Mist: Form as Social Apparatus, 2019



a year long research project which culminated in both a written undergraguate art historical thesis and a public lecture presentation. Mentored by Dr. Ann Reynolds




Abstract:
What is the political implication of professional exhibition spaces dictating what should and should not be looked at? How does capitalism’s obsession with packaging affect the way we sense objects in galleries? Drawing from the video-installation work of both Mika Rottenberg and Sondra Perry, as well as theoretical frameworks including Karen Barad’s agential realism and Timothy Morton’s Hyperobjects, this thesis illustrates a speculative reality in which all rigid structures and ontological taxonomies are mist. One is then better able to visualize the overlapping spatial power dynamics embedded within the physical context of formal art spaces as well as the things and people inside of them. This thesis aims to question the presumed neutrality of professional exhibition spaces through a formal analysis by particularly focusing on critically ignored utilitarian infrastructural elements such as extension chords, ceilings, and power outlets.





an interview with UT Austin’s department of Art + Art History





a public artist talk hosted by the Visual Arts Center in Austin, Texas, on the occasion of Emily Lee and Rachael Henson’s duo exhibit, Almost Doesn’t Count






a write-up and interview by Lauren Knight discussing Crit Club, a nomadic, interdisciplinary critique platform founded by Emily Lee






How to Measure Yourself Against Your Dog in the Summertime
a spoken performance + video piece exhibited at Fusebox Festival