DOI
https://doi.org/10.25772/RPDR-TG33
Defense Date
2020
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts
Department
Graphic Design
First Advisor
Wesley Taylor
Second Advisor
Andrew Walsh Lister
Third Advisor
Anthony Nguyen
Fourth Advisor
Andrea Kohashi
Abstract
Today’s world is a wide open hyper-connected sphere where human societies worldwide exist in a complex crossroads of historical conditions, ideologies, and power structures. A pool of constant confrontations, minor or major, between the traditional and the progressive, the local and the international, the materialistic and the transcendent, the pragmatic and the idealistic, and countless layers of meaning. For an individual who exists in such an intense moment of history, it seems almost inescapable to be exposed to, affected by, or even involved in a major conflict. A situation that makes individuals always in a critical position where every role they may choose becomes an effective player in the conflict, whether they choose to participate or to retreat.
Despite all of the utopian expectations of the last century, this hyper-connected information-flooded reality became a powerful cause of division and polarization. The very systems that have been created to inform and encourage expression evolved to become platforms of mobbing and mobilization. Layering even more and more confusion upon one’s ability to morally judge and participate in the scene.
However, there might be a hope of clarity when stepping back and acting as an observer of the scene. Over time, patterns begin to emerge before the eyes of the observer until they eventually form a useful structure for interpretation. The following pages are thoughts on the nature of conflicts from an observer’s lens. An ordinary observer who lives in a time and space that can never be ordinary, as the only constant thing in this world is change.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
5-21-2020