2019 MFA Thesis Exhibition

March 30 — May 11, 2019

2019 MFA THESIS EXHIBITION COLLEGE OF VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS

UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS DARTMOUTH

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March 30 — May 11, 2019

2019 MFA THESIS EXHIBITION COLLEGE OF VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS

UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS DARTMOUTH

This annual exhibition celebrates the ART + DESIGN work of graduating students from the College of Visual and Performing Arts graduate program in a large-scale exhibition at the Star Store Campus.

EXHIBITING ARTISTS Merri Cyr

Brendan Lyons

Jeremy Duval

Robert Najlis

Patricia Flynn

Lauren Shepherd

Jennifer Halli

Allen TenBusschen

Jordi Lister

Xiaodong Xu

University Art Gallery Star Store Campus 715 Purchase Street New Bedford, MA 02740

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NOTES FROM THE EXHIBITION CURATOR When you enter the Star Store Campus building, you are transported into an ambitious and creative land that is the 2019 MFA Thesis Exhibition composed of the innovative work of UMass Dartmouth graduating students. They will take you on a journey into New Bedford’s Harbor, immerse you in imaginary landscapes of the mind and bring you to a whimsical place where reaching for a simple cup "must" be a task accomplished by two people.

Even though Jennifer Hallis’ large-in-scale, yet intimate pieces are organized around a grid, there is nothing predictable about them. Their ceramic and paper elements are fragile, some aged by time, some by the harbor. They bear the memory of the outdoors as they interact with other materials including sugar in thoughtful dialogue about memory and the passing of time.

Robert Najilis’ large painting scrolls surprise us not only for the scale, magnitude, and richness of narrative behind them, but also for their interactivity, as is the case in one piece, where sound emanates as it responds to the visitor’s movement.

Jordi Lister shows us just how far ceramics has traveled from the simple utilitarian even while maintaining their functionality.

Her plates and cups laid on an embroidered tablecloth are intertwined and become part of an interactive feast recorded on video and in wine stains on the fabric. Her drinking fountain emerges from the colorful patterned table as in a dream that needs to be experienced. Luckily, this option is offered by the artist during the opening reception!

Allen TenBuschen paints visceral, lush unpretentiously posed portraits of people he knows well in order to find the "real" person even as we as a society constantly monitor and guard how we look and feel.

Patricia Flynn’s work has a meditative, introspective quality, even while charged with repeated touches of her hand. Her rich topographical surfaces include thread, glue, tea bags and text, and surprising light shimmering beneath her subdued colors.

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Merri Cyr’s environment transports us into both the 19th century and the technological future. Interacting with the text of New Bedford’s most iconic novel, Moby Dick, a visitor becomes both a writer and interpreter in the gallery space, itself illuminated by the magic blue light of a touchscreen and a projection that shares the space with an antique table, chair or real and suggested mirrors.

Jeremy Duval’s work that covers the entire wall has the feel of free floating graffiti created in unpredictable ways and compositions.

There are "messages to self" and messages for the viewer; some are crossed out, yet still legible. There is no horror vacui, some areas are empty as if waiting for more to come.

Black identity is the theme that finds its expression in Lauren Shepherd’s art. In her work, her own face is the background for an uncomfortable target that coexists with elements of historical imagery connected to slavery. While the colors are vibrant, her ceramic objects are hung by many nails that tether the pieces to the wall.

Xiaodong Xu’s work offers an insight into dystopian worlds from the future or past, heroes that feel in his illustrations "sculptural" surrounded by imaginary scenes that beg to become animations.

Brendan Lyons wants to test the limits for exploring the depth of anxiety. Once you put your hand upon his elaborate metal device, he will strap it to a metal hand with a spike in the middle. He then reads from a clipboard. Do you trust him? How will you react if something goes wrong?

Ten artists, ten different approaches to art. We hope that you will enjoy the experience of discovering the connections between these pieces as much as I have in curating this wonderful exhibition!

