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Title
This Is Not a Thesis
ORCID
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6967-9259
Access Type
Open Access Thesis
Document Type
thesis
Degree Program
Art
Degree Type
Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.)
Year Degree Awarded
2021
Month Degree Awarded
May
Abstract
Reading the book Perform or Else by Jon Mckenzie along with the social distancing, isolation, and all the ongoing challenging and forced experiences of the 2020-21 Covid-19 pandemic era, on one hand, and my interests in performance art and physicality, on the other hand, made me think how can I create a work that represents an image of the body, the concept of action, and the idea of togetherness which are all essential for performance art, and/or for any performance.
All art disciplines combine theory and practice in order to depict the relationship between bodies, art, and education, and as history proves, theory is always intended to be put into practice. The theoretical and practical in this written thesis begins with its title This Is Not a Thesis; continues by furthering the idea of Perform or Else, asking instead Thesis or Else; and goes on to serve its purpose of being a theoretical concern, a narrative, a genre in and of itself, an exercise in authorship, and furthermore, function as a documentation of documentation of my art – performance – practice. The series of written pieces, performances (rejected proposals), and images (documents) compiled here are meant to create a space between authorship and performance art. This Is Not a Thesis demonstrates the rejection and acceptance of the same thing at the same time.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/22793547.0
First Advisor
Jeff Kasper
Second Advisor
Susan Jahoda
Third Advisor
Young Min Moon
Fourth Advisor
Megan Lewis
Recommended Citation
Nikakhlagh, Nima, "This Is Not a Thesis" (2021). Masters Theses. 1066.
https://doi.org/10.7275/22793547.0
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/masters_theses_2/1066