Master of Fine Arts Thesis Sunder Shauna Fahley Submitted in Partial
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Master of Fine Arts Thesis Sunder Shauna Fahley Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirement for the degree of Master of Fine Arts, School of Art and Design Division of Ceramic Art New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University Alfred, New York 2021 Signature Shauna Fahley, MFA Thesis Advisors : John Gill, Johnathan Hopp, Matt Kelleher, Walter McConnell, Linda Sikora, Meghan Smythe, Adero Willard Abstract The horse and the brick were both fundamental in the development of civilization. My work embodies the intersection of the two, compounding material and subject. It is not my goal to illustrate the romantic or heroic image of the horse. Instead I am reconfiguring the equestrian monument without the question of who holds the power. I am dissecting the monument as a symbol in culture while bringing my understanding and experience with the horse as a sentient animal. I am not merely pursuing a fixed image of the horse. I am exploring how movement is experienced over time with ceramics materiality and using archaic visual language. I want viewers to engage with kinetic materiality through my sculptures. In spending time with these objects, viewers are invited to transcend the static and investigate embodiment, change, the third space, ephemerality, empathy, and the gigantic. Acknowledgments I would like to take a moment to show my appreciation to everyone who supported my growth as an artist, academic, and person during my time at Alfred University. Thank you to all my advisors and committee members. A warm thanks to all my colleagues. Lastly, big thank you to my parents and friends. Table of Contents Thesis Report .............................................................................................................................. 1 Clay and Horse as Material ................................................................................ 1 Meet Me that Day ............................................................................................... 2 The Third Space ................................................................................................. 4 Ceramics and Equines Technology ................................................................... 4 The Horse in Modern Culture ............................................................................. 5 Repeated Image ................................................................................................. 6 Her Story (History) of the Horse ......................................................................... 6 The Human Object ............................................................................................. 8 Monument .......................................................................................................... 9 The Dangerous Monument ................................................................................ 9 Dismantled Power ............................................................................................ 10 Archaism .......................................................................................................... 11 Burden - Supporting Poem ...................................................................................................... 13 Bibliography & References ...................................................................................................... 14 Artist Statement ........................................................................................................................ 15 Technical Report ....................................................................................................................... 16 1 Thesis Report My work embodies the intersection of both the compounding material and subject, clay and horse. It is not my goal to illustrate the romantic or heroic image of the horse. Instead, I aim to reconfigure the equine icon as a vehicle for understanding empathy beyond ourselves and the animal, but the greater consciousness of humanity. I am deconstructing the equestrian monument, making it without a position of power or a dominant figure. I am exploring large equine forms in a modern context as an archaic remix to interpret and critique the past while existing in the present. The horse's body relative to the viewers is a powerful experience that brings us outside ourselves. With the life-size scale of my work, I invite the viewer to take the time to investigate. I seek to restore an awareness of how humans communicate and influence each other with our actions. I am dissecting the monument as a symbol in culture while at the same time bringing my understanding and experience with the horse as a sentient being. Clay and Horse as Material Clay catalogs sensory information offered through an artist's hand. The memory that clay holds from the intuitive response of human contact is central to my process. The tacit dialogue I experience while working with clay parallels my understanding of the body language between horse and rider. I must be alert and ready to respond to the physical changes both horse and clay go through. Horseback riding requires me to develop an awareness for movement and a feel for things internally, not just visually. My seat in the saddle is not a passive experience. Using my seat and legs, I am sensitive to 2 how the horse moves. I can feel which feet are hitting the ground, and I can identify which muscles are being engaged. In comparison to clay, I can feel the compression and strength I give the clay while wedging with my feet. My hands can feel how much water is in the clay and where the clay walls of my piece have "memory" from a continuous conversion or a repair. Like pencil marks on paper then trying to erase it, there is still an imprint in the paper where the pencil once applied pressure to the page. Building at a life-sized scale and beyond demands that my muscle memory and intuitive responses are active. The hands-on manipulation of large clay slabs parallels how I work with horses: moving, pressing, and collaborating for desired outcomes. Meet Me that Day When I return to the studio to continue working on a piece, I have expectations for that workday of where the sculpture's dryness should be and how much more I should add to it. I unwrap the clay sculpture to find that the plastic has kept too much moisture in, and the work will not support any more weight. If I fight with the clay and try to make it work for me, the process would be frustrating and could ultimately lead to losing the piece. This is not how I would ride a horse, so why would I work with clay like that. I adjust my plan for that studio day, maybe add detail to the clay that needs to dry or start something new. Choosing to work this way has a mantra I call "meet me that day." I recognize where something is, and I meet the occasion even if it is less exciting than what I had anticipated. I am responding to the clay's agency. This mantra is not limited to material or an animal being ready to be worked with; sometimes, "meet me that day" is introspective. If I, the artist, am not in the best 3 mindset to be delicately carving a fragile part of the piece then maybe I need to throw slabs instead. Not only is the clay's agency important, so is an awareness of our energy and capability. I know the dryness of clay must be different at the neck to support the head compared to a delicate ear that must be wrapped in plastic to keep it from getting too dry. I also know what kind of patience and calm I need when making an eyelid compared to the bold attitude I need to build a shoulder. Academia trained me to recall one answer on demand. For some things, this linear methodology works, but it does not for other things like riding or working with clay. It took time for me to realize that with material, whether that is an animal or clay, there are many ways to get the desired result. I had to rethink how to approach the task to achieve my desired result. Some hand-building methods work great with one clay body but not another. Using your legs a certain way while riding can get a specific outcome with one horse but not with another. Problem-solving with compassion or "meeting" something where it is on that day is more beneficial than trying to force a linear method to work. This is not just about me: it is about the thing I'm interacting with and the process it must undergo. I think about the !"#$% as material and body. &'() When an artist is asked “What material do you use?” my reaction is “The material uses me.” Various materials ask me to behave differently. The material can be anything, but you move with it. I think about the horse as material as much as I think about clay as body, moisture, muscle, compression. 4 The Third Space In psychotherapy, there is a theory called the third. In relationships, people often understand themselves as individual entities. For example, “You do something to me, I do something to you.”1 In the third theory, when people understand one another and see the whole person for who they are, that Relationship creates a "third" space. My mantra, "meet me that day," is assessing the third space on an intimate level. I want the gallery to function as that third space on a communal level. I am looking forward to that day when the gallery is that third space and meet it that day. Ceramics and Equines Technology The horse and the brick were both fundamental in the development of civilization. Cultural anthropologists categorize horses as technology. Horses are animals we learned to utilize for our benefit;