Abstract
YOU! ME! DANCING! is a 3-piece photo installation consisting of photographs of myself and the Rochester area furry community. YOU! contains 145 medium format slides across two light panels exploring my relation to the masculine aspects of the Furry Fandom through staged studio portraits, intimate looks into furries in their natural habitats, and moments from local meetups. ME! uses large format sheet film layered in acrylic to highlight the change of character of wearing a fursuit, featuring my own custom fursuit. Lastly, DANCING!, is a visually inaccessible 80 image slideshow in which the pace and interval timed start of the slideshow makes the piece less about the individual image, but rather simulates the rush of new experiences I’ve experienced in the last two years. The work as a whole is a response to my own family archive dating back to the 1920's that I recently scanned and organized, finding many familiar faces but not the supportive community I was hoping for. Through the use of lightboxes, a slide projector, and physical media, I have now amassed a new found family archive more centered on community, acceptance, and creative self-expression.
Library of Congress Subject Headings
Furry fandom (Subculture)--New York (State)--Rochester--Pictorial works; Furries--Portraits; Documentary photography--New York (State)--Rochester; Archives in art
Publication Date
4-30-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Student Type
Graduate
Degree Name
Photography and Related Media (MFA)
Department, Program, or Center
Photographic Arts and Sciences, School of
College
College of Art and Design
Advisor
Joshua Thorson
Advisor/Committee Member
Gregory Hayes
Recommended Citation
Ickler, Aaron, "YOU! ME! DANCING!" (2025). Thesis. Rochester Institute of Technology. Accessed from
https://repository.rit.edu/theses/12119
Campus
RIT – Main Campus
Plan Codes
IMGART-MFA