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Cicelia Ross-Gotta: capstone

Date

2015

Authors

Ross-Gotta, Cicelia, artist

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Abstract

The artist's statement: Performance art creates an immersive experience for the viewer from which they cannot disengage. It places the viewers back in their body as active witnesses or participants in an experience that is unfolding around all of us. In my performances, objects are altered through intentionally unrehearsed action, allowing for a blurring of the distinction between performer and audience. My interest in creating a sense of shared experience stems from my parents' occupations. As Presbyterian chaplains, they were adept at establishing connectivity within their congregation in impromptu and unconventional places. However, while they were focused on communing about god and Christianity, my interests are secular, and focus on themes of gender, identity, the body, skin, and spirituality. These themes are explored through layers of video, sound, physical action, object, installation, and interactivity in a single work. The materials vary from steel to wood, fibers to found object, dirt to paint and performance to video projection. Integral to my process, this accrual of layers creates depth, texture, skin, and ephemerality. The triad of object, action and artifact act as an additional layer and guiding framework for my performances. Object is simply the initial thing that I make. Action is how the performance alters the object and creates new meaning. Artifact is the object transformed, what remains after the fact, pregnant with history, displayed in conjunction with video documentation of the performance. The shared experience of the object transformed engenders another transformation: from a space that is simply co-inhabited by the audience, to a space that is held by a moment of community.

Description

Colorado State University Art and Art History Department capstone project.
Capstone contains the artist's statement, a list of works, and images of works.

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Subject

sculpture
fibers
electronic art

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