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THICKET a Thesis Submitted to the College of the Arts of Kent State

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THICKET a Thesis Submitted to the College of the Arts of Kent State THICKET 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 Katlyn Baird May 2021 Thesis written by Katlyn Baird B.F.A., Kent State University, 2015 M.F.A., Kent State University, 2021 Approved by ____________________________________________________ Isabel Farnsworth, M.F.A., Professor, Advisor ____________________________________________________ Marie Bukowski, 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 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..............................................................................................................v INTRODUCTION...…………………………………………………………….………….…….1 INSTALLATION AND MATERIALS …………………………………………………...…….3 ART AND ARTISTS INSPIRATION ……………………………………………………….....5 CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………………….6 APPENDIX A: FIGURES………………………………………………………………………8 BIBLIOGRAPHGY……………………………………………………………………………..15 iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Vinyl detail from installation ............................................................................................8 2. Image of Bernini’s’ Sculpture ...........................................................................................9 3. External View of Installation ...………………………………………………………….10 4. Image of Carved Figure of Daphne ...……………………...…………………………....11 5. Image of Plaster Animal from within the Installation .……..…………………………...12 6. Image of Vessel/Hive from within the Installation ...…………………………………....13 7. Image of 1 of the 4 Vitrines …………………………………………………………......14 iv ACKNOWLEGMENTS Where to begin? I thank my circle of friends and family for all the love, support, and for never giving up on me or my art, no matter how strange it gets. A special thanks my mom and dad, they may not understand everything I make but they always find ways to help with and love my art. The biggest thank you to my friends/models that let me do the craziest things and never shy away from helping me however they can, even when the projects keep getting bigger and weirder. Thank you to my advisor Professor Isabel Farnsworth for her constant understanding and assistance throughout my years in undergrad and now graduate school. I could never have driven myself to make the things I do without her guidance. I give thanks to my other committee members, Eli Kessler and Gianna Commito, they helped me to get out of my own head and to think of my work differently. I am so grateful for all of their input and understanding during this turbulent time in the world. As I look back at my time in the Studio Arts here at Kent State, I think of all the people I’ve met whether they be professors, peers, or students, I have learned so much from all of you. Even with the world as it is, we did not give up, we still found ways to create so I thank you all for that. v 1 INTRODUCTION Thicket, presented in the Crawford Gallery at Center for Visual Arts is an installation inspired by the story of Daphne from Greek Mythology. Myths and folklore from around the world have been the narrative inspiration and springboard for my sculptural work. I make the stories my own by looking at them from perspectives other than that of the main characters or original authors. Through a feminist perspective, I revision and re-interpret the narratives from the women in the stories’ perspective, most of their original writers were men and there is a very masculine tilt to almost every Greek myth. The story of Daphne for example is the story of a young nymph that was pursued by Apollo. As the god most associated with music, divination, healing, youth, and beauty, Apollo is very well known even in modern day culture. His name and his symbols are still used to this day by companies, artists, and events all over the world. In comparison, Daphne is barely a blip on the radar to most modern people though her story is how one of the most well known and most used symbols of Apollo came to be. As the story goes that upon seeing Daphne, Apollo became obsessed, and he pursued her. Now, in most Greek myths when the gods choose to go after a woman, they are either successful in their pursuit by finding a willing woman or the woman refuses and is then assaulted to satiate the gods’ lust. Daphne chose to run, she “fled like a hunted deer.”1 When Apollo chased her, she ran and when she was about to be captured, she was transfigured into a laurel tree to escape him. Depending on which version of the story you research, she was either changed with the last of her own power and energy or she begged for help from her father, Peneus who was a river god. 1 Berens, “Mythology: Who's Who in Greek and Roman Mythology,” (2015) 75 2 “Help me Peneus! Open the earth to enclose me, or change my form, which has brought me into this danger -Daphne”2 I included this quote in the exhibition as a wall text in vinyl as a way to clue to viewer into the narrative. [Fig 1] Now, you would think that becoming a literal tree would stop the attentions of a man or god, not Apollo. Instead of leaving Daphne (who again is now a tree) alone, he still obsessed over her and he took a branch and “crowned his head with its leaves.”3 This symbol is still very well-known and it is associated with Apollo to this day. It has always struck me how disturbing it is that even with her transformation Daphne was still perverted by Apollo, he still managed to claim a part of her, he even demanded that the laurel tree be a sacred symbol of his. I want to make the story about Daphne. This installation is a comment on her predicament, is she imprisoned or protected? Is her end state a sanctuary or a cage? She can never leave but she is protected from the sexual attentions of Apollo or any other man. With this piece and all of the elements within, I want the viewers to feel and question that contradiction. Are the vines entangling the plaster representation of Daphne in the installation there to protect or to keep her and the other small figures within trapped or conquered? Are the sculpted grapevine vessels’ coffins or cocoons? Are the vitrines’ scenes of doom or do they hint toward another emotion? I wanted the viewers to be conflicted with the emotions they might feel toward this piece. 2 Lai, Steven. “Important Quotations - Myths and Legends.” 3 Berens, (2015) 75 3 INSTALLATION AND MATERIALS The use of naturally found materials and materials made from or altered by natural materials was paramount for this installation. I used to always let the objects around me inform me on what story I would like to portray instead of trying to make the materials fit into the story. I was able to find one specific vine in the woods one day and that vine was the seed that brought the story of Daphne to my mind. I wanted to let these materials take the reins for this piece, to use me as a conduit to form them into the story. Since most of my materials are naturally found vines, bones, and preserved remains I had almost no control in how these materials came to be. I was able to manipulate them to a point but the vines could snap and break down over time and the remains had to be handled delicately or they would become unusable. The fact that I could not control everything in the creation of the installation made me realize that metaphysically and organically the materials directed the work and added a visceral energy. The majority of the installation is made from natural materials and materials found and harvested from the landscape. The vines were collected from various properties that are well known to me, most came from my own family’s property and others from the local parks I keep and tend to as a part of my job with the City of Kent Parks Service. The cotton cord and silk were dyed with walnut dye that I harvested and made myself, this dye was also used to tint and color the plaster forms. The plaster figurative elements were constructed from chicken wire, burlap, and molding plaster, and then formed and carved by hand. The small vitrines are custom cut acrylic boxes that hold different types of remains preserved in resin, which were also found and collected on my property. The harvesting and collecting many of the materials took a bulk of time for my thesis. Many of the materials had to be treated and manipulated after collection, the vines dry out very quickly after they are cut, so they had to be steamed in order to reshape and 4 use them in weavings. The walnut dye was made from gathered black walnuts. In order to make the dye, they were cracked and boiled to pull the dye from the pulp of the nut. The cotton and silk were soaked with this dye before they were added to the vessels, and then sprayed again with the dye once completed. The actual vine enclosure can be read as a contrasted structure, is it the prison or sanctuary for Daphne and the faunal figures within? [Fig 3] The vines themselves are an invasive species of Wild Grape that climb, choke out, and eventually kill the trees they over take in order to survive. After they over take an area, they can provide excellent hiding places and homes for animals in the wild. The contradiction, as both something destruction and something nurturing could inform the viewers feelings toward seeing how they are reused for the purpose of the installation. The figure of Daphne was formed from wire, covered in burlap, and then layers and shapes were built up of plaster to make her form.
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