Browsing by Author "Plastini, Johnny, committee member"
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Item Open Access Even flowers can grow out of a mound of shit(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018) Singer, Kyle Vincent, author; Ryan, Ajean, advisor; Osborne, Erika, committee member; Plastini, Johnny, committee member; Dungy, Camille, committee memberIn this paper, I attempt to explore the importance of flaws, trauma, and repression within the artistic process. I assert the need for self-scrutiny and cathartic expression of my inner struggles. Using surrealist methodologies, I flip the interior and exterior evoking concepts of the unconscious, abjection, and the Lacanian "real." By asserting the need for positive coping mechanisms, I employ chance operations, bricolage, and an obsessive vocabulary of line work to sublimate these flaws. I am in the midst of cultivating a poetic openness within my work divorced from an ultimate definition. Confronting my desire for absolution, I contest that art becomes the only answer to make the world bearable. I encourage the pursuit of a personal becoming no matter how vulnerable and unfamiliar that outcome may prove.Item Open Access Excess flesh: a study on the universal commodification and consumption of the colored body(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020) Holmes, Jasmine Nicole, author; Lehene, Marius, advisor; Souza, Caridad, committee member; Dineen, Mark, committee member; Plastini, Johnny, committee memberFirst, the breakdown of hegemony and the creation of "race" must be explored before moving onto the branching facets of commodified colored figures: Entertainment, Labor, Sexuality. Western societies' basic understanding of race is laced with phenotypical notions. The term itself is entwined within every societal construct that exists within the contemporary world. In order to completely discuss my artistic practice and the pieces that have developed throughout my time within this program, we must study these compartments of racial discrimation and overall consumption of the Black form.Item Open Access From Sacrificial Lands to reciprocity: art and social engagement(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020) Thornton, Janine, author; Lundberg, Thomas, advisor; Kissell, Kevin, committee member; Moore, Emily, committee member; Plastini, Johnny, committee memberOh I would touch with this love each wounded place - Anita Barrows, "Psalm" My thesis artworks focus on interconnection and on the Western cultural perception of a separation between humans and nature. This perception developed during the nineteenth-century Westward Expansion, which viewed nature as a source of resources to be utilized and tamed. Within this separation is an assumed hierarchy in which nature is viewed as lesser or expendable when compared to humans. Land continues to be sacrificed for human wants with no regard for the impacts that this land use has on nature and humans, or on our delicate ties of interconnection. The word interconnection is very broad with many meanings and interpretations. In this work, interconnection refers to relationships, especially from an environmental perspective, in which individual behaviors affect other life forms and natural systems. This interconnection is a web of cause and effect, in which actions of individuals have impacts that ripple out into the world. It is often difficult to understand the effects that individual actions have on others, as it requires a heightened awareness of our world and its issues – awareness that can be challenging to achieve. I believe more discussion and action are needed to help expand awareness and sensitivity towards environmental threats. The questions guiding my research ask, a) how I visually represent the concept of human/nature interconnection, b) how I express the environmental necessity of relationship and reciprocity in our actions, and c) how social engagement can help to expand awareness and discussion. I included social engagement in my thesis because I believe a greater depth of understanding can be encouraged through collaborative works with artists and other disciplines. I explored ideas of human/nature interconnection and relationship through studies of materials, place and the environment. Materials such as fibers, cement and plastic connote relationship, culture, consumption and waste. Fibers are reminders of everyday consumer items such as clothing and housewares, which also can provide a sense of status through the brands selected. Plastics link to consumer product consumption, and to trends, which lead to waste when the item is no longer of value. Plastic is another manufactured material used for packaging and consumer product integrity. My use of plastic ties back to product consumption and waste, as most plastics become landfill. Cement is a manufactured material most frequently seen in construction projects, which aligns with urban development and shifting relationships with nature. Following my work with materials, I looked to my relationship with place, focusing on where I live. This included developing a better understanding of how I relate to the land and wildlife around me, and impacts I make by living there. By making the subject matter of my work more personal, I am better able to see my particular relationship with nature and the impacts of decisions I make. Next, I expanded my personal perspective from my locale to a larger view of the rural environment through the collaborative development of the Sacrificial Lands exhibit, which includes my artwork along with work of other artists, poets, and scientists. The Sacrificial Lands project showcases individual perspectives, creativity, and research from a variety of fields. The objectives are to encourage expanded discussion of environmental topics and to promote collaborative endeavors that seek greater environmental awareness and restoration.Item Open Access Hoodoo and the Law: mostly printed works(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Frondorf, Aaron William, author; Dormer, Jim, advisor; Kneller, Jane, committee member; Bates, Haley, committee member; Plastini, Johnny, committee memberThis paper discusses the relationship of ideas to their media, through the relationship of contents to a book and through the use of aesthetic barriers. The conceptual content of the artworks produced center around epistemological self-betterment and practical mysticism. I discuss in this paper my thought process, the work itself, and the works intended functions. I discuss the idea of the book and my rationale behind working in printmaking.Item Embargo I am who I am where I am: validating in-between status with an artist's book and autobiography(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Lee, Seojung, author; Muntoreanu, Roberto, advisor; Plastini, Johnny, committee member; Chien, Ting-Fang, committee member; Yan, Ruoh-Nan, committee memberThis autobiography investigates in-between/betwixt identities about my immigration experiences as a woman of color in the U.S. Autobiography was historically used for presenting stories about the great white men (Smyth, 2016). Then, autobiography was written by white middle class women during first wave feminism to work against patriarchy and sexism (Bromley, 2012). Since 1970, women of color wrote down our experiences as a collective identity, and many Asian American art educators continue the legacy with autobiography by expressing in-between identities. I created a series of Artist's book with graphic design and printmaking based on two arts-based investigations to find my root: 1) practice-based research (Sullivan, 2004) and 2) a/r/tography (Irwin, 2013). I used the framework from Sullivan's (2004) argument that visual art is a theoretically grounded form of research to make an action which I was drawn to because it empowers other first-generation women of color with my experience. Also, a/r/tography helps me to understand my previous experience about belonging and how the idea of belonging can continuously move toward new understanding about my in-between identities, becoming transformational ideas (Irwin, 2013). I will expand to a greater narrative to generate political meaning collaboratively in future research as autoethnography.Item Open Access Resonance: memory and emotion(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Shelby, Mariah, author; Bates, Haley, advisor; Brenner, Rachel, committee member; Dineen, Mark, committee member; Plastini, Johnny, committee memberThrough an investigation into the trauma responses of my body, from dissociation to panic attacks, I have built a body of work that relies on the associations and interactions of material and process. I have developed a sensitivity to material and processes guided by the desire to communicate feelings and emotions that are difficult to put into words. These materials vary based on clinical properties, historical contexts, or personal memory. While working, I am concerned about what materials may communicate beyond their intended purpose, pushing the material to broaden my conceptual ideas.