Date of Award
2-1-2019
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
Art
First Advisor
Thomas Weaver
Second Advisor
Alexandro Segade
Academic Program Adviser
Carrie Moyer
Abstract
A painter retraces the steps he took in making one of his paintings from beginning to end. Rather than explicitly ascribing a series of concerns or goals to his studio practice in general, he recounts the material choices he made over an 8 month period of making a specific painting of an interior landscape. The essay begins with a consideration of the written word and its potential shortcomings in describing the creative process. Warned of writing’s pitfalls, the reader proceeds onto a meandering path of written introspection as the painter reflects on his art-historical references, his sources of imagery, his use of materials and how they may relate to other disciplines and forms of media. This path takes the reader past views of Trecento Italy, Dutch baroque interiors, Rococo Pastorals, German romantic landscapes and mid-century American suburbia, through sites of plein-air drawing and collaboration. The essay ultimately leads to a revelatory meditation on the perils of a romantic longing for an idealized past.
Recommended Citation
Utter, Kyle Michael, "Words Are a Pipe" (2019). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_sas_etds/404