Considering the extent of process in the following bodies of work is one way to approach its evaluation. Putting forth a well-rounded discussion that accurately accounts for its intention and coinciding successful effort asks that the set up of defense not be merely argumentative. The diversity of size, media and inspiration have created several, still ongoing, bodies of work that reflect each other in motivation, but whose outcome speak to a progressive clarity

Assembled together are the recent people of my life, a body of portraits that is, in the phrase of Alice Neel, "a collection of souls." This thesis serves to contextualize the work, as well as reflect the process by which it was made, as both an explanation of the portraits it contains and a portrait of myself as the artist who made them. The work is considered from the same viewpoints that humans are: as minds, bodies, and souls, and works to communicate the theme of empathy between humans through the act of painting on each of these levels. Contemporary portraiture as a process for the cultivation of empathy is indebted most notably to the accomplishments of Alice Neel, and now enters a realm of interdisciplinary discourse. As such, my pictures may be "read" as performance, as therapy, as propaganda, and as narratives in or outside of the context of Art History. Further, my work rejects the "male gaze" and suggests a new kind of looking - gayze - which is an act of identification with and eroticization of the bodies I paint. Gayze is a reciprocal exchange of power, vulnerability, and permission to look, in which men paint men as both desirous and desiring. Finally, the paintings are ritualistic, meditative pictures that reinforce the commonly held spiritual idea of connectedness and sameness between all things, echoed in the profoundly creative process of painting.

I am interested in the ways that one remembers, what triggers the retrieval of a memory and the associations made throughout that process. Using photography, I explore my personal memory and the connections that are made with certain objects. By constructing environments specific to each object, I attempt to create a narrative of the life and significance of them. Using a dollhouse as a stage, a dialogue is created between the objects and the place in which they reside. The images heighten the relevance a home and the longing for a consistent environment have played throughout my life.

The term modern is associated with the twentieth century, especially in the first fifty years. However, by the century's close a rise is seen in the term postmodern which, like modern, is also used to describe the overall social condition. There are many factors that contribute to the character of an epoch. The factors that shape this character begin with, but are not limited to, our cultural concept of time and how we respond to it. The characteristics that are associated with an epoch can be found in complex arrangements within a chronology, sometimes clustered, sometimes isolated, often with varying points of origin. These complex patterns can be as random and misleading as they are organized and defining. Using a cross-disciplinary approach this thesis will provide an analysis of characteristics of modernism and postmodernism as they are manifest in areas such as art, science, and politics. It will also locate points in time where the concentration of markers suggests that modernism is dwindling and the postmodern paradigm is taking hold. While some critics have advocated that single moments in time mark the end of modernism and the beginning of postmodernism, a series of events or moments in time may actually be more practical for the study of epochal convergence. The time period that may be most accurate in marking that shift is 1968-1973 when the frequency of postmodern markers increases to the point that they can no longer be considered incidental.

Portraits of my family and friends in their bedrooms and personal spaces investigate the way we construct our identities in the context of family and community and give physical form to my understanding of these abstract sets of relationships. Such images examine the relationships that constitute a family, suggesting coherence among those photographed. The domestic landscape is an ideal site for autobiographical reflection and can reveal intimate details about those photographed. Color, furniture, and personal objects are symbolic suggestions of a relationship between the individual and their personal space. My portraits capture expressions that concurrently disclose and question characteristics of the human condition. In the context of the series, the photographs closely relate to self-portraiture. Subtle expressions of anxiety or self-consciousness allow for empathetic exchanges between the individuals photographed and the viewer. An emotional experience is revealed. The images communicate varying degrees of intimacy alongside levels of detachment and vulnerability.

