Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0008-6600-1109

Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MFA

College

College of Creative Arts

Department

Not Listed

Committee Chair

Michael Sherwin

Committee Co-Chair

Joseph Galbreath

Committee Member

Kofi Opoku

Committee Member

Gerald Habarth

Abstract

My work examines the duality of living in Appalachia and cherishing its picturesque environment; while being complicit in its ongoing destruction via industry and resource extraction. Composed of my own photographs and selections from the Farm Security Administration archives, this body of work presents a vision of the region that’s purpose extends beyond value judgments. Rather, it considers the manmade and natural environments of Appalachia holistically, each one integral to the experience and understanding of the other. Following the same aesthetic choices I make in my professional practice as a photojournalist, I blur the boundary between art and documentation. In this way, I adopt the visual language of the news media to reframe elements of the region that the media would otherwise ignore, obfuscate, or pass judgment on. In media, clearcut narratives dictate the story to the reader, but here the content and sequence of the images and footage allows an ambiguity to come forward. This ambiguity accentuates the otherworldly undercurrents in the images demonstrating the difficulties of defining the region.

Download

Share

COinS