Object Drag: Mancrafts in the Garage, features objects that are conventionally associated with regional masculine activities in the North American Midwest. During my personal exploration into the perceived space of gendered craft, I coined the term ‘mancraft’, a call back to the “mancave”, to describe these regional masculine activities. Aspects of mancrafts such as making fishing lures, woodwork and taxidermy require a level of craft and attention to detail that, removed from their culturally specific context, would otherwise be coded as feminine. This creates friction between the perceived gendering of mancrafts- masculine within feminine, feminine within masculine; the boundaries are blurred. Object Drag is housed in a 9’x12’ inlet on the first floor landing of a staircase and extends onto the second level landing. In this inlet, I have recreated a masculine domestic space, invoking imagery of Midwest garages and basements, commonly referred to as ‘mancaves’. Wood paneling, a dated work table, pegboard, and rickety shelves set the stage for my paper mache recreations of tools and garage ephemera. These objects are made using accessible, affordable materials: printer paper, newsprint, and cardboard. The sculptures perform in quotidian modes that parody the materials used to make them. For example, Hatchet is made from newsprint, cardboard, and wood glue, everyday materials that mimic the everyday use of a hatchet that Hatchet parodies. Other hand tool replicas function the same way; made from familiar, accessible materials, creating objects that have familiar and accessible jobs. The process of assembling these sculptures is parallel to the zine making process that has defined most of my MFA degree. Like collecting imagery for my archive to collage into a zine, the individual sculptures of Object Drag have a modular function that I use to create the mancave setting of the work. Similarly, the interactive elements of Object Drag, the binoculars, matchboxes, and tearaways all reference the community building of zine swapping that is integral to my art making practice. Object Drag explores how many details are required for the individual works to become suitable stand-ins for their real life counterparts. The materiality of paper mache is the answer, allowing a continual investigation into exactly which details must be added or discarded in order to achieve a realistic effect. The delicacy of the paper juxtaposes the sturdy and unyielding jobs the fabricated objects are intended to perform. These replicas become versions of themselves performing Object Drag. Once they embody their perceived objecthood they parallel the performances of gender that they reference; a Hatchet performing sharpness, a Hammer performing heft, a Tape Measure performing length. An unexpected outcome of this body of work is the response received from various viewers. Object Drag creates a space of neutrality depending on perception of the viewer and their lived experience. For example, the hyper-masculinity imbued in the space has allowed the opportunity for nuanced conversation with numerous cisgendered white men I would not normally expect to engage with. These dialogs bring expectations and assumptions about who I am and what this work is about to the surface. This allows for fosterings of complex ideas about masculinities with men who may not want to address these ideas. This work allows space for thinking about alternative futures of masculinities in the American Midwest, futures that disown the toxic masculinity of the past. Categories All Tags #thesis2023