Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/732
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Item Porosity: the space between identities(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2021) McKay, Laurel Brooke; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Gesine JanzenPorosity' investigates the abstraction of bodies as a way to free people from the visual constraints and societal markers of 'difference' or 'otherness', as tied to class, gender, sexuality and race, that are used to marginalize individuals in our society. I in no way want to remove people's individual experiences, however, these narrow and rigid categories of socially constructed identities support hierarchies that are based in capitalism and systemic oppression, which I think should ultimately be dismantled. Within my monoprints, I use this abstraction of human form to allow for endless possibilities of shifting identity and individual freedom of expression that is not defined by the labels constructed by others. This abstraction of human form also, allows the body to become a sight of resistance and defiance to controls or 'disciplines' placed upon one's existence through bio-political or state structures. I argue that these works of art will allow contemplation on the structures, expectations and invisible manipulations that are tied to how we form and embody our identities in society, while still imparting feeling and emotion as tethered to a shared human existence. I also, hope that they will represent the future possibilities of our fluid identities and a utopian universal that is a shared human experience.Item In pursuit of value(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2020) Gathje, Samuel Gehring; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Jim ZimpelWhat follows is an exploration of the bounds of Material Intelligence in contemporary forms of making. While the physical work is autobiographical, and this research is broken up by anecdotal vignettes of my lived experience, the questions presented here are urgent and present. What is craft and where can it be most useful today? What objects hold stories, and how can we become more connected to these objects? In a world filled with the mass produced, I aim in this writing to showcase a different way of approaching material and making. A regard for old ways of seeing, and for a mindfulness when it comes to objects, stories, and spaces. This writing is my journey in pursuit of value. Through my own life, through various mentors, teachers, and lessons, I have learned to look to an object's origin to understand its value. Folk art (art of the people), the handmade, and traditional craft all ground us to place, time, experience or culture. I am not arguing that things must be done one way because it is tradition. Instead, I look at what these traditions provide beyond the object, which is often a communal experience of growth, appreciation, and learning. Craft can connect people across distance and time. To borrow a phrase from Glenn Adamson, I hope through this research to uncover a world of 'Fewer, Better Things'.Item Right here / over there(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2018) Rudolph, Kelsie; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Josh DeWeeseI am curious to find the places where all of humanity fundamentally overlaps, whether that is through feelings or objects or both. Through an elongated process of sensory observation, we can retain this knowledge for the long-term. Here there is more time and room to search for commonalities across cultural and social systems. Finding commonalities between myself and the people, places and objects I interact with is grounding. These experiences provide me with the emotionally loaded act of feeling. The objects within the exhibition are an abstract visualization of an inner presence experienced in my own search for commonalities between various cultural systems, human interaction, and material complexities.