Date of Graduation

5-2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts in Art (MFA)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Art

Advisor/Mentor

Sean P. Morrissey

Committee Member

Rebecca Ann Drolen

Second Committee Member

Janine A. Sytsma

Third Committee Member

Jeannie Hulen

Keywords

activism, art, feminism, printmaking

Abstract

Synthesizing personal narrative, sociological phenomenon, and art historical analysis, Turning Tides examines the relationship between power dynamics and sexual assault. Inequities and injustices with regard to the handling of sexual assault, and the norms that allow this issue to be pervasive, are woven throughout the cultural fabric of the United States. Feminists and feminist activist artists in the 1970s brought the matters women, and other marginalized groups, were facing to the forefront of political and social dialogue. The resulting work left an indelible mark on public perceptions and allowed for other activists and artists to build upon the foundations; creating their own work and spaces from which to further examine, and to a degree ameliorate in some capacity, topics of concern. Using selected methods and practices of printmaking, papermaking, sewing, embroidery, painting, and digital image manipulations served as points of investigation into the vast and interconnected facets concerning the societal landscape affected by sexual assault, harassment, and interpersonal imbalances of power that allow for these circumstances to perpetuate themselves.

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