• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

- - - -------- Bodies and Tools A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree Master of Fine Arts In the Graduate School of the Ohio State University by Jo-Ann Mulroy B.F.A. ***** The Ohio State University 1994 Masters Examination Committee: Approved by Charles Massey Jr. Philip von Raabe ~~-~~~~- Pheoris West Advisor Department of Art To My Parents 11 Acknowledgments I would like to thank the following for all their help, advice, support and friendship Kevin Bruce Mary Jo Bole Elizabeth Cheatham Todd Devriese Romi Epstien Susan Halpern Kerry McGinnis Philip von Raabe Amy Schusser Pheoris West Thank-You. I would also like to thank Scott Patterson for his never ending patience, help and understanding. A very special thank-you to Charles Massey Jr., for his unrelenting encouragement and guidance. I am deeply grateful. 111 Vita 27 July 1964. Born Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, United Kingdom 1987. B.F.A. Fine Art Texas Christian University Fort Worth, Texas. Field of Study Major field: Art Studies: Printmaking IV Table of Contents Dedication . II Acknowledgments III Vita IV Table of Contents V List of Plates VI Bodies and Tools . 1 List of References 32 v List of Plates Plate I Flesh, Bone and Knife 23 Plate II Man Holding Spear 24 Plate III Spinning Top 25 Plate IV Fish 26 Plate V Woman Being Measured 27 Plate VI Wishing WelL 28 Plate VII Bone House 29 Plate VIII Food for Thought 30 Plate IX Before the Audience 31 vi Bodies and Tools "Things are not all so comprehensible and expressive as one would mostly have us believe; most events are inexpressible, taking place in a realm which no word has ever entered, and more inexpressible than all else are works of art, mysterious existence's, the life of which, while ours passes away, endures." Letters To A Young Poet Rainer Maria Rilke [1]. The desire to learn more about myself and the world in which I exist is the force that drives me to make art. I feel that my current work is an extension of myself and a culmination of all I have learned and experienced. I constantly find myself asking why I am so motivated to continue making art and where I am going with it. I acknowledge that the process of "making" remains important to me. I have a vocabulary of tools necessary to learn and create; therefore, I am sure that my work will change and continue to grow over the course of time. Making art for me is about discovering who I am in this world and translating those discoveries into art. When I first began making art, I was more interested in producing objects that I thought looked like "art". I had come from a background that equated art with objects which were well­ crafted. To me, art meant images or objects that were easily 1 2 recognized as being what they were supposed to be; an interpretation of these images required little mental effort. I felt confident in my technical ability to approach anything; however, I grew to realize that I was weak in the conceptual component of the work. I began to realize my work, although graphically pleasing, was not answering my needs regarding personal expression. I eventually discovered I could use historical images from the 1800's, and, through careful graphic juxtaposition and physical handling of certain materials, convey personal experiences and emotions which I desired to express. My drawings result from thoughtful examinations in response to events that have occurred in my life. This process allows me to take these personal experiences and express them in the form of images that I hope will have a wider emotional impact. Ideally, when I make my work, I think of each as a visual poem. My motivation for making art is a desire to express thoughts for which I find no verbal equivalent. I am striving towards developing and then communicating a unified personal philosophy concerning my evaluation of the human condition, my connection to it and the way it might best be communicated. As a woman, there have been incidents in my life where I have not been in control, either mentally or physically, of my feelings or my person. The issues with which I have found myself 3 dealing are: men as a' controlling force; threat and enticement; the vulnerability of the flesh; and our human mortality. I created this work as a means of working out these issues and communicating them to other people in the hopes that these personal experiences translate, through the process of art making, into images to which other people can respond in some manner and with some depth. While making these works, I sublimated specific experiences to allow me to surpass those events and then proceeded to use them to address broader issues and concerns. In retrospect, I feel that the first few pieces that I made using this source material were more morbid, aggressive, and perhaps particularly negative towards men when compared to the work that I am currently making. This is especially true with the works: "Flesh, Bone and Knife", (plate #1); "Man holding Spear", (plate #2); "Spinning Top", (plate #3) and "Fish", (plate #4). It is obvious to me now that they are a reflection of the negative frame of mind that I was in during that time. Making those works helped me escape that frame of mind and broaden my perspective. The piece, "Woman Being Measured", (plate #5), was the transitional piece which guided me away from this more limited attitude. My work is executed in a manner which questions preconceived notions of pain and beauty. Aspects of vulnerability are revealed in images of: medical procedures; objects that are 4 being aggressively handled; and animals that are being confined or manipulated. The representational images, appropriated from Victorian source material, are associated with such things as antiquity, nostalgia and beauty. They are a pre-made visual references to the Victorian concepts of sexuality and control which still affect our culture today. They refer to the process and history of printmaking as illustrations and can be used as a tool or means of communicating. A dialogue is created between the various layers of the constructed panels and the color, scale and juxtaposition of the particular images with their multiple meamngs. They are all connected, visual elements which add up to a complete piece when these forces come together. Making my work involves both physical and emotional activities. I begin by collecting a various selection of Victorian illustrations. I select images with which I identify and to which I instantly respond. This response is very intuitive. After spending time contemplating the images that I have chosen, an idea emerges. I use Victorian illustrations for many reasons. Initially, I was attracted. to this style of drawing because it was intricately rendered. These images speak of a kind of Protestant "art" work ethic; in other words: the more effort and time, the better the work. People accept Victorian illustrations or my rendering of them as an art statement because there is proof of artistic skill. It 5 IS obvious that a tremendous amount of care and time has gone into each drawing. I had been trying to escape this type of thinking for some time when I realized I could make use of it. I could create my statement by including these preconceptions about art. These preconceptions defined the symbols as important, and that is what I wanted them to be. .I use plywood as my surface for the work because I have always liked the tactile sensation that wood provides. It is a material with which I am both very familiar and confident as I have worked with it extensively in the past. It has a neutral, organic and sensual surface that I enjoy. The surface of plywood can be illusional, flat, acidic, sterile and sexy. The wood grain can be used to create an atmosphere or emotional environment. These characteristics refer to and enhance the images that I use. The illusion of depth is enhanced by the image printed or drawn on the surface of the wood. I deliberately use the surface, color, and grain of the wood as a lure into the content of the work. I enjoy the physical process of making an object, something that I can cut, sand, and drill. Also, the original manufacturing of plywood goes through many controlled stages: milling, cutting, pressure treating, heating and gluing. In effect, the plywood looks natural, but, in fact, it is a man-made material. I hand-work the wood and add primer in a way that achieves an aged, weathered effect which helps me to enhance the beauty of the wood and the 6 atmosphere for the image to be placed on it. After the wood is manipulated, it carries the illusion of space and refers to history or the passage of time. I use plywood instead of fine woods because plywood is a contemporary material. Plywood was not an available material in the 19th Century, and it is therefore obvious that this work could only have been made in the 20th Century. Plywood, as a material, is a reflection of our present culture. Essentially, I am creating a 20th Century artifact through using contemporary materials and combining them with appropriated images from the past. This, in turn, makes a statement about our present culture. By showing the "present" (plywood) with images of the past juxtaposed on its surface, I am reminding the viewer, once again, that our contemporary feelings about these issues (sexuality and control) have their roots in Victorian culture, a time which we associate with unusual, puritanical attitudes, neither progressive nor productive today.

Load more

  38

Copy Link