Term of Award
Fall 2017
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.)
Document Type and Release Option
Thesis (open access)
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Department
Department of Art
Committee Chair
Elsie Taliaferro Hill
Committee Member 1
Kelly Boehmer
Committee Member 2
Jason Hoelscher
Abstract
The goal of this work is to explore my painting of nature in our contemporary time, considering the current geological epoch termed the Anthropocene, an era I think of as postnatural. Neon Nature is a collection of portraits of hypernatural creatures I call “pseudo-specimens”. These pseudo-specimens symbolize hypernature, which describes manufactured nature as better than authentic nature. These specimens are painted in vanitas-inspired still life scenes to act as a reminder of our changing nature, or new-nature.
Influenced by living in suburbia where nature is manicured and controlled, I am interested in the divide between the “born” and the “made,” the natural versus artificial, and the human urge to manipulate and control nature. I believe depictions of nature in contemporary art must reflect the new nature of the Anthropocene, or hypernature, where we now question what is truly “natural.” I paint these fictitious creatures to slow down and study my conflicted feelings on the current state of nature, and to create contemporary vanitas that serve to remind the viewer of our new, hypernatural nature.
Recommended Citation
McManus, Jessamy G. Ms., "Neon Nature" (2017). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1676.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1676
Research Data and Supplementary Material
No
