Date of Award
5-10-2012
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Studio Art, MA
First Advisor
John Norris
Second Advisor
Melissa Wilkinson
Committee Members
Curtis Steele; Shelly Gipson
Call Number
LD251 .A566t 2012 R33
Abstract
I watch the city. I am fascinated by the swift change and goings on of metropolitan life. I think of it as a collective performance and exemplary of basic human nature. The urban space also frightens me because it is expanding so fast that it disrupts the relationship between human civilization and the natural balance. My work is an exploration of this coexistence between humans and nature. As populations continue to expand and energy becomes rare, we find new ways to cohabitate. While creating new life forms both naturally and scientifically, humans become parasitic to their surroundings. Population growth is much like cell proliferation, an important life characteristic of organisms, in that they divide continuously and spread. In excess, however, this growth becomes malignant. I have created a narrative of the city as a way to explore this idea. In my work, the city functions like the cell, expanding over and over again. It is driven by desire and aimless expansion.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Ren, Zhe, "Between Utopia and Dystopia" (2012). Student Theses and Dissertations. 909.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/909