Viera Levitt, Gallery Director

GREETINGS FROM THE OFFICE OF THE DEAN The College of Visual and Performing Arts at UMass Dartmouth is pleased to introduce the 2019 MFA Thesis Exhibition.

This public presentation is one of the final steps in completing a terminal degree in the studio arts. It is the culmination of personal artistic development over two to three years of intensive creative research paired with seminars in art history, philosophy, creativity, and writing.

This exhibition showcases the work of ten MFA candidates, representing a half-dozen concentrations within fine arts, design, and artisanry. Yet, as you read the artist statements and view the work, you’ll find most candidates do not restrict themselves to one area of study — you’ll find one artist mixing sound + textiles + painting, while another combines ceramics + printmaking + metals. Nor is their work defined by traditional approaches in a field — you’ll find a metals artist creating wearables that stab, a photographer creating new texts through computer-human interaction, and a ceramicist creating opportunities for community and conversation.

The graduate experience partially shapes the nature of each student’s creative identity. As an Art + Design + Music school within a research university, CVPA strives to provide all graduate students the opportunities to collaborate, to engage with the community, to embrace interdisciplinary studies and methods, and to emerge as scholars as well as makers.

While participation in the MFA thesis exhibition designates the completion of an artist’s studio degree, it is equally the beginning of an adventure into the realm of practicing artist/ designer. Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of the 2019 MFA candidates, and wishing them continued success in their future endeavors.

Laura Franz, Interim Dean

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MERRI CYR Statement Using a word generator that reconfigures the text of Moby Dick to form new sentences, I worked with a lead Pandora engineer to create an application for a touchscreen environment which incorporates the concept of “Cut Ups,” a literary technique in which a written text is cut up and rearranged to create a new text.

Although in the original concept of “Cut Ups” the positioning of the words is chance, in this application the automated text generator uses the Markov Chain algorithm, which determines how the new body of text will be formed.

The word scapes generated in this piece read much like the language of Melville, forming surprising passages of beauty, but also produce sequences that improve if edited and rearranged.

I developed an application so the generated words can be moved on screen with your finger and rearranged according to taste.

Ultimately, each individual page created is printed out by an attached printer. For a final group collaboration, I compiled pages created by users into book form to produce a copy of “The Great American Novel, Part 2.”

The Great American Novel, Part 2, 2019 Installation, video projection, touchscreen Dimensions variable

As an engaged artwork, I invite members of the community to help interpret Melville’s digitally generated output and refine it, ultimately collaborating with the “Ghost in the Machine” to create a sequel to “The Great American Novel.” Participants rearrange the generated passages and the resulting pages are altered by their engagement. A truly otherworldly collaboration, participants are able to help virtual Melville write his follow up novel to Moby Dick, post mortem.

Biography Working for over 20 years as a fine art and commercial photographer in New York City, Merri has photographed approximately 100 album covers and created photos for editorial and promotional visual media for companies such as Columbia Records, Sony, Conde Nast, Disney and Rolling Stone. Working as a contractor for Apple for the past 10 years and photographing events and portraits, Merri’s study of how technology effects and changes the way we live in the world has worked its way into her engaged art installations. She incorporates easily accessible digital tech into her social practice pieces and often mixes them with outmoded tools to enhance contemporary viewpoints and contrast processes and perspectives from other times in history.

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JEREMY DUVAL Statement

Biography

My work functions as both a documentation of and a catalyst for personal reflection. It’s about universal everyday struggles: to understand myself, to feel authentic and whole, and to find beauty and meaning in the mundane and the in-between.

Jeremy Duval grew up in Halifax, Massachusetts. After receiving his BFA in Illustration from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, he continued straight on to pursue an MFA with a focus on Drawing and Painting.

His current work explores space, memory, and the ways we find meaning in mundane objects and situations.

