Sarah Rushford MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2023

Abstract

This video installation is an alternative publication of a peculiar, original lyric essay. It depicts twenty-two people concentrating on vocalizing this essay as they hear it through a wireless headphone. Elements of each participant’s individuality are revealed through their contribution to this game of listening-while-speaking. Concerned with discovery, the piece uses textual experiment to queer action and interaction, as a means to sidestep stale notions of the self. It might suggest that when we speak, we should listen at the same time; to know and show our true selves by discovering one other.

At its heart the work aims to engage ingenuity, lead toward more generative and expansive forms of reading, and publish the imperative of active listening. The work troubles a conclusive telling of care, loss, motherhood, perception, and emotional proximity. It’s a literary photographic ritual that transforms cool, at times factual prose into embodied language. The essay’s tone, style, and genre shift and then snap together using the video/audio cut not as an injury to time but as connective tissue; the grammar of moving image communicates as much as the actual words. The work is restrained, but it also reveals irreverence toward orthodoxy, and humor about loneliness and awkward interaction. Moments of candidness and the embrace of error break illusion, invite examination of work’s construction, and allow speakers’ thoughts about the experience to be heard.

Items that illuminate the text are hidden in plain sight near and farther from the viewing area. The simple bench is handmade from alderwood which carries a protective symbolism. Even its pattern of slats (that at once support and free the viewer) and the oblique angle of the monitor denote flexible care. A basket of blankets, plants, fruit, and subtle drawings form the rest of the quiet, playful installation.

Bryce Frimming MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2024

Jessica Joner MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2024

Mary Ellen Cobb MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2024

Todd Umhoefer MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2024

Flannery Smith MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2024

Travis Johnson MFA Visual Studies Low Residency Thesis 2023

Joe B. Keo MFA Visual Studies Low Residency Thesis 2023

Kaye Blankenship MFA Visual Studies Low Residency Thesis 2023

Matthew McDonald MFA Visual Studies Low Residency Thesis 2023

Vin Hill MFA Visual Studies Low Residency Thesis 2023

Heidi Blair MFA Visual Studies Low Residency Thesis 2023

Jessie Lawson MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2024

Ansley Gwin MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2024

Daniel Sundberg MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2024

Shelby Baldridge MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2020)

Payton Barronian MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2020

Katie DeTemple MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2020

KT Dimmick MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2020

Simone Fischer MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2020

Shih-Ying Hu 胡仕穎 MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2020

Mohammed Murshed MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2020

Sarah Peters MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2020

Daniela Repas MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2020

Perry Chandler MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2020

Vo Vo MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2020

Molly Herro MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2023

Mei Bose MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2023

Tristan Perrotti MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2023

Ash Stone MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2023

Sarah Rushford MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2023

Noah Beckham MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2023

Tom Manzanarez MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2023

Sam Kegg MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2023

Cerelia Maskarinec MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2023

Chloe Tucker MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2023

Paola Coimbra Sanabria MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2023

