Thesis Proposal

Describe the project you want to pursue in a paragraph or two, being as specific as possible. Refer to medium, scale, and thematic concerns.

For my thesis, I would like to work on an examination of how I consciously or unconsciously organize my memories by drawing from the emotional states that I had in those moments. This is a self-reflection thesis, where I deal with my past, connect it to my identity, and reveal the network of emotional strings that made these memories important to me. Some examples of this topic are: How do I remember memories? Why do emotions trigger my memories of specific events in my past? When do I connect multiple emotions to the same memory? How do people's facial expressions/emotions influence my memories? How does this concept apply in the current modern world?

I plan to explore multiple mediums in this thesis, ranging from digital art to installations, drawings, and photography pieces. I do not have a limit for what mediums I would use yet, so it is possible that I use mediums other than these as well. Some of the themes that I would like to consider include images that trigger “emotional deja-vus”, important childhood moments, important moments of my young adult life, and my emotions that were connected to all of these memories.

Explain why this idea/direction interests you personally. How does it connect to the work you’ve already made?

This idea interests me because I have always used art as my way of showing emotions. I have never been an expressive person. Like my AP Studio Art journey, I portray my emotions through actions in my artwork. This theme has been present in my work from fall and winter term as well, such as the Memories piece with the shirts sewn together, the digitally manipulated photographs of me for the Identity assignment, or the language film that I created about my life studying abroad vs my Vietnamese upbringing. Just like how I draw from specific emotions or emotional states to create these pieces of artwork, I would like to continue this idea: by creating artworks and investigating my past to showcase vulnerable, bare-bone, defenseless, proud images of me from the past, present, future, I can reexamine myself, my life, and my identity at their roots.

Include a selection of ‘sketches’ – pencil, photograph, diagrams – to illustrate your intentions. If these ideas spring from a previous artwork, include a photo of it. Specifically, include preparatory ideas for your first two or three pieces. Imagery may be photographed from pages in your Process Book.

Identify a minimum of three artists whose work might ‘feed’ your artistic vision [Choose at least one artist whose work demonstrates formal similarities such as technique, color, materials, etc. to the work you wish to make. Choose at least one artist whose work is thematically linked to yours.] Give the name of the artist, a brief description of his/her work, and attach several thumbnail images of pertinent artworks.

Emma Kay interests me because of her use of density and quantities. Her works are examinations of memories with a focus on subjectivity. She often makes works that are about her own recollections of specific events from the past. Moreover, I am interested in her effective use of text in art. I would like to dive deeper into this method of artmaking, as it has always been a topic I am interested in yet have not really experimented with.

Daniel Serva is a photomanipulation artist whose work explore identity, self-potraits, human-nature relationship, and emotions. I am particularly amazed by his manipulation skills in the digital world, along with his choices of colors and composition of images. I would like to explore his work and learn more about creating art in this medium.

Gonzaga Manso is a photographer and film director whose work is about what he feels, what he dreams of, and what is around him. He is a storyteller and a reveals emotions through different characters. I am inspired by his photography and ability to visualize emotions, and his work in manipulating videography and photography to create the “vibe” that he wants.