Of Light and Shadow

Author

Leah M. Sutton, Southern Illinois University CarbondaleFollow

Date of Award

5-1-2024

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts

Department

Mass Communication and Media Arts

First Advisor

Spahr, Robert

Abstract

The work exhibited in Of Light and Shadow is fragmented. The fragments of the work will display an understanding of materiality, immateriality, fragility, temporality, scale, and preservation while seeking to fragment photography as a traditional medium. This work has become less about the image and more about the art object itself and how it exists in the space. I am interested in the connections between art and science where a museum, herbarium, or glasshouse acts as a juxtaposition between art and science. In Of Light and Shadow, the chosen materials question their own materiality. I am interested in the ephemerality of objects and the fragility of their existence. I use light and shadow as a dichotomy that connects the natural and artificial. With this duality and materials manufactured and handmade, I create environments that beckon the viewer to consider other dichotomies such as light and shadow, inside and outside, past and present, art and science, and private and public. They are the in between. Miniaturized fragments contrast larger than life fragments that challenge the viewers’ senses, perception of reality, and scale. This work seeks to fragment photography as a material and immaterial mode of traditional storytelling where it constantly battles the question of “will it disappear” and “if so, when?”