Theses and Dissertations
Date of Award
12-2018
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
Art
First Advisor
Dr. Robert Bradley
Second Advisor
Reynaldo I. Santiago
Third Advisor
Josie de La Tejera Stoleson
Abstract
This thesis paper discusses the art seen in the exhibition, Katharsis, is a body of work inspired in the quest to validate suppressed emotions pulling from personal experiences of grief and abandonment. The methodology behind the work explores the artistic process that enables the transformation of pain and grief. The research is guided by understanding the artist’s process through therapeutic methods found in abstract expressionism. Art produced in pain, allowed a process of healing and honest forgiveness. The vicious cycle of feeling trapped in the idea of letting go when you have not allowed yourself to understand, threatens the possibility of moving on and finding peace. Having a closer look into personal experience of abandonment and pain; was the true catalyst of a downhill spiral of suppressed emotions that led to emotional distress. Seeking for a place of true forgiveness my graduate studies provided a new direction and a beginning to a new-found knowledge.
Recommended Citation
Lai, Maria Fatima, "Art of Katharsis: A Study of Creating Abstract Expressionist Art in the Quest for Emotional Release and Healing" (2018). Theses and Dissertations. 493.
https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/etd/493
Comments
Copyright 2018 Maria Fátima Lai. All Rights Reserved.
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