Preferred Name
Hannah Patteson
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Date of Graduation
5-11-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
School of Art, Design, and Art History
Advisor(s)
Greg Stewart
Beth Hinderliter
Dymphna DeWild
Abstract
This monograph accompanies the MFA Thesis Exhibition, “Dirt Circus”. I outline the history of circus and carnival culture and the ways in which queer identities are expressed through these artistic modes. I describe the nonconforming expressions of gender in these arenas through bearded ladies, aerialists, clowns, and the freak show. I then explore various groups from the 70’s to present day, including Bread and Puppet Theater, The Cockettes, and Split Britches, who utilize performance to further their ideologies of gender freedom, anti-capitalism, and sexual liberation. I compare our differing uses of cheap art and public engagement within the realm of performance and activism. I then discuss how these elements of queer activism and performance can be displayed in a domestic space through nostalgic home goods and carnivalesque game play. I end by investigating the social construction of the definition of ‘dirt’ and ‘freak’ and how these concepts relate to the queering and camping of intimate spaces.
Recommended Citation
Patteson, Hannah, "Dirt Circus: Queering sports and home through filth" (2023). Masters Theses, 2020-current. 239.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/masters202029/239
Included in
Art Practice Commons, Fiber, Textile, and Weaving Arts Commons, Fine Arts Commons, Interactive Arts Commons, Interdisciplinary Arts and Media Commons, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons, Performance Studies Commons, Sculpture Commons
