Date of Award
Spring 6-1-2021
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
Painting
First Advisor
Kevin Zucker
Second Advisor
Angela Dufresne
Third Advisor
Jackie Gendel
Abstract
I am interested in the practice of painting as a way to deepen one’s relationship with nature and its many ecosystems. To me, art not only illustrates these experiences of entanglement, but also is a realm for a sensorial engagement that surpasses representation. During my time at RISD, I have learned that painting can act as a generative tool, a therapeutic ritual, a release of energy, and a place to bridge connections to other facets of my life. It is through the conception, envelopment, and evolution of materials and their relationship to an anthropocentric society that I continue to investigate instances of self-reflection, the embedment of matter, and the inherent subjectivity that comes along with being a visual storyteller. I am curious about the parallel relationships of artistic practice to the cultivation of soil and domesticity within the modern world, and how working to create a form of sustainability for myself has become an act of resistance. Through observation, self-reflection, and embodied entanglement, this thesis will consist of essays accompanied by poems, diagrams, and journal entries that interweave my painting practice, my interests outside the studio, and the research informing my work, with an emphasis on the process of painting and a look at kaleidoscopic vision.
Recommended Citation
Wilker, Emily, "Like water taught by thirst" (2021). Masters Theses. 806.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/806
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Comments
View exhibition online: Emily Wilker, Water Taught by Thirst