This Light is Not My Own
Ryan Mehigan
M.Ed. - Visual Art Thesis
Anderson Gallery
April 23 - May 4, 2018
This Light Is Not My Own is an investigation into detoumement, authorial intent, and activated spectatorship. The body of work presented is composed through the detournement of visual fragments that cross my path, from magazines, newspapers, and mail order catalogs, to television, video, and the vastness of the internet. The disparity of content ranges from historic government archives, family photos, pop culture icons, 1980's movies, video games, social movement protesters, internet memes, and beyond. Such diverse sourcing creates provocative yet obscure compositions caught in the limbo between conflict and resolve.
The intent of my thesis is to reduce my authorial voice, shifting to a role of choreographer of the viewer's experience. This has shifted my art from the declarative position of "I am saying to you" to an interrogative art which is asking "what are you hearing?" With such a question asked, I have left space for the viewer to ·actively take part in the installation by way of whiteoards, to provide an answer and resolve the work.