Date of Graduation

5-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts in Art (MFA)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Art

Advisor/Mentor

Zora Murff

Committee Member

David Andree

Second Committee Member

Kara Andree

Third Committee Member

Sam King

Fourth Committee Member

Kristin Musgnug

Keywords

Black Experience, Blackness, Existing in Black, Institutional Critiques, Masculinity, Painting

Abstract

“Invisible Until” explores my personal experiences while working full time at Tyson Foods in Pine Bluff, AR up until moving to Fayetteville for graduate school. The body of artwork comes from reflecting on past a present while drawing from inspiration from Jacob Lawrence, Kerry James Marshall, Jordan Casteel, and more. Using history as a tool to break down the American struggle I used conversations amongst my high school classmates to pull from their direct experiences to convey life and what it means to come from Pine Bluff. By using real people and their life events of trying to achieve progress, I am able to question notions of what is means to be a man in the 21st century, the idea and the importance of community, and to ask, is the American Dream possible for everyone, or is it only accessible to certain groups of people?

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