Daylynn Lambi MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2023

Ariel Dinero MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2023

Ketzia Schoneberg MFA Visual Studies Low Residency Thesis 2023

Ashley Couch MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2021

Kristin Derryberry MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2021

Tyler Goodwin MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2021

Sara Rieber MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2021

Wade Schuster MFA LRVS Thesis 2021

Douglas Wiltshire MFA LRVS Thesis 2021

Élan Chardin MFA LRVS Thesis 2022

Jenny Wilde MFA LRVS Thesis 2022

Devon Pardue MFA LRVS Thesis 2022

McKenzie Jerofke MFA LRVS Thesis 2022

Katherine Curry MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2022

Alexis Day MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2019

Rhonda Tuholski MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2019

Yuyang Zhang MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2019

Diego Morales MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2019

Jennifer Bacon MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2019

Sarah Cabbell MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2019

Robin Cone-Murakami MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2019

Jessica Iams MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2019

Vanessa Briones MFA LRVS Thesis 2019

Marie Conner MFA LRVS Thesis 2019

Forest Aliya MFA LRVS Thesis 2019

Abney Wallace MFA LRVS Thesis 2019

Nicole Baker MFA LRVS Thesis 2019

Nesho Dimov MFA Visual Studies Thesis Spring 2018

Thomas Boeger MFA Visual Studies Thesis Spring 2018

Molly Alloy MFA Visual Studies Thesis Spring 2018

Giuliano Bruno MFA Visual Studies Thesis Spring 2018

Eric Long MFA Visual Studies Thesis Spring 2018

Joseph Freel MFA Visual Studies Thesis Spring 2018

Vincent Aloia Visual Studies MFA Thesis Spring 2017

Jenna Reineking MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2017

Mack Carlisle MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2017

Keegan O'Keefe Visual Studies MFA Thesis 2017

Corrin Olson Visual Studies MFA Thesis 2017

Kum-Ja Lee MFA LRVS Thesis 2017

Dustin Vance MFA LRVS Thesis 2017

Christina Smiros MFA LRVS Thesis 2017

Sara Tuttle MFA LRVS Thesis 2017

Harrison Creech MFA LRVS Thesis 2017

Jamie Knowlton MFA Visual Studies Thesis Spring 2018

Haley Lusby MFA Visual Studies Thesis Spring 2018

Cassandra Laurion MFA Visual Studies Thesis Spring 2018

Ian Nickols MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2018

Elena Thomas MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2018

Lynsee Sardell MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2018

Heather Boyd MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2019

Lauren Prado MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2019

Brittany Vega MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2019

Joshua Hughes MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2019

Julian Adoff MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2019

Ardis DeFreece Visual Studies MFA Thesis 2017

Maxx Martinez MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2017

Adam Ciresi Visual Studies MFA Thesis 2017

Angélica Maria Millán Lozano Visual Studies MFA Thesis 2017

Devin Cogger MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2017

Melanie Stevens Visual Studies MFA Thesis 2017

Aruni Dharmakirthi MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2017

Hunter Buck Visual Studies MFA Thesis 2017

Bowen Feeley MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2017

Megan Sliger MFA LRVS Thesis 2017

Allynn Carpenter MFA Visual Studies Thesis Spring 2018

Tina Sparkles MFA LRVS Thesis 2018

Brenda Whitehill Schlenker MFA LRVS 2018

Hannah Concannon MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2018

Samantha Wall MFA Visual Studies 2011

Brittany Windsor MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2019

Jodie Cavalier VS MFA Thesis 2012

James Papadopoulos VS MFA Thesis 2012

Cay Horiuchi VS MFA Thesis 2012

Tim Stigliano VS MFA Thesis 2012

Patrick Driscoll VS MFA Thesis Spring 2012

Jamie Nadherny VS MFA Thesis Spring 2012

Stefan Ransom VS MFA Thesis 2012

Nadia Buyse VS MFA Thesis Spring 2012

Juleen Johnson VS MFA Thesis 2012

Marilyn Skalberg VS MFA Thesis 2012

Fletcher Meisenburg VS MFA 2012

Ray Anthony Barrett VS MFA Thesis 2011

Daniel Glendening VS MFA Thesis 2011

Bryson Hansen VS MFA Thesis 2011

Carl Klimt VS MFA Thesis 2011

Elizabeth Malaska VS MFA Thesis 2011

Tyler Stuart VS MFA Thesis 2011

Mary Dahlke MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2014

Tabitha Nikolai MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2014

Stephanie Brachmann MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2014

Rachel Wolf MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2014

