Date of Award
5-2015
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Legacy Department
Visual Arts
Committee Member
Todd McDonald
Committee Member
Kathleen Thum
Committee Member
Beth Lauritis
Committee Member
Andrea Feeser
Abstract
It is through our body which we experience life, rooted in physicality and sensation. Essentially residing in an object-oriented world, we are at the mercy of things constituting one another, shaping our identity. Therefore, self is a byproduct of our experiences, never fixed, but in fact, always in flux, dependent upon the body as the intermediary between self and object, grounding us in this physical world. My work allows me a venue in which I hone in on the body as a tool. Incorporating ritualized processes into my studio practice is paramount in aiding my inquiries of bodily existence, as they are modes I deliberately function within. Exploring how the mark can communicate and dictate conversations of physicality, producing a varied yet specific language in which I am able to visually operate. This has provided a foundation for the thinking behind the approach and execution of my own bodies of works, including The Mass and Void Series, The Dead Body Series, The Weight of Doubt Series, and The Lost at Sea Series. Each series concerns the employment of my mark as it links to the understanding of the viewing and making body in space and beyond, ranging from small scale to large, utilizing variations of the mark both embellished and reconsidered. This body of work speaks to self-situation, in one place, over a period of time, embodying the act of becoming-- a process in which we are all undergoing.
Recommended Citation
Giannell, Alexandra Zita, "Ontologies: Inquiries into Existence" (2015). All Theses. 2119.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/2119