My paintings are dotted with small thoughts and memories, both real and invented. As these build up on a piece, I frequently change my mind about what topics I want to address or how I want to address them. Instead of trying to hide that process, I want to show it off. I cross out old thoughts but leave them still legible, then I leave new comments in disdain of them. This process of reflection and editing becomes much more important to each painting than any of my original plans. It allows me to build a singular experience out of an accumulated history of smaller moments.

Untitled (detail), 2019 Mixed media on canvas 27′ x 6′

Cheater Plug (details), 2019 Mixed media on canvas 27′ x 6′ 9

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PATRICIA FLYNN Statement In my work, I seek to occupy an ambiguous terrain that evokes the intimacy of skin at the same time that it refers to the vastness of the earth’s topography. Yet skin itself is a vast and varied topography. And the teeming, undulating surface of the earth functions in many ways as a skin. Both are shaped by virtue of being alive, and by processes of time, weathering, and the wear and tear inflicted by their use. The marks of their history etch so deeply that each resembles a text or map that reveals the ruptures of time and the accretion of experience. And both are highly resilient, yet excruciatingly fragile when taxed beyond their limits.

In making these works, I explore the possibility that paper itself can be imbued with affect instead of simply functioning as a neutral ground on which to deliver painting or drawing media.

My surfaces are constructed from hundreds of torn and crumpled fragments from a variety of papers of various weights containing different types of fibers. The process of piecing these together, along with the application of many translucent layers of paint, medium, water, and glue creates stresses and tensions which cause the paper to hang as a deeply textured, undulating surface, rather than as a flat plane.

The View From The Arduous Tube, 2018-2019 Paper, paint, thread, mixed media 47"

It is a fragile endeavor, laden with Sisyphean metaphor: frequently, the thinnest bits of paper rip and require patching. Sometimes they reveal signs of erosion where they have been manipulated while wet, and this will remain. Occasionally, I tear away entire portions and reassemble in a different configuration. The piece is worked heavily over time and in the process reveals its own topography.

Biography Patricia Flynn has lived for many years in Maine, where she is inspired by the textures of rock, moss, lichens and tree bark from her woodland walks, as well as textures of urban decay in her post-industrial neighborhood on the Portland peninsula. Patricia received her BS in Landscape Architecture from Cornell University, and as a land-planning professional, she became intrigued with the notion of maps and plans as abstractions of the landscape, as well as instruments of power. The planning process represents many layers of physical alterations, cultural information, and political processes we collectively superimpose upon the land – at times with uneasy results.

The Labor of Words (detail), 2017-2019 Teabags, text, thread 102" x 77"

Clutching At Stars (detail), 2019 Paper, paint, thread, mixed media 114" x 48" 11

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JENNIFER HALLI Statement

Biography

I am peripatetic. I have always been on the move. I need fields and skies of space, to think, to consider, to ponder options.

I strive to move beyond what is simply expected (of me).

Jennifer Halli works with ceramics and printmaking, creating structures that explore place and material while excavating themes of travel and loss.

To reflect my manner and acknowledge my current locale, I have been making site-specific minimalist installations in and around New Bedford, Massachusetts. The objects made of clay, paper, ink, metal, and fibre are abstract references to the grid – symmetrical and structured. Captivated by this universal construct of containment, boundaries, repetition and continuity, I create compositions utilizing primary elements in multiples.

I find beauty in perfection and the extraordinary in imperfection; by placing the work outside, I am forcing it to rot, decay, melt, transform. Like myself, it is not to be confined within four walls.

Jennifer completed a BA in Art Education and taught in North Carolina prior to teaching herself metalsmithing to support her wanderlust. This led to a new home in New Zealand. Jennifer studied ceramics with Robert Barron in Kardella, Australia and Peter Callas in Belvidere, NJ. Previously she worked for The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design in Asheville, NC and is currently a Distinguished Art Fellow at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. She has been invited to international wood firings and exhibitions in the USA, Australia, Denmark, Japan and New Zealand.

