Fabricating Divine

FABRICATING DIVINE

A Thesis Presented by JAMES W. RHEA

Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF FINE ARTS May 2008 Department of Art

FABRICATING DIVINE A Thesis Presented by JAMES W. RHEA

Approved as to style and content by:

_______________________________ Frank Ozereko, Chair

_______________________________ Nancy LaPointe, Member

_______________________________ Mario Ontiveros, Member

__________________________________ Jeanette Cole, Graduate Program Director Studio Art Program Department of Art

__________________________________ William T. Oedel, Department Chair Department of Art

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................... iv CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION TO THE MARK ......................................................1 2. ANGELS.................................................................................................9 3. INSTALLATION .................................................................................11 BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................................13 PHOTO OF ARTIST AT WORK......................................supplemental file

iii

LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page

1. Faithbomb ................................................................................................4

iv

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE MARK The world was made with heat. Fire as passion moves us. We fear it and we seek its warmth. We try to control it; we often fail to harness its immense power. From the beginning of societal progress, we have recorded our way of being, and the present state of our lives in this world. Civilizations pulled sticks from fire, set them against stone, and then deliberately pressed into the surface, making an indication or a mark. These examples of existence, as reminders...