Abstract

Critical Action is an examination of pluralism in how artworks are judged. As artworks are often equivocal, so too are our beliefs about them. I claim that because of varying levels of knowledge, experiences, tastes, or other biases, an artwork exists in as many contexts as it has viewers. In order to better identify the ways that judgements are formed, I made a series of self portraits and performed a transforming action on each of them. Each action is designed to critique a perceived quality in or adjacent to the work. The portraits are pushed into new modes of understanding

This document explains my own preferences about art. It claims that there are unique beliefs about what qualities are good or bad, and that these beliefs are informed by a wide range of experiences well outside of the artwork itself. My own influences are explored; social anxiety and clinical depression, my love of underground music, and my desire to be unique from my peers have all affected the ways I think about art.

The work in Critical Action is intentionally pluralistic and will be understood in multiple modes. It acts as my proxy, so I can embody my beliefs and be the subject of them. By reacting to and making judgements about my proxied self, the audience participates in completing the work. My aesthetic values become a sort of currency, a statement of my own worth as artist and person.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Art criticism; Aesthetics; Self portraits

Publication Date

12-3-2015

Document Type

Thesis

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Fine Arts Studio (MFA)

Department, Program, or Center

School of Art (CIAS)

Advisor

Elizabeth Kronfield

Advisor/Committee Member

Eileen Feeney-Bushnell

Advisor/Committee Member

Robin Cass

Comments

Physical copy available from RIT's Wallace Library at N7475 .D43 2015

2015 Outstanding MFA Thesis Award Honorable Mention

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

Plan Codes

FNAS-MFA

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