Thomas Green | Memphis College of Art (original) (raw)

Papers by Thomas Green

Research paper thumbnail of Camping in Public: an Observation of Social Contributions to Queer Aesthetics

A paper tracing the emergence of queer aesthetics in filmmaking alongside the openness and visibi... more A paper tracing the emergence of queer aesthetics in filmmaking alongside the openness and visibility of LGBT individuals in mainstream society.

Research paper thumbnail of Resolving the Illusions between High and Low Art

An observation of the fluidity between what is considered "high" art and "low" art, and the fluct... more An observation of the fluidity between what is considered "high" art and "low" art, and the fluctuating nature of these designations.

Research paper thumbnail of From the Streets to the Gallery: The Progressions of ‘Graffiti’ into ‘Urban Inscriptions’ and the Efforts to Preserve It

Tracing the considerations of graffiti as art in contemporary society. 2013

Research paper thumbnail of Visual Triggers

My work is a personal and abstract visual interpretation touching on various phenomenology and id... more My work is a personal and abstract visual interpretation touching on various phenomenology and ideas surrounding addiction. The imagery is inspired by disease and rapidly forming infestations in nature. Moreover, the concept plays on the ideas of being human and being captivated by a visceral, elusive force. Bill Wilson, in the 1935 text of Alcoholics Anonymous, encourages the addict to "remember we deal with Alcohol [addiction], cunning, baffling, powerful." (58) I seek to visually express the power and energy that lie behind such forces in my work. The work remains predominantly void of directly recognizable subject matter, leaving interpretation open to each viewer, who may or may not have any previous experiences with addiction. Negative interpretations of the concept might provoke ideas of greed, lust, and other obsessions, whereas, converse translations could recall positive energies including love, enamor, and spiritual atonement. During the investigation into addiction and addiction theory, my personal reflections seemed to draw a link between viewers confronting an image, painting, or other piece of art and addicts confronting stimuli via the "visual trigger." The result is similar in the sense that the visual stimuli of both works of art and addiction triggers can provoke a memory, transport the viewer, and produce emotional response. In lieu of portraying the grotesque in my work, and in consideration of the ideas of the "visual trigger," I have chosen to portray the beautiful and organic, while keeping a "Pop" sensibility and approachability to the work. From science I have drawn the basis for the images that I create. I have immersed myself into the contemporary realms of microscopic photography. I employ a vibrant, yet simple color schema on circular shapes, which are the most basic of all shapes, comprised of only one edge. The circular motif

Research paper thumbnail of Camping in Public: an Observation of Social Contributions to Queer Aesthetics

A paper tracing the emergence of queer aesthetics in filmmaking alongside the openness and visibi... more A paper tracing the emergence of queer aesthetics in filmmaking alongside the openness and visibility of LGBT individuals in mainstream society.

Research paper thumbnail of Resolving the Illusions between High and Low Art

An observation of the fluidity between what is considered "high" art and "low" art, and the fluct... more An observation of the fluidity between what is considered "high" art and "low" art, and the fluctuating nature of these designations.

Research paper thumbnail of From the Streets to the Gallery: The Progressions of ‘Graffiti’ into ‘Urban Inscriptions’ and the Efforts to Preserve It

Tracing the considerations of graffiti as art in contemporary society. 2013

Research paper thumbnail of Visual Triggers

My work is a personal and abstract visual interpretation touching on various phenomenology and id... more My work is a personal and abstract visual interpretation touching on various phenomenology and ideas surrounding addiction. The imagery is inspired by disease and rapidly forming infestations in nature. Moreover, the concept plays on the ideas of being human and being captivated by a visceral, elusive force. Bill Wilson, in the 1935 text of Alcoholics Anonymous, encourages the addict to "remember we deal with Alcohol [addiction], cunning, baffling, powerful." (58) I seek to visually express the power and energy that lie behind such forces in my work. The work remains predominantly void of directly recognizable subject matter, leaving interpretation open to each viewer, who may or may not have any previous experiences with addiction. Negative interpretations of the concept might provoke ideas of greed, lust, and other obsessions, whereas, converse translations could recall positive energies including love, enamor, and spiritual atonement. During the investigation into addiction and addiction theory, my personal reflections seemed to draw a link between viewers confronting an image, painting, or other piece of art and addicts confronting stimuli via the "visual trigger." The result is similar in the sense that the visual stimuli of both works of art and addiction triggers can provoke a memory, transport the viewer, and produce emotional response. In lieu of portraying the grotesque in my work, and in consideration of the ideas of the "visual trigger," I have chosen to portray the beautiful and organic, while keeping a "Pop" sensibility and approachability to the work. From science I have drawn the basis for the images that I create. I have immersed myself into the contemporary realms of microscopic photography. I employ a vibrant, yet simple color schema on circular shapes, which are the most basic of all shapes, comprised of only one edge. The circular motif