Subject Area
Art, Art History/Criticism/Conservation
Abstract
K-12 Educators often find themselves thrust into a swamp of politics they never asked to enter. It is in this swamp that educators strive to meet students’ social, emotional, and educational needs. However, issues such as school shootings, racism, and gender inequality all make it difficult for schools to be what they should be: an equalizing, safe place where children can learn. These problems weaken the school system and harm public interest while leading to teacher burnout.
Synecdoche: Archiving Violence in Schools is a body of paintings and experimental artist books that responds to the everyday experiences of the educators caught in this political quagmire. This work combines my experience as a primary and secondary teacher, other educators’ perspectives, and material culture to create an archive of the systemic issues that make it difficult for schools to best serve their students and staff. This archive is not fully accessible, and not every detail can be easily “read”, but it serves as a safe repository for the lived experiences of other educators and me.
In Section 1, I delve into the social issues that inform my artistic practice.In Section 2, I discuss how employing hauntology and fairy tales creates a thematic and visual approach to my work. In Section 3, I discuss how interviews I conducted with current educators played a role in my art. In Section 4, I discuss the conceptual importance of material culture in my paintings and books.
Degree Date
Spring 5-16-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.F.A.
Department
Art
Advisor
Melanie Clemmons
Second Advisor
Nishiki Sugawara-Beda
Number of Pages
24
Format
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
Whitney, Jillian, "Synecdoche: Archiving Violence in Schools" (2026). Art Theses and Dissertations. 33.
https://scholar.smu.edu/art_etds/33
Thesis
WhitneyJillian_DepositAgreementForm.pdf (150 kB)
Deposit Agreement Form
WhitneyJillian_ArtworkChecklist_20Images - Sheet1.pdf (24007 kB)
Artwork Checklist
WhitneyJillian_CV_Thesis.pdf (41 kB)
CV
WhitneyJillian_MFAQEBrochure.pdf (3183 kB)
Pollock Brochure
WhitneyJillian_ArtistStatement_Thesis.pdf (29 kB)
Artist Statement
F is for funding.jpg (1734 kB)
Artwork Image "Audiobook: F Is for Funding"
bigblueinstall.jpg (5401 kB)
Artwork Image "Study of Other Duties as Assigned"
S is for School Shootings copy.jpg (2160 kB)
Artwork Image "S Is for School Shootings"
Lockdown in the Year 345 copy.jpg (3985 kB)
Artwork Image "Lockdown in the Year 345"
Title I School District.jpg (43 kB)
Artwork Image "Title I School District"
I'm Always Stuck With the Carmex.jpg (13542 kB)
Artwork Image "I'm Always Stuck With the Carmex"
*** And a Blood Offering.jpg (1775 kB)
Artwork Image "**** & a Blood Offering"
Domino Effect.png (5126 kB)
Artwork Image "Domino Effect"
Smoke Detectors Should Not Be a Novel Acquisition.jpg (4243 kB)
Smoke Detectors Should Not Be a Novel Acquisition"
As Insular as a Snowglobe.jpg (1609 kB)
"As Insular as a Snowglobe"
Whitney_SuperintendentNo1.jpg (9696 kB)
Artwork Image "Superintendent No. 1"
AudioBook1 copy.jpg (2366 kB)
Artwork Image "Audiobook: Study of Other Duties as Assigned"
WhitneyJillian_Stop The Bleed_Cropped.jpg (10761 kB)
Artwork Image "Stop the Bleed"
AlphabetStripJordanGallery.jpg (3646 kB)
Artwork Image "Alphabet Strip series"
Scissors copy.jpg (289 kB)
Artwork Image "The Scissors. They Moved"
SchoolBackPack2.jpg (3522 kB)
Artwork Image "Resiliency Looks Like Shattered School Doors"
A Why Isnt Enough instagram post.jpg (7691 kB)
Artwork Image "A Why Isn’t Enough"
page 2 copy.jpg (2887 kB)
Artwork Image "Redacted Pages 1 from A Why Isn’t Enough"
page 3.jpg (2937 kB)
Artwork Image "Redacted Pages 2 from A Why Isn’t Enough"
page 4.jpg (2763 kB)
Artwork Image "Redacted Pages 3 from A Why Isn’t Enough"
