This Is My Body

Reid, Milo

Savannah, Georgia: Savannah College of Art and Design (Atlanta)

2016-05

Thesis (M.F.A.) -- Printmaking

Savannah College of Art and Design -- Department of Printmaking

Works cited: pages 49-50.

"In the body of work that comprises my thesis, I explore the ways in which individuals gain or lose agency in the context of religious worship via physical representations of holiness and salvation. Numerous printmaking techniques including wood block relief, screen print, letterpress, and photo gravure are used to create new renderings of Christian kitsch imagery. The work investigates the human drive to distill complicated abstract concepts into tangible ephemera for the purpose of forging a more concrete connection with the divine. Special emphasis is placed upon the act of communion, whose metaphoric nature – the process of consumption in particular – is illustrated as being emblematic of the function of religious kitsch as a whole. The simplicity of the saccharine mythos wrought by kitsch is contrasted with the complex realities it fails to portray and the faith it often cannot sustain, creating a sense of cognitive dissonance that is simultaneously humorous and tragic. This paper begins with an examination of what kitsch is, how it functions, and why people are attracted to it. Often drawing upon my own experiences with religious faith, I then make an inquiry into what role kitsch objects can play in the context of Christian worship. A recurring theme emerges of the concept of looking 'at' an image to see its actual content, versus looking 'through' an image to what it represents. The liminal space created in between these two acts is where I situate my body of work."

Keywords: Christianity, Communion, consumption, Eucharist, Jesus, kitsch, printmaking, relief printing, religion, screen printing

CHAIR: Brown, Robert

Lollis, Cynthia

Rodecker, Paul

English

Printmaking

Text

PDF : 50 pages, color illustrations

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