Feast: MFA Thesis - Sculpture
Subject
Research Subject Categories::HUMANITIES and RELIGION::Aesthetic subjects::ArtSculpture Exhibitions
Space in art
Mixed media (Art) Exhibitions
Installations (Art) Exhibitions
Human nature
Greed
Figurative sculpture
Digital art Exhibitions
Interactive art
Research Subject Categories::HUMANITIES and RELIGION::History and philosophy subjects::History subjects::Book and library history
Tao Tie
Shan Hai Jing
Abstract
I am exploring how humans balance positive desire and the avariciousness in our everyday lives. My work reveals the excess desire that will lead to human extinction. My inspiration begins with a famous ancient Chinese evil creature called Tao Tie. It is derived from Shan Hai Jing. The story depicts a mythological landscape from which Tao Tie emerges. Tao tie is depicted in many ways, but is always the image of greed. Nowadays, the Tao Tie image represents greediness and glutony. In Buddhism, desire is neither positive nor negative, but is understood as balance. Nothing remains positive when people don’t do things in moderation. In my work, I want to explore the precarious line between greed and healthy desire. In the book “Shan Hai Jing”, the Tao Tie, who was especially greedy for food, ended up eating its own body. In my work, the consequence of Tao Tie symbolizes the prediction of human greed. I utilized paper clay to create a three-dimensional figurative sculpture of Tao Tie as one part of my installation. This material has become a medium for me to describe the myth from history in my work. Tao Tie in Chinese contemporary culture not only means a monster, but also means a dinner which has all kinds of food. I combined the traditional sculpture of Tao Tie with an interactive component. The viewer is invited to sit at the table, hovered over by Tao Tie, and peer into a large bowl which contains a video. In the video I represent people “eating” all kinds of different unbalanced desires such as money, love, food, power, beauty, and health. I use the activity of eating material goods to express the subject of greed in my project. My installation symbolizes humans’ avaricious nature, which is destroying us.Collections
The following license files are associated with this item:
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Make it Plain: MFA Thesis - Metal
Richards, Shani (2016-05)Knowing the history of craft and the material traditions are important to making my work. I insist on having this metalsmithing label, and I purposely challenge and subvert the discourse of what a metalsmith is. As a ... -
Don’t keep it bottled up: an analysis of black glass wine bottles at Historic Huguenot Street New Paltz, NY
Slater, Reuben (2019-05)Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz New York has been a site of human activity stretching back well over nine thousand years, including the Native American Munsee speakers and the French Huguenots who settled New Paltz ... -
A tune to the teatro: the relationship between Spanish theatre of the golden age and modern day music
Brown, Emily G. (2019-05)For my thesis, I have decided to study Miguel de Cervantes’ famous play, “El retablo de las maravillas”, and choose specific, key scenes and interpret them through song. I will be discussing the significance of the themes ...