Date of Award

2018

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Department

Art

Sub-Department

Creative Writing

First Advisor

Samuel Amadon

Abstract

This thesis uses poetry to explore the influences of space and geographical location on subjective perception and vision. More specifically, it aims to use landscape to observe the visible and invisible qualities of a geographical space, and investigate the ways in which perception of those spatial boundaries can be used to create self-portraits. It also aims to revise traditional, romanticized versions of the American West as manifested in poetry and photography in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. To do so, it focuses its attention on the man-altered landscape, rather than the pure, wild landscape as a space barricaded from human influence. The work partly involves a dialogue between the poet and New Topographic photographers, such as Stephen Shore, who have created visuals of the man-altered landscapes in their art. Moreover, the collection collages “wild” and man-made spaces in an effort to complicate what can be considered “natural” in a neo-American landscape, and reveal the impact they have on bodies moving through those various American landscapes.

Rights

© 2018, Cathleen Bonner

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