For this exhibition, I pause and bring these records of loss, disruption, travel, time and memory indoors.

Float, 2019 Glaze, collagraph prints on thai kozo, fibre glass 12′ x 5.5′ x 3′

Measuring to a Saint (detail), 2019 Collagraph printed with terra cotta, porcelain, wax, waxed linen thread 5.5′ x 3′ x 10′

Impossible shrines, 2018-2019 Terra cotta, thai kozo, sugar, wire This piece was installed outdoors in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

5.5′ x .5′ x 5.5′

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JORDI LISTER Statement

Biography

My work is rooted in the investigation of human interaction through nourishment and interactive dining experiences.

I design unique opportunities for individuals to gather around the table and share a meal or beverage through the use of functional ceramics. These events are curated to encourage specific interactions such as active listening, mingling, and breaking out of comfort zones. As an introvert, I am drawn to better understanding how humans connect with one another and form, as well as, nourish relationships.

Jordi Lister received her BFA at the University of Central Oklahoma in 2016. After finishing her Bachelor’s degree, she relocated to Massachusetts to pursue her MFA in Ceramics at UMass Darmouth. Working as a functional ceramicist Jordi’s work investigates how ceramic objects act as a catalyst for growth in relationships between individuals. Her dense abstract organic patterns are used to adorn her functional forms as well as a variety of textile elements used to create unique dining experiences. These dining experiences serve to explore how individuals communicate, relate and develop bonds through social nourishment.

Awkward Eats, 2019 Porcelain, glaze, cotton, linen, textile dye and ink, various yarn, rope

Watering Hole (details), 2019 Acrylic paint, resin on wood 15

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BRENDAN LYONS Statement

Biography

It’s very easy to give in to our worst impulses when it feels like no one else would notice or reciprocate if we strove for better.

Like polishing the brass on the Titanic, what’s the point? Where’s the value? Who even cares if we’re all going to be underwater soon? In a society where apathy, pessimism, and selfishness are increasingly the norm, acts of kindness, generosity, and empathy are more important than ever. Every time we strive to help make things better, it’s a little light in the darkness for others to follow.

Sometimes that light is taken up and added to by others, but even if it isn’t, you never know who will see it and be reminded that they aren’t alone.

No one’s entirely sure where Brendan came from. He just kind of showed up one day; a hammer in one hand, and the other pulling a little red wagon with an anvil in it. Rumor has it he handed the bursar a torn, bloody BFA from MassArt and a pile of gold coins in an unknown currency, and since then he has all but lived out of his studio. Since his arrival, broken tools will suddenly be found fixed, and there’s often a smell of baked goods in the air. He spends his time hitting things until they are a pleasing shape. Usually the things are metal.

Shaped by this philosophy, my work strives to build community, engender understanding, improve relationships, and solve problems. By giving others tangible objects to experience these ideals, I hope to provide lasting symbols that will remind the people who see and use them that even though things are bad now, it’s worth trying to make them better however we can. Even if we don’t succeed, there’s value in the attempt.

Don't Worry, Everything's Going to be Ok, 2018 Steel, poplar, velcro, clip board, the truth 12" x 12" x 24-40"

This piece requires the interaction of participants and an audience to be fully realized. Through this interaction, directed by a moderator, the participant is given a small taste of what living with an anxiety disorder is like, in an effort to foster understanding and empathy for those that suffer from the disorder.

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ROBERT NAJLIS Statement

Biography

I wonder at the nature of reality: is everything a product of emerging and converging elements of the physical world, or is there a separate plane of reality apart? I am also intrigued by the consequences of the philosophical traditions such as materialism and metaphysics which focus on these questions.

My work makes use of both Western and Chinese artistic processes and philosophies, derived from a shifting set of axioms with which to view the world; allowing for altering paradigms in how we think and perceive. The physical presence of my painting plays an important role in creating a resonant space shared between viewer and work.

