Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Thesis Format

Monograph

Degree

Master of Arts

Program

Art History

Supervisor

Robertson, Kirsty M.

Abstract

This thesis provides a literary reading of desire in contemporary land art. Using literature as a tool to supplement more traditional theory, an analysis of desire may become poetic, open-ended, and allow for interdisciplinary slippage. The chapters are structured as case studies which explore the use of natural light in James Turrell’s skyspaces and Virginia Woolf’s The Waves; the function of distance in Walter de Maria’s Lighting Field and Anne Carson’s Autobiography of Red; and passages of time in Ana Mendieta’s tableau works and siluetas alongside Clarice Lispector’s Agua Viva. The seeking out of desire in these works challenges the contemporary notion that desire is under threat by 24/7 electrical lighting, accelerationism, and the atomization of time. This thesis argues that the works in question may be viewed as repositories of desire and provides outlines for the way desire may continue to reach outwards in an increasingly connected world.

Summary for Lay Audience

This thesis provides a literary reading of desire in contemporary land art. By using literature as a tool to supplement more traditional theory which often attempts to build more rigid frameworks, an analysis of desire is allowed to become poetic, open-ended, and welcoming to interdisciplinary slippage. The chapters are structured as case studies which explore the use of natural light in James Turrell’s skyspaces and Virginia Woolf’s The Waves; the function of distance in Walter de Maria’s Lighting Field and Anne Carson’s Autobiography of Red; and passages of time in Ana Mendieta’s tableau works and siluetas alongside Clarice Lispector’s Agua Viva. The active seeking out of desire in these works challenges the contemporary notion that desire is under threat by 24/7 electrical lighting, accelerationism, and the atomization of time. This thesis argues that the works in question may be viewed as repositories of desire and provides outlines for the way desire may continue to reach outwards in an increasingly connected world.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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