Preferred Name
Chris Cohen
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Date of Graduation
Spring 2019
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
School of Art, Design and Art History
Advisor(s)
Cole Welter
Aderonke Adesanya
William H. Wightman
Abstract
White Noise investigates moments when white supremacist ideology injects itself into the conversation about American Identity and American History in an attempt to co- opt those definitions and control the conversation. The exhibition considers the effects of this identity crisis on American identity, white identity, American history, and family unity. The exhibition looks at these issues through the lens of the Virginia Historical Markers program, Civil War Re-enactment, contemporary white identity politics and supremacy, monuments, educational history museums, and the artist’s personal narrative about white supremacy as it relates to his own sense of loyalty and connection to his family. By weaving a personal narrative of division and loss caused by these racist ideologies, into a wider narrative of loss and destruction caused by white supremacy the artists hopes to open a dialogue about the damage that white supremacy causes, both to the people it targets, and to the humanity, culture, and identity of its proponents and those they supposedly identify with.
Recommended Citation
Cohen, Chris, "White Noise" (2019). Masters Theses, 2010-2019. 600.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/master201019/600
Included in
Ceramic Arts Commons, Interdisciplinary Arts and Media Commons, Painting Commons, Printmaking Commons, Sculpture Commons
