Desiring Intersubjective Unity

Date of Award

2008

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Anderson, Kim

Keywords

Swimmers, Art, Self, Other

Area of Concentration

Art

Abstract

The goal of this thesis is to investigate the desire to connect to something outside of the self. While traditional religions sometimes fulfill this desire, the artwork in this thesis attempts to visually respond to more contemporary themes of disbelief in meaning and order. Through paintings of swimmers dissolving in water, screenprints of individuals within a collective, and sculptures that explore the function of community, the work explores the desire to escape one�s limiting subjectivity. While the art depicts possible solutions to man�s inherent separateness, it also demonstrates the individual�s resistance to complete absorption of the self. In the paper, this is the discussed as nihilism or a disbelief in religion or meaning in the world. In the work, this is represented by dissolution of the physical body. Tension between figure and ground is used in the work to represent the predicament of desiring both individual distinction and union with something other than the self. Using different processes and mediums to depict both resignation and resistance to a unity outside of the self, I eventually aim to create images which capture both. Prints and paintings of synchronized swimmers depict individuals yielding to each other, yet they are relying on each other to construct a new order. Instead of searching for a personal grasp on meaning, I hope to show how a reliance on community to ground oneself back into the world inspires the individual to discover a stability of existence through brotherhood.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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