Date of Graduation

5-2017

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts in Art (MFA)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Art

Advisor/Mentor

DeWitt, Dylan J.

Committee Member

Musgnug, Kristin A.

Second Committee Member

Jacobs, Lynn F.

Third Committee Member

Chioffi, David C.

Fourth Committee Member

Morrissey, Sean P.

Keywords

Cartography; Drawing; Painting

Abstract

Off the Grid explores the messy relationship between public and private perceptions of our urban spaces, especially the tensions created when lived experience runs up against the physical and conceptual networks of cities: street grids, construction tape, and property lines. Incorporating different modes of spatial representation, from cartographic diagrams to isometric illustrations and Renaissance perspectives, this exhibition examines the role drawing plays in how we conceptualize the divisions and definitions of everyday space. The drawings engage the often overlooked detritus of city life, from layers of old graffiti to overgrown dirt piles and unmoored electrical wiring, that complicate our understanding of how urban space is actually used. Drawn from the spaces surrounding the artist’s daily routine, Off the Grid investigates the potential of a subjective cartography to tell a more complete story about the places we inhabit.

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