Abstract

No memory is eternal, no nostalgic experience is entirely authentic. This mantra is the catalyst for my thesis work, propelling the hunt for truth within my mind. I search through dissolving recollections and misplaced emotion in order to obtain some semblance of my life and how I feel about such experiences. While acknowledging my childhood, GenZ zeitgeist, metaphor, and surrealism through the ages, I strive to represent these findings in my large scale oil paintings. I refer to Fauves, surrealists, and landscape painters, among others to assist in my quest for personal truth. My paintings exist in the context of my rural, early 2000s childhood and the expectations, aesthetics and experiences that occurred there. My explorations of texture and color in paint emulate the lure of nostalgia and its fabricated depictions.

Publication Date

4-30-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Fine Arts Studio (MFA)

Department, Program, or Center

Art, School of

College

College of Art and Design

Advisor

Denton Crawford

Advisor/Committee Member

Clifford Wun

Advisor/Committee Member

Amy McLaren

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

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