Date of Award

4-2025

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts

Department

Art

First Advisor

Kyle Triplett, MFA

Second Advisor

Jessica Brandl, MFA

Third Advisor

Andrew Hennlich, Ph.D.

Fourth Advisor

Melis Agabigum, MFA

Keywords

Ceramics, craft, domestic, maternal ideal, motherhood, vessel

Access Setting

Masters Thesis-Open Access

Abstract

This research explores the story of motherhood through that of art, craft, and the domestic vessel. It analyzes how the installation, Motherhood Divided, can be viewed as an exemplification of the conflicted divide inherent within contemporary motherhood. I posit this divide to be a result of the tension created between the impossibility of the current normative maternal ideal of intensive motherhood, and its contradiction to that of the private hidden realities of mothering.

The historical origin of intensive mothering is explored, along with its impact on current societal maternal standards. These concepts are juxtaposed with the art of Camille Henrot and Mary Kelly, as well as psychoanalytic theories in order to explore the fullest interpretations of the maternal story. Important supporting psychoanalytical frameworks are that of: object relations theory through Melanie Klein and D.W Winnicott, maternal ambivalence through Rozsika Parker, and the maternal depressive position and reparation through Klein and Julia Kristeva.

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