Koenig, Ingrid

This research paper examines the importance and value of matrilineal knowledge and emotional knowledge as foundations for an art practice, as well as artmaking as a means of processing difficult emotions such as grief. The studio research investigates traditional craft practices and explores their reorganization within the realm of painting as a way of visually making order to better understand emotional experience and maternal relationships. This hands-on material research involves many processes including stitching, smocking, weaving, painting, and performance. Through the act of making, the work undergoes many layers of doing and undoing, and relies on tactile repetitions of movements and gestures, as well as an intuitive sense of colour. This multilayered way of working results in three dimensional sculptural paintings which speak to motherhood, memory, grief, and care. Textiles are embodied forms of knowledge that articulate powerful relationships between materiality and nostalgia. Speaking to life’s many transformations, through soft sculpture, painting, textile installation, and performance, studio research becomes a feminist expression of care.

This research paper examines the importance and value of matrilineal knowledge and emotional knowledge as foundations for an art practice, as well as artmaking as a means of processing difficult emotions such as grief. The studio research investigates traditional craft practices and explores their reorganization within the realm of painting as a way of visually making order to better understand emotional experience and maternal relationships. This hands-on material research involves many processes including stitching, smocking, weaving, painting, and performance. Through the act of making, the work undergoes many layers of doing and undoing, and relies on tactile repetitions of movements and gestures, as well as an intuitive sense of colour. This multilayered way of working results in three dimensional sculptural paintings which speak to motherhood, memory, grief, and care. Textiles are embodied forms of knowledge that articulate powerful relationships between materiality and nostalgia. Speaking to life’s many transformations, through soft sculpture, painting, textile installation, and performance, studio research becomes a feminist expression of care.

The thesis titled Chasing the Light, delves into the experience of art through a phenomenological approach to painting. By examining the relationship between painting, embodied experiences, and the built environment, the artist incorporates the concept of the expanded field of painting into her practice, creating site-adjusted installations that utilize light, temperature, and traditional painting tactics to elicit an immersive experience. Through the progression of her research and artistic output, the thesis demonstrates how lighting conditions can shape the perception of an installation and lead to a haptic, retinal, temperature, and atmospheric shift in the viewer's experience. The goal is to understand the relationship between the viewer, the artwork, and the environment, and how this relationship can be used to create a more meaningful and impactful experience for the viewer.

In this thesis, I demonstrate how I map out my autobiographical experiences within my art practice to bring attention to the powerful capitalist and patriarchal structures that keep feminism, mental illness, and pain hidden. By using autotheory, I reflect on my life experiences and relate them to historical context and contemporary conditions to create a space that sheds light on the gendered body, trauma, and their stigmas. We currently live in a world that is going through a care crisis—a crisis of compassion—where having a powerful status is prioritized over empathy and love. I have situated my art practice as a way to explore, reflect, and share my own lived experiences under power’s carelessness. Documenting my personal, physical, and emotional experiences to gather this data are essential to my studio practice and research. As a woman who has been diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation, I know first-hand, what this patriarchal and capitalist society thinks of mental illness. As a woman who has experienced trauma and pain, I know first-hand, how this patriarchal and capitalist society hides pain. As a woman, I know first-hand what this patriarchal and capitalist society thinks and expects of me. In short, this thesis is about my experiences, my journey, and my beliefs of the importance of talking about the things that are usually kept hidden from view. This project aims to create a space for care and for self-care.