Date of Award

5-1977

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Legacy Department

Visual Studies

First Advisor

Thomas E. McPeak

Second Advisor

John F. Alm

Third Advisor

James A. Stockham

Abstract

Just as the realities of the encompassing world may appear to assume the burdens of mankind, I am dealing with such false realities and using them as vehicles of visual/spiritual expressions. The result of such soul searching gives true insights into the core of the infinite, divine, universal, truth and indeed my very being. Such questioning and searching create inner conflicts, and as a result of such inner struggles, outer developments emerge. I feel I must absorbe parts of the world, as many parts as possible, and deal with them in my own terms. My works are results and by-products of these inner spiritual investigations. Perhaps the center of gravity in my work lies not in the images themselves but in the sensations they produce. The images selected to create a drawing serve as catalysts to provoke emotional response; what the viewer sees is of less significance that what he experiences. Each drawing consists of compound transfers, modified by graphite, enamel, pastel, watercolor, colored pencil, and other varieties of medium. Relationships are created, established, and given meaning by juxtapositioning images of assorted "themes." Space is altered by cutting and shifting planes. The "real" world is given priority for most of the transferred material is from printed, found, publications. Multiple identities are also employed, and different "themes" appear in totally opposite and sometimes unrelated surroundings; thus creating the ambiguity of their initial existence and, hopefully, activating one's memory structure to the point of questioning and searching. All media are employed, but primarily the transferred object is used. Perhaps the most consistent device emerging in the transferred drawing is the burnish stroke created by the transfer tool. This line conjures representation but becomes a form of expression within itself, asserting the quality of a drawn image as opposed to the printed image. The transfer drawings are spiritual and artistic reclamations of the mechanical and impersonal testimonies of my own personal vision.

Download
COinS