Date of Award

5-2006

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Departmental Honors

Department

Art and Design

Abstract

The associations I bring to an image are unique to me and my life experiences. I did not fully appreciate this until, as a photographer, I began to produce a body of work about activities that provide a refuge for me from the challenges of everyday life. I am an avid runner. For me running is a spiritual experience that renews my spirits and gives me hope. I took photos of the physical act of running and I was very disappointed with the results. The images failed to capture or recreate the sensations that I experienced while running. They elicited a full range of responses from viewers depending on their own personal experiences. There were those who abhorred running and had strong feelings of dislike. Even fellow runners brought completely different associations about running to the images. I became aware that it was more important to me to capture the way running made me feel than it was to document the actual activity itself. To create images of feelings, I found I needed to be able to articulate those feelings first, in verbal metaphors and then in turn in visual metaphors.

Included in

Photography Commons

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Faculty Mentor

Dennise Gackstetter

Departmental Honors Advisor

Alexa Sand