Abstract

I finesse the atmospheric value of objects— the gestural systems brought forward in their material and forms. As Baudrillard describes, the tools we use and the furnishings we live among are increasingly defined by their formal adherence to systems of control. Individual function is suppressed for the sake of a homogeneous interrelationship between multiple objects. Through the use of a gestural system that prioritizes effort instead, objects are defined by instinct as opposed to cultural connotation. Material is liberated from the increasingly abstracted contemporary discourse surrounding its use and the object as a whole is allowed to retake an anthropomorphic status. Every material is thus valued for its innate qualities— what it is on its own, instead of what it has come to represent in relationship to other materials. In the end, the formal presence of muscular energy reifies both the object’s dependance on and function for the productivity of humankind. Muscular energy in this case is used in the specific and heterotopic cultural ritual of “art- making.” The materials used and the resulting forms into which they are arranged are intended to reflect their nature as an “art-object,” which is used in the separate but parallel cultural ritual of “art-viewing.” Within this relationship the art-object, like any other tool or furnishing, has its atmospheric value, its cultural relevance and productivity within the environment it is used, defined by gestural systems taken on during its production.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Serigraphy--Technique; Mixed media sculpture--Technique; Concrete sculpture--Technique; Work in art; Art--Philosophy

Publication Date

4-25-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Fine Arts Studio (MFA)

Department, Program, or Center

School of Art (CAD)

Advisor

Eileen Feeney Bushnell

Advisor/Committee Member

Christina Leung

Advisor/Committee Member

Andy Buck

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

Plan Codes

FNAS-MFA

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