Date of Submission

Spring 2015

Academic Programs and Concentrations

Studio Arts

Project Advisor 1

Judy Pfaff

Abstract/Artist's Statement

ARTIST STATEMENT:

TELL ME WHEN YOU FIND THOSE DAYS AGAIN

Jacob Fisher

Memory: memories of people, relationships, childhood, and dreams. I often grapple to understand my past experiences. How have I gotten to where I now am in my life, and what do I have other than memories to explain how I’ve gotten here. What are memories other than mere thoughts that pass in and out of my head throughout the day? When I hear a known melody, smell a recognizable scent, or see what appears to be a familiar face. How do I attempt to visually represent my memories? Things that I only experience and understand as a result these thoughts occurring in my mind. How do I search for memories, and how do I know if they are true, or rather just conceived notions of what I want to believe to be true?

Throughout my senior project I attempted to find myself and grasp these thoughts and ideas through a sort of internal exploration. My senior project work had become a meditative process as a result of the repetition and obsessiveness that existed in the piece. This allowed for an internal exploration to occur. The sort of playfulness in the piece was a result of me attempting to reimagine how I saw and interpreted the world as a child. I attempted to create a world of fantasy through the use of bright colors, lights, repetitive lines and forms, and optical illusions. What I hope viewers took away from my piece was an experience of reflectivity and a level of disconnection from reality. I hoped viewers were able to become lost within the world I created and were able to escape reality, if even just for a few moments.

Much of my installation for my senior project was playing with optics and illusions. Things that appeared to exist, but may have not truly been there. My interest in playing with optics arises out of the experiences viewers have when they encounter these illusions. Ultimately viewers begin to question themselves, where they are, and how they exist and are part of the space I have created. Through this questioning I hope viewers were able to perceive the world and themselves in a new light. The illusions in the work lead to a disconnection from reality, something I experienced while making the work, and something I hoped people experienced while viewing it.

The death of my Grandmother this past fall led to an influx of memories of experiences and times I spent with her. These memories led to the title of my piece, Tell Me When You Find Those Days Again. Much of the piece for me was reconciling the loss of her in my life. Trying to understand and grapple with the thoughts that, although I never will be able to truly experience the times I spent with her again, I will always have my memories of those experiences. The question Tell Me, is directed towards her; it's me asking her if she will ever be able to find those days again.

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