Abstract

"Our search for understanding in matters of race automatically incline us toward blackness, although that is not where these answers lie." – Nell Irvin Painter. Over the course of, and in partial fulfillment for, the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art and the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film Production, I have produced a multimedia body of work. I made this body of work as a reflection and result of my processes and studies, and as a method to examine perception, and representation in relation to identity. This body of work combines drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics, and filmmaking; utilizing each medium to scrutinize language, particularly that of the terms "black" and "white" and their cultural relationships to each other. Through this practice, my work evolved into a study of expectation, as situated through language, and conventional understanding. This work adds to the discourse on spaces and expectations of marginalized communities, art, and continues the tradition of the artists' practice as a form of research. I also position this work in relation to current mass culture iconography while using a distancing effect to explore concepts of martyrdom and minstrelsy as reflections of expectations on my own experience.

Thesis Completion

2019

Semester

Spring

Thesis Chair/Advisor

Poindexter, Carla

Degree

Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.)

College

College of Arts and Humanities

Department

School of Visual Arts and Design

Degree Program

Studio Art

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

1 year

Release Date

5-1-2020

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Accessibility Statement

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