Thesis
The nuclear family
Washington State University
Master of Fine Arts (MFA), Washington State University
2013
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/107220
Abstract
The work in this thesis is an exploration of my psychological self, which often alludes to moments of trauma taking place in dreamlike and austere, yet nostalgic environments. The narratives are culled from gray spaces in my memory that reminisce occurrences of my early childhood. The spaces are complicated by a fragmentation of time and space that I associate with the fallibility of recollection. This is mirrored in the work where a fragmentation of the body occurs. I doing so it is my intention to hinder the illusion of the traditional linear narrative and encourage viewers to enter these pictures akin to the experience of dreaming. I exploit the fracturing of the picture evident in the source material, my family photographic album, and draw attention to the repetition of people and objects in these places. The redundancy of them in the work is a reference to the built environment (specifically suburbia). Here, I will explore these ideas in the form of a short story made of paragraph vignettes that are loosely drawn from my autobiography. The stories share similar characteristics to my work in the thesis exhibition, specifically the repetition and fragmentation of subject matter. I will use this text to tie the aesthetic and visual content of the short stories to the work in my thesis exhibition. They have been supplemental to me in my artistic process, helping me to draw upon the subtle spaces of memory and tap into the aesthetics of the vague.
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Details
- Title
- The nuclear family
- Creators
- Austin Stiegemeier
- Contributors
- Michelle Forsyth (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Fine Arts, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Fine Arts (MFA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; [Pullman, Washington] :
- Identifiers
- 99900525397401842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis