Abstract
How does care manifest in contemporary art? How do artists visualize kinship? These are some of the questions guiding this thesis. In considering the depiction of care in contemporary art, there is a limited application of the concept. Understood through the scope of feminist discourse on the sexual division of labor, care becomes restrained the context of familial obligation according to the nuclear family structure, such as in the case of parental obligation. This characterization of care implies that it is a burden upon the care provider and functions to exploit labor, especially on the part of women. However, this thesis proposes an expanded analysis of care, shifting the focus in order to accommodate for care as it appears in queer kinship networks. Applying a theoretical framework drawing upon feminist theory, disability studies, and Crip theory, this thesis examines the artwork of contemporary American artist Park McArthur, whose work reflects her embodied experiences of disability. Reflecting her position as a disabled adult who receives care, McArthur employs a variety of media in her body of work. Created in conversation with minimalist and conceptualist art, her interrogation of care contributes to the theoretical inquiries being made with Crip theory, disability studies, and feminist theory.
Degree Date
Spring 2021
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Department
Art History
Advisor
Anna Lovatt
Second Advisor
Roberto Conduru
Third Advisor
Randall Griffin
Subject Area
Art History/Criticism/Conservation
Number of Pages
79
Format
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
Whitaker, Madison, "Care, Collectivity, and Disabled Futurity" (2021). Art History Theses and Dissertations. 9.
https://scholar.smu.edu/arts_arthistory_etds/9
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