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ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Questioning the Object

Woods, Melissa Marie
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1343738738

Abstract Details

2012, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, Art.
The work discussed in this thesis begins with the amassing of found materials and objects that typically relate to the man-made environment. Happenstance plays a part in the choosing of materials and out of this contingency, abstract relationships are cultivated. The work is held within the schema set by the materials and the relationship between them. The schema is a framework where the predisposed characteristics of the material (what it is, its use), impression (its surrounding, meaning, cultural, social) and concept (an abstract idea of the thing) meet. The schema begins with questioning the object or material. Through this inquiry of the object, relational and concrete questions swell the schema with mass and density. Working through the schema divulges what is abstruse and unknown. It is through the dimension of the schema that the work navigates. The methods and gestures frequently utilized to negotiate the schema are categorized as: accretion (assemblage), containment (being held and breaking loose), separation (creating shifts) and reset (questioning the finality of the object). These foundational gestures mutate the traits and functions of the materials and their relationships. The elements are contained together, combined and affixed, but the work also moves against this containment. Through the conflicts produced between the fixed elements, there is a pushing through of the materials, expelling them out of their static place. The gesture in the work is more connected to the subjective rather than the objective ¬¬– the hand’s reaction to the material. These responses are held in the schema, directed by it, but the body is also present. This working methodology requires a paced and observational rigor in order to search for each relationship’s articulation through the schema and through the hand. The works take the form of installations, objects, site-specific works, drawings, and prints, with the materials directing the classification of the work. These materials often return back to raw material after the work is completed, falling back into the rummage pile of the studio. This temporal quality of the work causes the exhibition to become a liminal place. It is in the space the final reset for the work occurs.
Soave Sergio (Committee Chair)
Ann Hamilton (Committee Member)
Michael Mercil (Committee Member)
46 p.
Fine Arts
making; art; art practice; chance; materials; artist; quilt; schema; melissa vogley woods; house; body; gesture; found; found object;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Woods, M. M. (2012). Questioning the Object [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1343738738

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Woods, Melissa. Questioning the Object. 2012. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1343738738.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Woods, Melissa. "Questioning the Object." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1343738738

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1343738738
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© 2012, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.