Abstract

My thesis is an exploration of my dual desires of creation/destruction and manipulation/transformation as realized through the remediation of botanical specimens gathered from my domestic environment and transformed into works of art. Each image questions and presents an understanding of the history of botanical representation, within Western art history, as symbols of nature and femininity and the domestic skill of needlework, a traditional skill learned by women as part of the feminine. I created a conceptual dialogue with those who preceded me, intrinsically linking the acts of sewing and botany as re-interpreted feminist acts. In this work, I attempt to reveal connections between the physical transformation of the plants and the historical bind of femininity. Thread is utilized symbolically to represent the weight and impact of the history of women.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Photography of plants; Photography, Artistic--Themes, motives; Feminism in art; Needlework in art

Publication Date

11-1-2008

Document Type

Thesis

Department, Program, or Center

School of Photographic Arts and Sciences (CIAS)

Advisor

Mulligan, Therese

Advisor/Committee Member

O’Neil, Elaine

Comments

Note: imported from RIT’s Digital Media Library running on DSpace to RIT Scholar Works. Physical copy available through RIT's The Wallace Library at: TR724 .W45 2008

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

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