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Transitory Ephemera

Masley, Jennifer Irene

Abstract Details

2021, MFA, Kent State University, College of the Arts / School of Art.
In my work I am interested in how objects capture a sense of ownership and record memory to be a conduit to share my experiences with the external world. Drywall, foam, carpet and other materials associated with the domestic space reference a location that continues to collect residue of change as generations shift over time. Mass produced and fabricated objects collect a sense of history with use that become nuanced from person to person. Experiences are often built with a physical interaction with a person, place or thing. Through the creation of my sculptures, there is a tangible transfer of experience or action into an object. Through looking and seeing formal relationships in my work, I build meaning in a way that has similarities to the experience of reconstructing a personal memory. My sculpture acts as containers for memory metaphorically and physically. This is often emphasized with the use of items like bags, shelves, and boxes that hold and carry things we find important. There is a tension between the archival materials like ceramics and plastic and the temporal objects like food, or the inclusion of dead bugs that touch on a sense of loss. The erasure of color, or the evidence of use in a plastic bag or a scuffed board provide a notion of a hand that has interacted with the objects and is now absent. The perceived sentimentality or potential ephemerality of an object limits your access to only looking at the work. This precarious sensibility in my work attempts to form relationships between the things we have an understood history through touch and the objects we may have not be allowed to touch growing up.The irreverent handling and placements of objects pay attention to the rough, unrefined qualities of reality and the clearity we gain as adults through the loss of innocence and gained wisdom. Ultimately my work is a vehicle of reflection of my own past experiences. By seeing them through a new lens, it allows me to dissect and share experiences of what it means to be human.
Peter Johnson (Advisor)
Davin Ebanks (Committee Member)
Shawn Powell (Committee Member)
25 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Masley, J. I. (2021). Transitory Ephemera [Master's thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1619444631965175

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Masley, Jennifer. Transitory Ephemera. 2021. Kent State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1619444631965175.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Masley, Jennifer. "Transitory Ephemera." Master's thesis, Kent State University, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1619444631965175

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)