DOI

https://doi.org/10.25772/4T48-3H78

Defense Date

2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts

Department

Craft/Material Studies

First Advisor

Susie Ganch

Second Advisor

Aaron McIntosh

Third Advisor

Heath Matysek-Snyder

Abstract

Reconfigured found objects shape scenes of everyday life, questioning the structural histories that go into defining an identity. Engaging in a multidisciplinary approach of making, my work reimagines the function of ornamentation and its relationship to the body. I approach new materials and found objects with the eye of a jeweler, highlighting and exploiting the subtle, and often invisible, links between material histories and their connection to identity. Material debris patinated with age like skillets, baseballs, and furniture are used to penetrate normative structures around identity, gender, and sexual desire. Using adornment as a support in my installations I propose a new lens for viewing function through the use of ornamentation. In doing so I highlight the bodie’s impact on objects, and call into to question the role these objects play in shaping our understanding of identity—An identity that is never singular, constantly evolving, and more often than not contradictory and confusing.

Rights

© The Author

Is Part Of

VCU University Archives

Is Part Of

VCU Theses and Dissertations

Date of Submission

5-10-2018

Download

Share

COinS