Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation
5-2024
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
M.F.A.
Department
Fine Arts
Degree Program
Studio Art and Design, MFA
Committee Chair
Calvert, Tiffany
Committee Co-Chair (if applicable)
Chan, Ying Kit
Committee Member
Chan, Ying Kit
Committee Member
Gibson, John
Author's Keywords
painting; authenticity; identity; hybridity; art; liminality
Abstract
My thesis exhibition questions the modern sanctification of authenticity. No longer believing in objective truths, the postmodern society seeks epistemic grounding on being true to oneself. The categories of authentic-or-fake replaced the binary of true-or-false. But authenticity is a trojan horse for authentication. As a Korean American artist, I'm encouraged to express my “authentic” Korean identity. This encouragement can also imply my works will receive recognition as authentic and meaningful only when they embody Korean cultural expression. Authenticity becomes a performance for the sake of authentication. Ironically, authenticity turns into an act of conformity/confirmation. Authenticity demands you stay true to that one unchanging identity, an essentialist understanding. My four bodies of work raise distinct challenges to the essentialist notion of identity. A fabric art installation presents fabric, a fluid medium, to present the fluid nature of identities in contrast to the canvas which suggests a fixed notion of identity. A large piece reflects on the nature of Ocean as water that separates and connects lands, a space of in-between, and liminality. Two series of paintings mixing visual art with music and poetry explore the nature of hybridity. And the presentation of four distinct bodies of works in the same show and same space is itself a contestation of a singular identity. Which of these works is more authentic? That question is not useful, even harmful. Through diverse forms of art, I show I am multiple, expansive, hybrid and fluid.
Recommended Citation
Son, Suyun, "Authentic fake: Authenticity and authentication." (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 4285.
https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/4285
