Art and Design Commons^™

Mano De Obra: Exploring Processes And Materiality In Artwork, Karla Gabriela De La Fuente

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis paper examines the theoretical derivatives and artistic influences that drive the artist’s ongoing series of works exploring the human experience of the working class in the border region of South Texas and beyond. Through the use of found objects, organic regional materials, adopted and adapted processes; the artist creates artwork that teeters on a tightrope between sweet, subtle naivety, and sudden, robust spoonfuls of truth. The artwork has an emphasis on the materiality, and the parallel between the “Mano de Obra” of the artist at work and that of the working class of our communities.