Date of Graduation
5-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts in Art (MFA)
Degree Level
Graduate
Department
Art
Advisor/Mentor
Neil Callander
Committee Member
Sam King
Second Committee Member
Loring Taoka
Third Committee Member
Rana Young
Keywords
BDSM, David Cronenberg, eroticism, painting, queer art, sexuality
Abstract
There are ghosts in the machine is a body of paintings that dare to dissolve the boundaries between my physical body, intimate desires, and paintings. Utilizing the aesthetics of leather lifestyles, the paintings express the transformational potential of desire and transgression. Oriented within my experience as a queer, transgender male, I call upon influences that range from the body horror classics by director David Cronenberg or the transgressive attitude of Nine Inch Nails, to theoretical works on the power of eroticism by Audre Lorde and Georges Bataille.Modified by hardware such as chains, zippers, and grommets, the paintings express the transformational potential of material embodiment. The materiality and physicality of paint are emphasized within the work to provoke a proprioceptive experience within the viewer. As objects of radical difference, they conflate desire, the body, performance, and identity.
Citation
Green, J. (2022). There are ghosts in the machine. Graduate Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/4445
Included in
Fine Arts Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Interactive Arts Commons, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons, Painting Commons