Date of Award
2018
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
M.F.A. in Art
Department
Art and Art History
First Advisor
Philip Jackson
Second Advisor
Jay D. Watson
Third Advisor
Durant Thompson
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
The blurry, the dark, shadoplaces hidden and dwelling amongst the certainty steal my attention. Such places can communicate a vast sense of both time and setting, can convey that which is both occurring and that which is past. I do not think those spaces can be explicitly defined. They are reflections and explorations of the figures’ minds, providing a place for both their physical bodies and their thoughts to live. The paintings that compose Sillage communicate a space that requires engagement and that is not readily understood. The painted area changes as it invites and rejects visual entry. These ambiguous spaces begin when understood edges become unclear, when objects merge into another, and when uncertainty becomes apparent. They overlap, supersede, and fragment into one another and become disjointed. Within this tension, the significance and vastness of tangled space envelops the figures, more grandly connecting place and form. The two push and pull against each other as the space threatens to overwhelm the presence of the figure. In this contested environment emerges the figure as a distinct dialogue from which the space stems.
Recommended Citation
Alexander, Brooke, "Sillage" (2018). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 578.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/578
Concentration/Emphasis
Emphasis: Painting