DOI
https://doi.org/10.25772/GPZ2-RJ51
Defense Date
2020
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts
Department
Craft/Material Studies
First Advisor
Susie Ganch
Second Advisor
Jack Wax
Third Advisor
Cynthia Myron
Fourth Advisor
Scott Braun
Abstract
Material bodies, human and non-human, exist in a constant state of doing and undoing. As bodies change over time, so too do the objects they wear. In this way, a jewelry object is never finished and is constantly being made. In contemporary art practice, this is described as relational ontology by Amelia Jones, who reaches this terminology through the eco-political writings of Jane Bennett and Karen Barad. Through this framework we are able to understand the way artists like Gabriel Orozco and Helen Carnac resist the notion of a finished object or artwork. By engaging with the ways that process and intuitive actions influence the outcome of my studio practice I have produced wearable objects, works on paper and site responsive installations that examine the potential of these ideas. As the subject of this work is found through its making, all material product, including its debris, carries value. The reused and translated material fragments produce abstract objects and images for human and architectural bodies. As a jeweller and metalsmith, precedents for this work are found in histories of art jewelry from the 20th Century and Australian jewelry practice, developed in response to the country’s influential landscape.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
5-22-2020
Included in
Art Practice Commons, Australian Studies Commons, Contemporary Art Commons, Fine Arts Commons, Metal and Jewelry Arts Commons, Sculpture Commons