Award Date
8-1-2017
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
Art
First Committee Member
Dave Rowe
Second Committee Member
Catherine Angel
Third Committee Member
Susanna Newbury
Fourth Committee Member
Shai Yeshayahu
Number of Pages
41
Abstract
Object Language
In the current era we in the Western, developed world, have almost universal free and uninhibited access to almost every piece of information in existence. Increasingly, regardless of the source, material presented to us as fact has become increasingly suspect. Together, these two things mean this endless stream of data is useless. The question is how to combat this decline, how to reverse the process of a meaningless, constant data-dump. The answer lies in the language used to communicate information. Language is the means by which we communicate complex ideas and knowledge from person to person. Language is something ubiquitous in our society, we see it, we hear it, it is so constant we do not even consider it as a part of the concepts it is used to convey. Altering language is one of the subtlest ways that information can still be obfuscated.
Sculpture has the capability to reframe its own context. This is the great privilege evidenced numerous times by such works as Duchamp’s Fountain and enumerated by prominent art historians. Transforming something into sculpture implies that the purpose of the work is, at least in part, to reframe the subject matter of the piece. Translating language into sculpture is an effort to reframe this system. The process takes that which is recognizable and readily consumable and obfuscates it, putting barriers between us, the reader, and the idea expressed. That which is freely given is valueless, easily discarded, and ignored. By transforming the content into sculpture the idea is elevated, made enigmatic, even esoteric. The ideas in the context of this show are not freely given. They have been rendered inaccessible and there must be effort expended to understand the message. These ideas must be earned. This makes them more valuable and much harder to ignore or discard.
Information is the most powerful tool we have, its possession saves us from the mistakes of the past, it is what guides us through our present, and it is what ensures our future. When information becomes valueless it is altogether too easy for it to be taken away; we lose the most important tool we have in self determination.
The supplemental images are of the art exhibition entitled Object Language, produced by the artist, that this thesis is a companion to.
Keywords
Art Theory; Medium Specificity; Sculpture
Disciplines
Art and Design | History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology | Theory and Criticism
File Format
Degree Grantor
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Language
English
Repository Citation
Celia-Zoellner, Thaddeus Barak Moore, "Object Language/On Defining Sculpture" (2017). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 3073.
http://dx.doi.org/10.34917/11156713
Rights
IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/