Above & Below

Author

Kelly N. Munson, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Abstract

“Our ability to perceive quality in nature begins, as in art, with the pretty. It expands through successive stages of the beautiful to values yet uncaptured by language.” —Aldo Leopoldo

My work often finds itself in a lonely space. Is it science? Not really. Is it Art? Maybe. Is it Design? Sometimes. I have never fit neatly into any box. As a once want-to-be Chemist, I found the results of its study too tight and often detached. As I dove into the world of Fine Art, those efforts yielded work that was too loose—in many cases leaving me wanting a clearer message.

We live in a world where we are flush with data, much of it is beyond the reach of the general public. In order to enact real change, the world needs human empathy—And art has always found a way to appeal to the human heart.

For my work as a Masters of Arts candidate, even though I am an artist, I still find myself following the Scientific Method. Hence, all of my work begins with a question:

Can you fall in love with data?

Is research an act of love?

How is the struggle for social justice related to agriculture?

Are map makers artists?

Can a body of water hide in plain sight?

Why does “newness” provoke so much anxiety?

Can topography be tactical?

When is the status quo anything but?

Behind each artistic choice I make lies a curiosity to understand our world. My work attempts to make the indigestible—emotional. And through that emotion perhaps we can generate some positive change that allows humans to live in better balance with everything that surrounds us.

Advisor

Ellen Schofield

Committee Member

Josh Winkler

Committee Member

Brad Coulter

Committee Member

Kim Musser

Date of Degree

2023

Language

english

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

Master of Arts (MA)

Program of Study

Art

College

Humanities and Social Sciences

Recommended Citation

Munson, K. N. (2023). Above & below [Master’s thesis, Minnesota State University, Mankato]. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/1284/