Aaron Johnson MFA Visual Studies Thesis 2016
Apocalypstick: This Is Not Entertainment
My thesis paper, Apocalypstick Traces: Joining the Dots between Fan Art and Situationism, the music video project and accompanying thesis show exhibition, Apocalypstick: This Is Not Entertainment are to serve as an investigation into faculties of fan art and situationism via experiments in moving image, print media and performance. In acts of detournement, appropriation, homage and tribute I intend to engage with popular song through the art of the music video via the act of the lip sync. As such, my thesis project and accompanying paper are an exploration into the supposed forms of high and low culture within the framework of the functionality of fandom in contemporary art. Through this I intend to conduct an exploration into my teenage fantasy world via an experiment in “pop situationism” and a critical line of inquiry into fan art and situationism in the form of a fictitious rock star of my creation, Apocalypstick.