From Marks of Conformity to Acts of Transgression: An Artistic M.F.A. Thesis of Autobiographical Reenactments for the Camera

Abstract

This M.F.A. thesis text discusses photographic images that explore the relationship between past and present identities, emotions stemming from social conformity, and the process of autobiographical historical reenactment. The paper reveals how self examination through artmaking provides an entryway into the depiction of social psychology, feminism, reenactment, costuming the self, and memory. Overall, this paper examines the ways in which documented reenactment of one’s past visualizes the relationship between past and present identities.