African objects first appeared in Western collections in "cabinets of curiosities" in the sixteenth century. Following their "discovery" by modem European artists in the early twentieth century, African artifacts began their journey from ethnographic museums to major art museums. My study will explore the dramatic shift of Western attitudes towards African art through a critical overview and summary of selected scholarship on the subject and related exhibition catalogues. My thesis will show that the controversy generated by "Primitivism" in Twentieth Century Art, an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 1984, helped forge a new direction in the display of African art based on agreement that greater emphasis must be placed on the diversity of African cultural traditions in addition to Western aesthetics. Exhibitions and related critical scholarship of the last century have shown that African art can be appreciated both for its inherent aesthetic qualities and as a part of the culture from which it arose. This thesis will also connect a contemporary exhibition of African art in a Florida museum with international developments in the field. My study will further emphasize that future exhibitions of African art should recognize African contributions to world cultural traditions.

This thesis examines my fears of death and dying. Through my studio art practice, which includes observational representation, ceremonial and ritualistic performance, and installation, I seek to confront my own difficulty in accepting death's emotional weight. My motivation stems from my attachment to my mother's mortality and her relationship with dying animals. In researching cultural customs relating to death, I was inspired to explore non-archival materials and ritualistic processes reflecting my understanding of our bodies' temporal nature. This includes swaddling, etching, using materials such as branches, animal bones, copper, shells, and pine needles, and encasing materials in wax. My points of interest are occurrences of death and decay. These interactions help me find acceptance and comfort during moments of uncertainty. Scale variations in my work are intentional and directly correlate my emotional response to my experiences with nature. From small, intimate works to larger, monumental ones, I explore the authority that size achieves when exaggerated and paired with images. These gestures of curiosity and compassion aim to emphasize my innate care and the ability to restore dignity surrounding the experience of loss and dying. Centered around the ubiquity of grieving and healing, my creative process and work products express the crucial value of accepting my own impermanence through emotional vulnerability. Creating this body of work helped me realize and appreciate alternative understandings and associations with death; and by exhibiting the work, I am inviting the viewer into my life and practice with the hope it creates a brief opportunity for them to reflect and reconsider their relationship with death.

This thesis reflects my research and studio practice into how memory is gathered, interpreted, and affects the present. I discuss my historical and contemporary artistic influences, my history, and my visual narratives. I construct layered drawings using charcoal and soft pastel to interpret how we understand our inherently flawed memory. Memory can be clear and easy to understand but simultaneously distorted and convoluted. When recalling a memory, I purposely keep my initial drawn gestures visible to show the pentimenti or shift in marks. The materials, processes, and subject matter in this body of work encourages viewers to navigate the drawn narratives and reflect on the elusive ways memories manifest.

This thesis is an exploration of the reciprocal relationship between my identity and my work as an artist. As someone who identifies as queer and from a young age felt unloved and unwelcome, my work provides space for validation and empowerment. I utilize elements of fantasy and symbolism to explore the ever-expanding possibilities of allegory and queer figuration. Through my usage of portraiture and personal symbolism as well as my reinterpretations of Christian religious motifs, Greek mythology, and Mannerist art, I transform existing narratives to depict a multitude of characters that my work allows me to embody. In opening myself up, I express and question my understanding of "love" as it applies to a sense of communion through art and the idea of utopia while also making the necessary room for empathy and queer visibility. To this end, I reference my life experiences, thoughts, feelings, and artistic process in order to invite an intimate understanding of myself and my work.

I create experimental films and installations that challenge the belief system I inherited from well-intended people who believed they furnished me with the "right" answers, behaviors, and expectations for a good and proper life. Applying the theory of cognitive dissonance as a philosophical framework to this formative and enforced messaging helps me appreciate why it is so difficult to accept new information incongruent with one's previously held beliefs. Through parallel efforts of self-reflection, research, and creative practice, I have begun to reexamine my upbringing and the ensuing insecurities, contradictions, and feelings of hypocrisy they engendered. My work aspires to transform my fears, anxieties, and mistakes into meaningful digital and tangible visual expressions; informed by and in response to, reflective work by contemporary artists and my personal reflexive experiences with relationships, death, and grief. Fueled by the practice of forgiveness, both of myself and others, I believe the creative process is helping me become a more compassionate person who is willing to reconsider, release, and accept my past and welcome new internal and external perspectives. Likewise, I hope presenting my artwork allows viewers to consider my struggle; and whether, and why, we may have common or divergent life experiences and perspectives.