Date of Award
5-12-2024
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
Studio Arts
Advisor(s)
Margie Hughto
Keywords
Ceramic art;Ceramic sculpture;Fine arts;Meditation;Natural landscape;Studio practice
Subject Categories
Arts and Humanities | Fine Arts
Abstract
When I was a child, I grew up in a world without time – I was able to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. But, as I grew older, my life became dominated by the clock. Later in my life, I was introduced to Buddhism, and through the development of the practice of meditation, I was able to regain a sense of timelessness. A short time later, when visiting natural caves, I discovered timelessness in these spaces. The random structure, the tunnels, and the surface textures inspired me to invoke the idea of caves as a metaphor for my sculptures. As I progressed with my art, and specifically with the generation of ceramic sculptures, I realized my art was evolving through meditation, and my studio practice was allowing me to separate myself from time. In essence, working with clay was my meditative practice and, as such, separated from time, allowing my sculptures to become free-form, and less illustrative or representative of cave-like structures, and more of a celebration of nature. My thesis is about how my work evolved timelessness through sculptural works and how Chris Gustin, Eva Hild, Yung-hsu Hsu, and Beth Darry influenced me in different stages of my art practice and allowed me to experiment with other sculptural forms and possibilities. In addition, ceramic sculptor Yung-hsu Hsu’s philosophies of making work speak directly to me, to my art, and to the concept of timelessness in the studio practice. Ultimately, the ability to separate time from my studio practice, through meditation, led me to the development of my thesis work: A Space without Time.
Access
Open Access
Recommended Citation
Kerr, Grace C., "A Space Without Time" (2024). Theses - ALL. 819.
https://surface.syr.edu/thesis/819
