of clay. I view this treatment as decorative and yearning: a vain attempt at creating a stand-in for an absent mentor, a monument to short-lived experience with a degenerate father, and the confusion of longing for something that you've never known. The pieces don't quite fit, but there is a desire for cohesion.
Satire is a pillar of my work, as well as empathy for the satirized. Like Bosch or Goya, I strive for a sardonic attitude cast onto the individuals and collectives that I am criticizing-but also an understanding of their humanity and a desire to evoke sympathy from a viewer. A good satirist can see things from all angles without affiliation. Nothing is sacred enough to escape contemplation, however brutal the ridicule.
Recommended Citation
Regner, Chris, "Father figures" (2020). Masters Theses. 488.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/488
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.