Graduation Date
5-2016
Document Type
Master's Thesis (Campus only Access)
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department or Program
Graduate Humanities
Department or Program Chair
Joan Baranow, PhD
First Reader
Joshua Horowitz, PhD
Second Reader
Leslie Ross, PhD
Abstract
Performance and installation art are unique creative outlets which have the benefit of undefined or blurred boundaries. Both performance art and installation art provide creative formats which present a means to address the cultural struggles that Indians face throughout the Americas. In examining the work of artists like the Postcommodity Collective, Guillermo Gómez-Peña, James Luna and Erica Lord, the connection between performance and installation art and Indian culture can be made. This special relationship creates a method for addressing issues such as identity, gender, colonization, sexuality, prejudice and spirituality. As an artist and an Indian, I am including my own creative process as a part of my research to actualize my own decolonization process in creating a performance piece to better relate with these artists and my culture.