COLLECTION NAME:
Undergraduate Thesis Collection
Record
Title:
Democracy of Pain: The Radical Grotesque in the Art of Judith Mason
Creator:
Baloi, Tiva
Subject:
Thesis (B.F.A.) -- Art History
Subject:
Savannah College of Art and Design -- Department of Art History
Rights:
Copyright is retained by the authors or artists of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Abstract:
"The work of South African artist Judith Mason (1938–2016) can be categorized within the aesthetic realm of the grotesque. However, Mason's images subvert many of the modern grotesque's conceptual conventions. Manifestations of the grotesque in modern art have been characterized by a narrative of difference. What sets Mason's work apart from this grotesque standard is the fact that her art reveals the universality in all beings, as opposed to our differences. Surveying a selection of Mason's art provides insights into how the grotesque can be used to bridge seemingly irreconcilable aspects of our world— literally within the confines of art itself, and philosophically across the boundaries of social stratification in our lives. Devoted specifically to the grotesque imagery in Mason's oeuvre, this thesis offers a new way to observe and understand grotesque art as a means for extending solidarity beyond the socially constructed stratums that separate us. Drawing from aesthetic and feminist theory, and through research conducted with access to Mason's archives, close formal and critical analysis of primary source material, as well as correspondence with the artist's family, this thesis will shed new light on Mason's legacy, and attempt to fill the void in the scholarship concerning the contemporary, radical grotesque." -- Abstract
Publisher:
Savannah, Georgia: Savannah College of Art and Design
Date:
2021-10
Format:
1 online resource: 1 PDF (Thesis, 70 pages, color illustrations)