Identifier

etd-08272016-210333

Degree

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

Art

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

The ability to imagine is essential to shaping who we are, and is an important part of our humanity. Children have the ability to use aspects of their environment as their playthings, becoming the characters in their world through their sense of imagination. We lose this ability as we grow, leaving us with only memories and sentimentality. I have come to realize that my art is an expression of the longing and search to regain that ability to become fused with my imagination and my environment. I allow myself to become lost in a world of fantasy once more, and through this transcendence of time and place, speak to others and their experiences. As a child I developed a love/hate relationship with the sense of fear and a curiosity and interest with horror and science fiction films. Even though I experienced nightmares frequently, I continued to develop an obsession of that primal and animalistic instinct. I was attracted to it in a unique way. It fueled my vivid imagination and became a coping mechanism, even in adulthood. I am interested in how humans cope with fear during early childhood and how it develops into coping with fear as adults. Gotta Catch ‘Em All, an exhibition of two narrative installations of ceramic and mixed media sculptures, represents and examines the differences between my childhood perception of our world and the world seen through the eyes of a child growing up in this new digital age. Surrounded by technology, imagination and a relationship with the environment seems to be fading away or morphing into something far different than what I experienced in my youth. I am curious as to how this may potentially affect their ability in confronting fears and coping with them as they age. My work is a testament to discovering these differences and the cornerstone of what fuels my artistic practice.

Date

2016

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Walsh, Michaelene

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.4424

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Included in

Fine Arts Commons

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