Precious Commodities

Author

Colin John Klimesh, Minnesota State University - Mankato

Abstract

My process mimics the production of goods and commodities in the industrial and commercial sector. It begins with the conception of a design, which I translate to the fabrication of a matrix, a means for replication and reproduction. I find the aesthetics of systematic production visually appealing. Store shelves speak of repetition and duplication, a society of productivity, efficiency and economy, industrialization and commercialism. Though I despise the underlying values that consumerism promotes, I love the clean, geometric, organized and modular aesthetic that it conveys. I often work between ceramics and print media, letting one process inform the other. Ceramic sculptures become catalyst for prints and vice versa, and some concepts are translated into installations. These Objects are then subjected to visual investigations and experiments involving strategies for placement, arrangement, organization, juxtaposition, and layering. Installations are meant to address spatial relationships and envelop and engage the viewer in a similar way to the modular, dense organization of a commercial space. My interests lie in the way that goods and commodities are presented in a systematic and simulated way, visually guiding and sometimes controlling the viewer/consumer in a space. I try to consciously engage the viewer by inviting, and then limiting or directing them and their interactions within the work and space.

Advisor

Mika Negishi-Laidlaw

Committee Member

Jonathan McFadden

Committee Member

Jasper Hunt

Date of Degree

2013

Language

english

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

Master of Arts (MA)

College

Arts and Humanities

Recommended Citation

Klimesh, C. J. (2013). Precious Commodities [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/335/

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License