Melissa Moody

Abstract

Growing up in a home with many objects from the past, I began to take an interest in my family's past, first speaking with my parents and grandparents, and then exploring as many old family photographs as I could. I saw many familiar faces at different points in time, and learned the names of those I had never seen before, realizing they too, were family. I was also struck by the mystery these photographs represented. They were products of another era, an older technology. As such, time had visibly acted upon them. The images themselves had become vague, abstracted by time and difficult to recognize. Time has had a similar effect on the people and connections the photographs represented. Being a sculptor, I want to draw upon this experience and create a body of sculpture that explores my interest in family history and identity. I want to create sculptures that are expressive through their formal qualities. They will depict the passage of time and the way it affects and alters our connection to the past. In constructing these sculptures, I will utilize a variety of ceramic processes and glazing and firing techniques. For myself, the work is personal, but it also contains an element of the universal. There will be aspects of the sculptures that the viewers should relate to, drawing upon their own experiences with family, even if those experiences are not identical.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Ceramic sculpture--Themes, motives; Ceramic sculpture--Technique; Families in art; History in art

Publication Date

7-12-2012

Document Type

Thesis

Department, Program, or Center

School for American Crafts (CIAS)

Advisor

Shellenbarger, Jane

Advisor/Committee Member

Tannen, Richard

Comments

Note: imported from RIT’s Digital Media Library running on DSpace to RIT Scholar Works. Physical copy available through RIT's The Wallace Library at: NK4235 .M664 2012

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

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