Richard York MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2014

Mark Palmen MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2014

Sarah Abbott MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2014

Jonathan Gann MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2014

Jessica Spiess MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2014

Thomas John Gamble MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2014

Veronica Reeves MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2015

Candace Jahn MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2015

Evan Isoline MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2015

Marisa Lee MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2015

Lucas Haley MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2015

Maria Davidoff VS MFA Thesis 2015

Kelly McGovern MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2015

Jung Min VS MFA Thesis 2015

Nicholas Patton MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2015

Katelyn Piatt MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2015

Mario Gallucci MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2014

Anya Roberts-Toney MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2014

Terri Bradley VS MFA Thesis 2013

Linden How VS MFA Thesis 2013

Daniel Long VS MFA Thesis 2013

Erin Dengerink VS MFA Thesis 2013

Andrew Muller-Lorish VS MFA Thesis 2013

Takahiro Yamamoto VS MFA Thesis 2013

Cristin Norine VS MFA Thesis 2013

Lindsay Williams VS MFA Thesis 2013

John Knight VS MFA Thesis 2013

Justin Schwab VS MFA Thesis 2013

Oriana Lewton-Leopold VS MFA Thesis 2012

Victoria Reynolds VS MFA Thesis 2012

Bertrand Morin MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2015

Andrea Oldenburg MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2015

Stephanie Yu MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2014

John Dougherty MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2014

Lauren Seiffert MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2014

Michael Horwitz MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2014

Leif J. Lee MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2014

Jill Sattler MFA LRVS Thesis 2014

Jeanne Roderick MFA LRVS Thesis 2014

Rhonda Vanover MFA LRVS Thesis 2014

Kiel Fletcher VS MFA Thesis 2013

Edward Trover VS MFA Thesis 2013

Matthew Leavitt VS MFA Thesis 2013

Christy Bailey VS MFA Thesis 2013

Lesley Silvia LRVS MFA Thesis 2016

Danielle Foushee LRVS MFA Thesis 2016

Gerardo Vargas LRVS MFA Thesis 2016

Brittany Gipson LRVS MFA Thesis 2016

M. Victoria Moran LRVS MFA Thesis 2016

Tim Janchar VS MFA Thesis Spring 2013

Micah Schmelzer MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2015

Amanda Wilcox MFA LRVS Thesis 2015

Elizabeth Randall MFA LRVS Thesis 2015

Dana Rudolph MFA LRVS Thesis 2015

Alanna Risse MFA LRVS Thesis 2015

Trish Brownlee MFA LRVS Thesis 2015

Michael Welsh VS MFA Thesis 2011

Laura Hughes VS MFA Thesis 2010

Benjamin Ediger VS MFA Thesis 2010

Wayne Bund VS MFA Thesis 2010

Zachary J. Rau VS MFA Thesis Spring 2010

Allison Halter VS MFA Thesis Spring 2010

Ruth Lantz VS MFA Thesis Spring 2010

Craig Wheat VS MFA Thesis Spring 2009

Matthew Wilson VS MFA Thesis 2009

Rebecca Steele VS MFA Thesis 2009

Nicole Eriko Smith VS MFA Thesis 2009

Paige Saez-Falcon VS MFA Thesis 2009

Michael Reinsch VS MFA Thesis 2009

Rachel Brown Smith MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2016

Caitlin Rooney MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2016

Sean Barnes MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2016

Elizabeth Fuller MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2016

Nicole Vene MFA Visual Studies Thesis Fall 2016

Jason Thomas Visual Studies MFA Thesis 2016

Tait Simonson MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2016

Maggie-Rose Condit MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2016

Richard Godbold MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2016

Lauren Stumpf Visual Studies MFA Thesis 2016

Aaron Johnson MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2016

Tricia Martin VS MFA Thesis 2009

Robert Heyes VS MFA Thesis 2009

Chelsea Heffner VS MFA Thesis 2009

Matthew Green VS MFA Thesis 2009

Jacob Fennell VS MFA Thesis 2009

Nicolaii Dornstauder MFA Thesis Spring 2009

Sean Joseph Patrick Carney VS MFA Thesis 2009

Judith Hochman MFA LRVS Thesis 2015

Katie Dunbar VS MFA Thesis 2011

Amory Abbott MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2016

Tessa Heck MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2016

Anastasia Greer MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2016

BriAnna Rosen MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2016

Cathy Cleaver VS MFA Thesis Spring 2010

Shannon O'Brien MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2023