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Parody As The Ironic Mode Of Existential Art, Delma Ward Tayer

All Master's Theses

This study was commenced as an investigation into the aesthetics of existentialism as applied to contemporary art in America, particularly painting. This student believes that to the artist who recognizes the absurdity of his existence, irony is the natural mode of expression. It is also the belief of this student that the form of irony in recent American art, expressed primarily in parody and black humor, indicates America’s own particular brand of cheerful nihilism. The purpose was to better understand the aesthetics of existentialism, to apply these to contemporary art, and finally to apply these influences to the student’s own …