COLLECTION NAME:
Undergraduate Thesis Collection
Record
Title:
Ellsworth Kelly's Austin: Abstracting the Body and Spirit
Creator:
Bramblett, Kristin M.
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 spiritual quality in Ellsworth Kelly's oeuvre has long been overlooked. Therefore, the introduction of his Austin chapel warrants a closer look at his use of abstracted religious and art historical motifs, which reveal metaphysical perceptions of the body as a vessel for transcendence. Although Kelly was not religious in the traditional sense, and Austin is a nondenominational space, there is a surprising lack of conversation surrounding the layers of spiritual presence imbued into this legacy project. While his widespread reputation is defined by exacting use of line, color, and form, Kelly also describes a deep reverence for the intimate aesthetic experience he calls 'the rapture of seeing.' Interviews with the artist, and previous scholarship, reveal Kelly's ongoing interest in religious typologies and the concept of aesthetic, spiritual essence that can be traced in retrospect to his early career. This thesis will consider Austin's features through a spiritual lens, which ultimately leads to a sensually guided interpretation of the space and the interior artworks. Kelly's use of traditional iconography suggests a metaphysical phenomenon that centers the body as both an extension of nature and a vessel for a spiritually transcendent experience." -- Abstract
Publisher:
Savannah, Georgia: Savannah College of Art and Design
Date:
2021-03
Format:
1 online resource: 1 PDF (Thesis, 96 pages, color illustrations)