Microcosmical
Issue Date
2012-05-31Author
Hoffman, Nathan
Publisher
University of Kansas
Format
25 pages
Type
Thesis
Degree Level
M.F.A.
Discipline
Visual Art
Rights
This item is protected by copyright and unless otherwise specified the copyright of this thesis/dissertation is held by the author.
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Show full item recordAbstract
There comes a point where I feel too comfortable in my surroundings, where I know what's around the corner at my every turn. I become paralyzed in monotony. I feel the need to travel to a foreign place and become lost in exoticism in order to rediscover my inspirations and self. In the past few years I have taken trips to specific places that put me under a kind of spell where I feel adrift in another world, where time and reality are transformed. Doing so awakens my spirit that yearns to travel and explore, to experience something new, strange and beautiful. I feel a revival of the self. Microcosmical is an attempt to create an exotic fantastical enigmatic landscape that allows the viewer to leave behind the routine of everyday life and be lost in the moment. The installation consists of seven tubular shapes that resemble various parts of the human anatomy, along with numerous tiny barnacle and starfish-like pieces that inhabit the space from floor to ceiling. Sounds, smells, fog, and colored lights are also utilized to enrich the environment of the gallery. The installation provides a place of wonder and awe, life, death, and disease. I want my viewer to be taken to a place of uncertainty where their curiosity enables them to make connections between the pieces and their own lives. When the viewer leaves the installation they will reenter the everyday world, but will take with them an experience out of the mundane.
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- School of the Arts Dissertations and Theses [143]
- Theses [3901]
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