Date of Award

6-2014

Document Type

Project

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art

Department

Art

First Reader/Committee Chair

Katherine Gray

Abstract

Photography was my introduction into art. I gravitated toward portrait photography fairly quickly. I found the interaction between subject and photographer to be an intense moment in time. I began to push that intensity - through various non-traditional approaches, such as placing ads in the personals. It did not take long before I turned the camera on myself, creating self-portraits in the domestic setting. I began to play for the camera. I created various personas that placed myself in some gray area between masculinity and femininity. Shortly there after, I began working with collage. I found the formulas and rigidity sometimes found in photography had me gasping for air. Collage works had freed up my process. The mediums of photography and collage played harmoniously together as they are both paired in ideas of domesticity, gender roles, ' family dynamics and dominant and submissive figures. The collage work is compressed and stacked in a way that adds weight to the issues found inside. The stacking and overlapping of the collages, keeps all the elements fighting for space. I can tap into the subconscious and explore ideas through the re-contextualization of other images, text, and scraps of paper. The key elements of my domestic photo collages are: the home, sexual tension/hierarchy /innuendo, and gender play. Through a serious studio practice, I am able to share my sense of humor and playfulness in my work. With an Exactoknife, a few pages from a magazine, and a glue stick, I can change and rearrange the world around me.

Additional Files
Dawes Master's Project .pdf (11818 kB)
exhibition artwork
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Additional Files

Dawes Master's Project .pdf (11818 kB)
exhibition artwork

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