Date of Award

Spring 5-14-2016

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

Art

First Advisor

Rachel Lachowicz

Second Advisor

John Millei

Third Advisor

Michael Reafsnyder

Terms of Use & License Information

Terms of Use for work posted in Scholarship@Claremont.

Rights Information

© 2016 Elizabeth D. Hoffman

Abstract

Globalization opens up opportunities for the international community to push for freedom of expression. It is precisely because the history of kimonos is a multi-cultural one, invented by the Chinese, then adapted and adopted by the Japanese, then altered by Western colonialists and changed as it permutated from the aristocracy to the middle class and to laborers, that I felt that it was relevant to today and the cross-cultural influences of globalization. This summer, I purchased two authentic Japanese kimonos, (one an everyday cotton one to use as a model for my drawings, and the second, an elaborate silk one with hand stitched brocade –originally used as a wedding kimono.). When first entering the gallery, the viewer sees the authentic Japanese objects representing kimono culture. On the other side of the wall, my exhibition represents the Japanese culture of my imagination –i.e. things influenced by Japanese culture, but transformed by my Western imagination and created into something completely new.

Download

Share

COinS