Robert Najlis is a multimedia artist, working in fields including painting and sound art. Born in New York City, he has lived in Asia and Latin America, and speaks both Chinese and Spanish. Previous to his studies at UMass Dartmouth, he studied in the lineage of the New York School of abstract painters. He also has a master’s degree in computer science, with a number of publications in the field. His work has shown nationally and internationally in locations including New York City, China, and Argentina.

Cascading Lines of Sympathetic Vibrations, Home in a Home, 2018 Oil paint and mixed media on linen 5′ x 7′

Emergent Shifts (detail), 2019 Oil paint and flax fiber on linen 3′ x 4′

Emergent Shifts, 2019 Oil paint and flax fiber on linen 3′ x 4′

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LAUREN SHEPHERD Statement

Biography

My work looks at the internal dichotomy between my selfdefined personality and the stereotypical persona imposed onto me. Living as an African American creates a state of duality where we must shift our perceptions of our body and minds throughout daily interactions. My work expresses both views and their constant struggle through use of color, pattern, scale, and space in proximity to the viewers body. By shifting the information seen at different depths it draws viewers in and forces them to consider the differences in their perceptions.

Making this work has become a therapeutic exercise that allows me to release my internal burdens and share my perspective with viewers who may either relate to my experience or find new depths of understanding.

Lauren was born and raised in Houston, Texas and received her BFA at the University of North Texas. After receiving her degree she worked as a Studio Assistant and Teacher at a pottery studio in Lafayette, Louisiana. Prior to attending UMass Dartmouth, she participated in several exhibitions across the South with functional ceramic work. During her time in the MFA program, her work has focused on exploring personal psychology of African American culture through different mediums including fibers, ceramics, and video.

Segments (detail), 2018 Clay, slip, underglaze, cotton thread 12" x 20"

Creation Quilt (detail), 2018 Cotton fabric, bleach, cornstarch 8′ x 19′

Enough is Enough?, 2019 Video Still 6 minutes 19 seconds

Segments (detail), 2018 Clay, slip, underglaze, cotton thread 12" x 20" 21

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ALLEN TENBUSSCHEN Statement “Sometimes all you need is a niece absorbed by cartoons and a pillow and you’ve got yourself the beginning of a painting. Art is never ever far away.” — Nicolas Uribé My paintings are a visual manifestation of my attempt to contemplate and comprehend the nature of human perception.

I explore my subjects through the gaze, while simultaneously exploring how I am perceived by my subject.

A portrait is a measure of the relationship between artist and sitter. Through the gaze or lack of one, the viewer is invited to observe a sliver of a personal relationship. The subject of my work is the people who are close to me — individuals I have chosen to surround myself with, friends and family. These paintings reveal more about my relationship with the sitter than the relationship of the work with the viewer. When I sit with my friends or family, people who have known me, I am able to finally gather an idea about who I am.

We, as a society, have cultivated the ability to inhibit our true emotions – contracting and relaxing the muscles of our face – in order to appear socially acceptable. Even when we are Annie Wing, 2019 Oil on panel 48" x 36"

Ashleigh (detail), 2019 Oil on panel 48" x 36"

surrounded by people we know intimately we remain guarded.

I take hundreds of photographs until I am rewarded with a micro expression of a true feeling. I use the camera to capture that moment of imperceptible honesty, the briefest of seconds when someone has dropped their guard and shows how they really feel, or what they are truly perceiving.

These are not elaborately staged portraits, these are moments that happen thousands of times a day, in places where we are comfortable, places where our guard can be relaxed enough to let these minute expressions escape to the surface.

Biography Born in Kalamazoo in 1984, Allen TenBusschen grew up in Southwest Michigan. He studied Illustration at Brigham Young University – Idaho, graduating with his BFA in 2011. His current focus is on contemporary portraiture; painting the figure to talk about identity and presence with a focus on domestic spaces and relationships. Allen’s work has been exhibited nationally including juried shows in Boston and New York City.

