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PARASITES PREDATORS and SYMBIONTS a Thesis Submitted To PARASITES PREDATORS AND SYMBIONTS A thesis submitted to the College of the Arts of Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts By Jody L. Vankeuren May 2021 Thesis written by Jody L. Vankeuren B.F.A., Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, 2018 M.F.A., Kent State University, 2021 Approved by Andrew Kuebeck, M.F.A., Advisor Marie Buukowski, M.F.A., Director, School of Art John R. Crawford- Spinelli, Ed.D., Dean, College of the Arts TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................................................................... IV AKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................................................. V CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................. 1 2. RESEARCH ............................................................................................................................................................. 1 3. PARASITES PREDATORS AND SYMBIONTS- INDIVIDUAL WORKS ............................................. 4 4. INSTALATION ...................................................................................................................................................... 8 5. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................................ 9 FIGURES ........................................................................................................................................................................... 10 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................................. 28 iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page Art Smith. “Patina” Necklace .................................................................................................... 10 Bruno Martinazzi. ‘Goldfinger’ Bracelet .............................................................................. 11 Susanna Heron. Cardboard Spiral .......................................................................................... 12 Fecundity Detail View I ................................................................................................................ 13 Metabiosis .......................................................................................................................................... 14 Metabiosis Detail View ............................................................................................................. 15 Endoparasitism ............................................................................................................................... 16 Endoparasitism Detail View ................................................................................................... 17 Ela Bauer. Ring ................................................................................................................................ 18 Elizabeth Galton. Orchid Gem for Swarovski Runway Rocks ...................................... 19 Phoresis ............................................................................................................................................... 20 Phoresis Detail View ................................................................................................................. 21 Adam PaXon. Brooch with Four Eyes II ................................................................................ 22 Fecundity ............................................................................................................................................ 23 Fecundity Detail View II ........................................................................................................... 24 Parasites Predators and Symbionts Installation View ................................................ 25 Fecundity Installation View ................................................................................................... 26 Phoresis Installation View .................................................................................................... 27 iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Andrew Kuebeck for his leadership and teaching. For the advice that encouraged me to push beyond my boundaries. I have learned so much from much time here. Thank you to my undergrad teachers Cappy Counard and Sue Amendolara for the introduction into this field. The passion you share for this field reinforced my convictions to go to Grad school. It is your example that I strive to emulate with my own students. Thank you to Debra Eck who encouraged and nurtured my exploration of the sculptural arts. Thank you to my partner, Christopher Sampson, for your continued support. You have been my voice of reason and my rock through these past two years. Thank you to my mother, Rebecca Vankeuren. You fostered my love of art at a young age and continue to cheer me on as I pursue my education. Your positivity and uplifting spirit have guided me along this journey. To Kelsie and Colleen Breads. You guys have been there from the beginning of this journey. Thank you for always being there and thank you for helping me set up my thesis. Thank you to the Sampson family for accepting me into the family and making me feel like I truly belong. Thank you to my studio mate Maria Camera-Smith for being there through the thick of this journey. I have learned so much from you and continue to be inspired by the perspective you have brought over these past two years. To the rest of the people, I have not mentioned, thank you as well. My time here at Kent State has been valuable and I feel that I have grown not only as an artist but as a person. Thank you. v 1 I. INTRODUCTION The complexities of interpersonal relationships between organisms in an environment are endlessly varied. These relationships can be mutually beneficial like the symbiotic symbiosis between algae and coral, or they can be harmful like the unwilling connection of a parasite to its host. This body of work explores these relationships as metaphors for the cyclical nature of human conflict, in the form of large-scale wearables. My thesis, Parasites Predators and Symbionts, consists of four wearable pieces. In certain pieces the brutality of nature asserts dominance over these organisms and they in turn become parasites themselves. In some of the pieces, the cycle continues in the form of reproduction and dispersal; still others represent the moments of stasis in which neither organism holds dominion over the other. II. RESEARCH Prior to this body of work, I was primarily making small self-contained jewelry pieces which I would have at one time referred to as wearable sculptures. I had felt that in order to be considered art, jewelry had to function apart from the body as an independent sculpture. While reading Glen Adamson’s book Thinking Through Craft, this view was challenged and ultimately adapted. In his section of the book on supplemental crafts he discusses the work of Art Smith and how, “his compositions must be activated through the act of wearing.” 1Off the body Smith’s pieces are unwieldy conglomerations of metal with little to no structure.2 His pieces require exhibition on the body in order for their forms to be understood. After being exposed to his work I became interested in this idea of jewelry pieces that were completed by the body. This became integral to my design process. I started thinking critically about using the body as a form from 1 Adamson, Thinking Through Craft, 25. 2 Fig. 1. 2 which to build the design of the jewelry piece from. The human form became a kind of scaffolding from which the jewelry would be constructed. Part of my design process is material based research and experimentation. In Obscure Objects of Desire: Surrealism, Fetishism, and Politics Johanna Malt describes the ambiguous category of matter represented by fur, feathers, and hair. She states these types of matter are, “ as close to live flesh as matter can come. They are of the body but not of the flesh.” She goes on to explain these types of matter have been, “robbed of their association with life,” having been, “removed for the body out of which they grew.” However they, “remain as charge relics of that presence.”3 This manner of thinking led me to embrace materials that could represent the ambiguous category of matter that Malt defines. In my work wool and silk are included in this category of materials that bring to mind the absence of life yet also bring a charged presence to the piece. Wool is harvested from a still living animal. If properly done the animal is unharmed, yet while working with the wool I felt this presence that Malt describes. The raw wool roving contained sticks and leaves and coarse hairs. While working with the wool, it was impossible to forget that this material came from an animal. Silk is harvested from the cocoon of the silkworm. In the process the worms are killed. The experience of working with delicate silk chiffon is far removed from the experience of working with raw wool roving. In this case the material is refined and does not hold such obvious traces of the animal that created it. Although the wool roving feels charged while working with it, I have noticed that this
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