Researcher ORCID Identifier

0000-0003-4681-7932

Graduation Year

2021

Date of Submission

4-2021

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

<--Please Select Department-->

Reader 1

Kevin Williamson

Reader 2

Ronnie Brosterman

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@2021 Adrienne M Kafka

Abstract

Through artmaking, this thesis explores how individuals can live pleasurable and meaningful lives in today’s complex social and political landscape as they explore the necessity of emotional, painful, pleasurable, supportive, collective, and selfless experiences in supporting personal sustainability and fulfillment. Within this exploration, the possibilities of art as a mode of social practice, action, and engagement are investigated. An examination of insight from adrienne maree brown’s Pleasure Activism, the social media platform, TikTok, and two dance forms, Gaga - a young and evolving movement language - and contact improvisation, provide a research foundation that influenced the direction of the project. Parallel to the research component, the creative process, development, and analysis of an original dance-movement film, to bask in your shadows/ sit in our light, is described. Originally inspired by the concept “pleasure activism,” this piece transformed into its own entity through the creative process. It delves into the core of the human experience, investigating personal identities and positionality, how environments shape individuals, and how people can connect to create communities more powerful than themselves. The research described above is ultimately used to motivate the discovery of a new conduit for finding joy in the present, and future research directions around the use of art as social action are discussed.

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