Date of Award

5-2016

Document Type

Thesis

College

College of Visual and Performing Arts

Degree Program

Fine Arts

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts

Thesis Advisor

Dr. Maria Clara Paulino

Committee Member

Shaun Cassidy

Committee Member

Dr. Laura Dufresne

Keywords

Carriage, Coach, Sculpture, Dolorosa, Cinderella, 3-D collage

Committee Member

Alfred Ward

Abstract

This thesis statement accompanies my MFA project entitled Vita via Dolorosa, which features a glass and steel horse-drawn carriage sculpture that metaphorically depicts a woman’s journey through life, from childhood to death. Supporting the carriage, which is the primary sculpture in this exhibit, is a performance piece that addresses the transformation of this woman by means of sculpture, music and drama. This largely autobiographical multidisciplinary exhibit uses the metaphor to explore the passage of time symbolically through the dark, aged-color palette, the iconic imagery, and the combination of animate and inanimate sculptural resources such as horses, steel and glass.

In this thesis statement, the thesis is discussed from the point of view of its theme, which is an inversion of the classic Cinderella story; of its style, which shows a strong influence of the style and design from the Rococo period. The conceptual frame and final product is influenced by Post-modern ideas and artists like Louise Bourgeois and Renee Stout.

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