Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

5-2022

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

M.F.A.

Department

Studio Arts

Degree Program

Studio Art and Design, MFA

Committee Chair

Chan, Ying Kit

Committee Co-Chair (if applicable)

Singel, Rachel

Committee Member

Singel, Rachel

Committee Member

Logan, Mawuena Kossi

Author's Keywords

spatial rhetoric; pandemic; art; found object; systems; games

Abstract

This exhibition and document explore spatial rhetoric during the pandemic, utilizing materiality and relational aesthetics to reflect on the different ways in which the public and private are made distinct from one another. In doing so, Lewis addresses new cultural navigations of shared spaces, both digital and corporeal, public and private. In addition, the artist also examines the faulty social and institutional systems that the pandemic brought to light, such as socioeconomic dynamics and voter suppression, while utilizing Kenneth Burke’s concept of the terministic screen. Games are a central theme throughout the exhibition, as they are often coded as “home” objects that require a close proximity for participation. They also function as micro-systems in which players agree to an arbitrary set of rules that they did not themselves construct. Lewis expands these ideas into what it means to “gamify” space.

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