Stratum

Author

Raneem Fadul, Claremont Graduate UniversityFollow

Date of Award

Fall 11-15-2016

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

Art

First Advisor

Rachel Lachowicz

Second Advisor

David Amico

Third Advisor

Michael Reafsnyder

Terms of Use & License Information

Terms of Use for work posted in Scholarship@Claremont.

Rights Information

© 2016 Raneem Fadul

Abstract

My work is an expression of the relationship between my own culture, and the American culture and way of life that I have had a chance to interact with, observe, and reflect on throughout the past few years. My concepts were inspired by the industrial nature of the area that I live in, where I gradually realized that I was surrounded by dozens of workshops and garages. Given that my home is the spiritually-rich, fairly traditional, and non-industrial Saudi Arabia, this typical American experience has been, to me, one with much room for reflection, due to the extreme contrast. The abundance of home improvement and hardware stores in the vicinity further provided me with unprecedented, convenient access to tools and supplies that sometimes I did not even know existed, which eliminated a significant barrier that had previously affected my ability to engage in actual craft, and provided inspiration and motivation to create. In this new reality, I could envision any work, and likely figure out a reasonable means to make it come to life. My art is communication between both my Saudi and American experiences, where my professional background as a graphic designer interplays with my more recent drive to explore my relationship with Art, which I pursue here in Southern California.

Patterns are a life-long fascination of mine, they give me peace and bring to my mind spirituality and meditation. I view them as words and phrases that could be read and translated to a universal language. However, I find pleasure in deconstructing these patterns and creating new visual boundaries. As such, my work transforms traditional, decorative Islamic patterns that are both ancient and stable into contemporary, industrial sculptures. My genuine interest in traditions and cultures leads me to subconsciously communicate with them. In my work, I attempt to examine tradition and challenge our perception of traditions through cultural symbols.

Link To Artist's Gallery

scholarship.claremont.edu/rfadul_mafate/

Recommended Citation

Fadul, Raneem, "Stratum" (2016). CGU MFA Theses. 132.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_mfatheses/132