Paige Saez-Falcon VS MFA Thesis 2009

Practical Everyday Magic: A Statement about Folk Art in the Digital Age

My thesis Everyday Practical Magic brings together my research in social media, experience design, and anthropology, with my experience as a maker of material objects and hence, a facilitator of intimate exchanges between people, objects and the media. Through the work of Donna Haraway and Clay Shirky I outline the conditions of our political identity as cyborgs. I highlight the tremendous impact networked cultures (mobile and internet) have had on our understanding of social ritual. I describe three projects completed over the last four years that laid the groundwork for this paper and my thesis exhibit. Using Wittgenstein’s writings on meaning and use in his Philosophical Investigations, I point to the political power of language in shaping cultural understanding of different kinds of economies. I illustrate the work of two other like‐ minded collectives; Superflex and The Center for Tactical Magic, and clarify what happens when art‐making, cultural activism, and communication technologies collide. Through Henry Jenkins’ work on Participatory Culture, I elucidate the hybridity of social media and art and describe the difference between interaction and participation.

I rely on Jerry Saltz’ review of The Generational: Younger than Jesus to explain my and other millennial artists work as evidencing a trend towards anthropology, sociology and ethnography. Then I summarize the simplistic process, yet complicated context of the work I created for the Practical Everyday Objects exhibit. Finally, I point out that art itself is a social media that emerged through use, and I discuss the power of creative agency to shape the world around us.

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Yiu-Hong Leung BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Rebecca Merrill BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Angela Miller BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Jason Powell BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Sarah Roach BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Jenny Hannah Roche BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Rainbow Ross BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Brenna Murphy BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Claire LaMont BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Alex Kneller BFA Thesis Spring 2009

April Robertson BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Fae Young-Scherling BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Mariana Worden BFA 2009 Thesis

Allison-Rose Woodin BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Jacob Winfield BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Katherine Gibson BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Paul Wagenblast BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Mathew Grigsby BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Thomas Robert Himes BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Robert Maxwell Humphres BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Vanessa Johnson BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Brendan Vail BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Sean Timson BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Jade Sheldon BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Maddison Bond BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Diane Chonette BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Nicole Dill BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Lynsey Douglas BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Brooke Eastburn BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Charmaine Taylor BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Katherine Murphy BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Aidan Koch BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Jeremy Le Grand BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Sarah Johnson BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Craig Wheat VS MFA Thesis Spring 2009

Matthew Wilson VS MFA Thesis 2009

Robert Heyes VS MFA Thesis 2009

Adolph Bastendorff BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Hannah Burgoyne BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Laurie Carter BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Chelsea Heffner VS MFA Thesis 2009

Matthew Green VS MFA Thesis 2009

Gavin Eveland BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Tesar Freeman BFA Thesis Spring 2009

Jacob Fennell VS MFA Thesis 2009

Nicolaii Dornstauder MFA Thesis Spring 2009

Sean Joseph Patrick Carney VS MFA Thesis 2009

Nicole Eriko Smith VS MFA Thesis 2009

Rebecca Steele VS MFA Thesis 2009

Paige Saez-Falcon VS MFA Thesis 2009

Michael Reinsch VS MFA Thesis 2009

Andy Pilarski VS MFA Thesis 2009

Tricia Martin VS MFA Thesis 2009