Document Type

Honors Thesis

Major

Studio Art

Advisor(s)

Ronald Nadeau

Committee Members

Michael Grillo, Susan Groce, Melissa Ladenheim, Justin Wolff

Graduation Year

May 2020

Publication Date

Spring 5-2020

Abstract

A small papermaking studio was assembled for making archival quality handmade papers and pulps appropriate for printmaking, book arts, and paper cast to demonstrate the connections between artist practice, materials, and medium through process art. In the home studio a variety of machine-made cotton and abaca linters from an artist supplier were torn by hand and beaten by individual fiber types with a standard kitchen blender. Common papermaking additives were mixed into the pulp in controlled measurements to improve quality and colors. Application of the wet sheets and pulps for papercast and dried 3-dimensional paper sheets demonstrated that the blender method for pulping was effective for small studio work. With the formation of papercasts and sheets the artist interpreted and represented the narrative subjects of trauma and connected experience with the narrative of labor and formation inherent in the process art. This suggests that by working with an art substance through many steps of production, an artist has more control and connection to the medium itself creating a deeper dialog between process art and material applications.

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