Art, Art History and Design, School of
First Advisor
Matthew Sontheimer
Date of this Version
Spring 3-2023
Abstract
Until Morning is an installation-based body of work that is rooted in fantasy through storytelling. It’s focused on a narrative about processing trauma through the self at their various stages of recovery. This exhibition consists of paintings, sculptures, audio, and videos reflecting a world built to regain authorship over unsettling memories that demand closure. The films are performative extensions of self in familiar southern Louisiana landscapes. The viewer shares perspective through the point of view of Memory, the main character depicted with pink hair. The fictional scenes all toy with notions of remembering, forgetting, and coping, while also provoking reactions from the viewer in place of Memory and as the “fourth wall.” Each video plays on separate TV monitors, and are accompanied by murals, sculptures, and supportive audio. The murals immerse the gallery into a dreamscape of blues and pinks, providing entry and escape alongside the documented performances. Dressing up the main character and landscape in pinks within a subconscious world of blues acts as an attempt to perceive differently and reclaim the self. The sculptural elements are physical manifestations created to preserve the feelings experienced by Memory, which all echo the cyclical nature of catharsis.
Advisor: Matthew Sontheimer
Comments
A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Master of Fine Arts, Major: Art, Under the Supervision of Professor Matthew Sontheimer. Lincoln, Nebraska: March 2023
Copyright © 2023 Asher Berard