Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

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Open Access Thesis

Keywords

Campoy, B Justin Sanhueza--Exhibitions; Exhibition catalogs;

Abstract

Contemporary American Culture retains many quandaries from the past. We often think we have evolved and advanced beyond previous generations, and this is folly because much of what we find disdainful about the past remains with us today, simply in different guises. This thesis asks the questions: What aspects of our American society do we overlook and often ignore? Have we avoided change simply because it is inconvenient and arduous, or because change is difficult, especially self-initiated change? What can we learn about ourselves today by examining the past? Each painting in this thesis has a previously existing source image taken from an advertisement. Advertising illustrates our core materialistic values, our lowest common denominator. Translating these advertisements into large-scale paintings proposes that we have not evolved beyond more base times. These advertisements come from the 1950s and on into the new millennium revealing that, to use a tired cliche, "the more things change, the more things stay the same." In fact, advertisers have simply become more cunning with their craft. Making these advertisements into large-scale paintings illustrates that the ideas represented expand beyond simple product advertisements. The paintings deconstruct these advertisements illustrating a more real understanding of the advertisers' methods. These methods continue to aim at the disdainful aspects of our society that we have retained from the past. It is not the duty of the artist to tell people how to think, rather the artist conveys to the public how he or she thinks so that individuals may evaluate their own thought processes. It is in the interest of all society to understand their true surroundings-understanding and awareness stir the thought process and therefore incite change as well.

Year of Submission

2002

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Department of Art

First Advisor

Crit Streed

Second Advisor

Frje Echeverria

Third Advisor

Jeffrey Byrd

Comments

If you are the rightful copyright holder of this thesis and wish to have it removed from the Open Access Collection, please submit a request to scholarworks@uni.edu and include clear identification of the work, preferably with URL.

Date Original

2002

Object Description

1 PDF file (6 leaves)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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