When Emily Thornton '05 started dating her boyfriend, she didn't expect her relationship to spark an idea for her senior thesis. But Thornton's boyfriend has since inspired "The Space Between," the title piece of her Visual Arts senior thesis, a collection of drawings and paintings.
Thornton's work focuses around the "physical and emotional relationship between people," she said, "how the space between people can get smushed and become a figure of its own."
The show is currently on display in the Lucas Gallery at 185 Nassau alongside the thesis artwork of Rachel Lyon '05, also a Visual Arts student. It is the first in a series of thesis displays by seniors in the department.
"Each painting is inspired by a relationship — something that I've experienced or a person that has really influenced me or affected me," Thornton explained.
Her work features materials from advertisements, reflecting her interest in "the way pop culture relates to people, and how people can relate to it very easily."
Thornton began to develop her thesis work in September, when she got her own studio space and started to meet regularly with her advisers. "I've been spending more and more time painting since the beginning of the year," she said. "These past few months, any [free] time I had I spent in the studio. Sometimes, I spent whole days in there."
Next week, Thornton will defend her thesis and receive an evaluation from her advisers on her year's worth of work. In the meantime, she said she is excited about people viewing her art.
"It might be the exhibitionist in me, but it's very rewarding, because everyone talks about how hard they worked on their theses, and you can see how hard they've been working," Thornton said. "It feels good for people to see what I'm doing, especially since there are so few Visual Arts majors."
Thornton's parents are both amateur artists, and she hopes to follow in their footsteps by continuing to paint after graduation. "I really want to continue painting, it is something I can see myself doing," she said, "but I want to get a job and paint on the side initially, because it's very hard to just jump into it."
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