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Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation

Citations

Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/mc87pr315

Abstract

The work in my thesis exhibition reflects my own musings about concepts such as domesticity and the miniature. Traditionally, the miniature or the dollhouse was a manipulation of surroundings; a suspension of real time. The idea behind these tiny versions of real objects grew from the need to have control over one's estate and, for those less wealthy, a way to own something by proxy. They also have everything to do with desire and perfection. Something obsessive but also eerie exists in a house made for the intent of voyeurism. Dollhouses did not evolve simply for the pleasure of collecting, they served as a catalyst for the owner's fantasies. In the dollhouse one can become a millionaire or a pioneer.

My visual vocabulary also challenges assumptions of taste and beauty. Paintings are supposed to be revered for quality, and yet my paintings use the same adornment as sequin calendars which do not last very long because of their non-archival materials. Ideas of taste and beauty begin with the home which is another reason why I chose to paint interiors. Craft materials beckon to the middle class woman who paints on sweatshirts to make them beautiful. The materials I use are from the everyday and so are the subjects I paint, but I wish to make them special in the same way we make our homes special by decorating them.

Creator

Date Issued

Additional Information

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Academic Affiliation