Introverted Self Portrait, 2018 Oil on panel 48" x 36" 23

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XIAODONG XU Statement Ever since the early days of my childhood in Shanghai, I have been drawn to both printed and animated illustrations, finding in Japanese comic books and in Disney animations a window that opened to a dreamy, richly imaginative world. This has led me to seek acquiring the skills necessary to harness the power of storytelling and communicating ideas through images.

These past four years have offered me the opportunity to experiment freely while at the same time pushed me to impose on myself the rigorous discipline of researching and drawing the individual components of a successful image: -The study of anatomy, body language and facial expressions helped me bring characters to life.

-The exploration of geography, botany, world architectures and cultures allowed me to imagine coherent societies and environments.

-The shaping of concepts underlying my stories gave them relevance and meaning.

Fantasy World, 2018 Digital painting 3000 x 5499 pixels

Relic, 2019 Digital painting 4000 x 5638 pixels

In a series of storyboards and advanced sketches for a story about valor, courage and ingenuity in a dystopian world, I have laid the groundwork for what may soon become an animation. I have also developed a series of imagined worlds that, I hope, will lead me to work in Production Design in the film industry.

Biography Xiaodong Xu was born and raised in Shanghai, China. He majored in Art Design during his undergraduate study and graduated with a BFA from Shanghai Institute of Teaching Tianhua in 2014.

Xiaodong Xu was influenced by Japanese Animation and Disney Cartoons in his childhood. He loves doodling the fantasy world and narrative illustrations. He aims to become an outstanding concept artist and freelance illustrator.

Sin, 2019 Digital painting 9000 x 4779 pixels 25

MERRI CYR

Photography merricyr1@mac.com merricyr.com

JEREMY DUVAL

Drawing contact@jeremyduval.com jeremyduval.com

PATRICIA FLYNN

Drawing pflynnla@yahoo.com

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2019 MFA THESIS EXHIBITION

JENNIFER HALLI

Ceramics jenhalli@mac.com jenniferhalli.com

JORDI LISTER

Ceramics listerarts@gmail.com listerarts.com

BRENDAN LYONS

ROBERT NAJLIS

Jewelry/Metals SomeDamnedSmith@gmail.com

Painting robert@robertnajlis.com robertnajlis.com

ALLEN TENBUSSCHEN

LAUREN SHEPHERD

Painting allentenbusschen@gmail.com allentenbusschen.com

Ceramics shepherd.lauren@ymail.com

XIAODONG XU

Illustration xdxu.artstation@gmail.com xdxu.artstation.com

2019 MFA THESIS EXHIBITION

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2019 MFA THESIS EXHIBITION College of Visual and Performing Arts University of Massachusetts Dartmouth March 30 — May 11, 2019

EDITOR Viera Levitt

PUBLICATION ASSISTANTS Katy Rodden Walker Emma Young

PHOTOGRAPHERS Kate Couturier Viera Levitt Christopher T. Smith Student Archives

DESIGN Michelle Bowers Melissa Hacunda Shaila Samuel

UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY Star Store Campus 715 Purchase Street New Bedford, MA 02740 Viera Levitt, Gallery Director email: gallery@umassd.edu phone: 508 999 8555 CVPA at UMass Dartmouth is a proud partner of AHA! (Art, History, & Architecture) Night — New Bedford’s free Downtown cultural event and collaborative organization.

PRINTING Mallard Printing ISBN: 978-1-7338036-0-1

Offering an art school experience within a four-year, national tier 1 research university setting, CVPA at UMass Dartmouth offers 16 concentrations in Art and Design, Art History, Art Education, and Music. CVPA courses are taught on two campuses: Paul Rudolph’s distinctive architecture of the main campus in Dartmouth, and the Star Store Campus in downtown New Bedford.

umassd.edu/cvpa/galleries

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ISBN 9781733803601

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