Date of Award
2016
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Humanities
First Advisor
Anderson, Kim
Area of Concentration
Art
Abstract
The romantic tradition in Western art finds expression throughout history, and with each successive generation of romantically-‐inclined artists, the philosophy itself has shifted and expanded. Rather than a single style or concept, then, romanticism can be thought of as a type of artistic agency, a way of making and viewing art rooted in complex and visceral emotions. This art thesis is an interdisciplinary project, grounded in the historical development of romantic thought and Gaston Bachelard's "Poetics of Reverie." By embracing the immediacy of drawing in tandem with the experiential potential of scale and interactivity in installation, my work aims to transmit the wonderment and melancholy of reveries towards the small and mundane, and inspire those of the audience. In doing so, the work is designed to speak more generally to the value of romantic agency in contemporary art and of reverie as a life-‐affirming practice, particularly in a society stuck in the dehumanizing cycle of production, consumption, and cynicism.
Recommended Citation
Drew, Meris, "NO LESS SUBLIME: REVERIE, ROMANTIC AGENCY, AND THE TINY" (2016). Theses & ETDs. 5195.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/5195