Year of Award

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Degree Name

Art

Other Degree Name/Area of Focus

Studio Arts: Painting

Department or School/College

School of Visual and Media Arts

Committee Chair

Kevin Bell

Commitee Members

Matthew Hamon, Caitlin Martin-Wagar

Keywords

Painting, Bittersweet, Memories, Objects, Still Life, Interiors

Publisher

University of Montana

Abstract

In my MFA exhibition, no worries, it’s fine, I depict seemingly mundane objects and places in my paintings to explore underlying themes of the bittersweet. They contain both painful memories and sweet moments, and their complexity gives them authenticity. To only explore the one would be dishonest, as the bitter and the sweet are forever intertwined.

Bittersweet is tied to longing…longing for someone you love when they are not present, for better circumstances while accepting where you are. Longing can propel us forward, one step at a time. It gives us the hope that when we experience pain, the pendulum eventually swings in the other direction. It’s the unbreakable feeling that things will get better despite what we each endure. no worries, it’s fine embraces melancholy moments, while knowing that they are fleeting, as the light moves across my tiny kitchen stove, the plastic furniture we used to furnish our apartment, or the chicken that could feed a family of four. Convincing ourselves that everything is fine reminds us that things could be much worse. I capture these ever-changing moments and slow them down with paint as a way of accepting past and present as a way to propel forward.

This paper combines stories and memories from my past exploring emotions and experiences as they pertain to the paintings in my exhibition. Through my research of bittersweet and melancholy I reference the work of sociologist Priya Feilding-Singh and writer Susan Cain to give fuller explanations and insight. This paper also discusses my process of painting and artistic inspirations as they relate to the content.

The bittersweet understands that to know joy is to know sorrow, to love is to lose. It’s the forever pairing of the light and the dark, the happy and sad, the times we wish for and the experiences we wish had never happened. This work is personal yet universal as living simultaneously with the bitter and sweet I believe is what connects us all to the human experience.

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© Copyright 2024 Lexie E. Loader