DOI
https://doi.org/10.25772/VNVQ-9E06
Defense Date
2012
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Interdisciplinary Studies
Department
Interdisciplinary Studies
First Advisor
Sara Clark
Abstract
Deserted and disintegrating barns, houses, and silos have always perplexed me when driving through the country. I am fascinated by how this leisurely decay reveals their structural integrity in a slow, reverse process of construction. It is as if humanity and nature consciously collaborated to create these gigantic memento mori for a steady stream of highway viewers. These monumental tributes to inevitable decline, along with my own adventures in gardening, childrearing, eldercare, and travels, have led me to explore the universal cycles of life. The dilapidated buildings in my work are rendered in a tight, sharp, close-up viewpoint so that the viewer is forced to engage them. I will often layer images of seeds, leaves, and rocks on top of images of houses to symbolize the different stages of the life cycle. I see seeds and buildings as containers and incubators of potential. Any foliage represents a fulfillment of that potential, while rocks stand for the fossilized remains, or the achievements of one’s life accomplishments.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
March 2012