Department of Fine and Performing Arts

Tatyana Barton

The Sight of Music

Thesis Statement

The Sight of Music is a collection of twenty-two pieces compiled of songs that mean the most of me from the years 1999-2021. The show was formulated to demonstrate that music can be an entry into exploring oneself as a fine artist. I want to show the audience the connection between different art forms and how to connect how art functions in their day-to-day life. As well as encouraging other ways express themselves and emotions in ways that they feel is best no matter the medium being as though my plans in the future veer towards using art as a form of self-expression. Because music and art are two things that are vital in my life, I decided to combine my two worlds.

I wanted to display myself in my work in a way that is not literal, I want the audience to be unsure and have to think about what is being displayed. Using acrylic, watercolors, and resin, my work will show people see who I am as a person in similar ways to abstract expressionism artists. Every day, we as people tend to not completely give ourselves up and let people in. This would be the first time that I am fully revealing my truth, not only to myself, but to the world. I want people to leave my show feeling safe, I want my work to be a safe space for those who feel like they cannot live their full truth, no matter what the reason. My work will reflect myself. I want those who do not know me to take everything at once and see me in my raw, true form even if they cannot fully understand what that raw true form is. For those that do know me I want them to take a step deeper into my life, the truth that I am now setting free.Tatyana Barton

  • The two directions that I want my work to display are my identity and what made me into the person that I currently am. The topics included: being queer/pansexual, identifying as non-binary, having depression and anxiety, dealing with chronic pain and being Black, as well as expressing emotions and displaying my growth as an artist. The topics for my emotions display my take on my emotions vs. the way others view my emotions. Some artists that have inspired this work are Bruce Riley, Louis Fratino, Georgia O’Keefe, Ashley Bassie and Cheyne Gallarde. These artists work either ties into the work that inspired me or artists that I feel like relate to me as an artist and person.

    These ideas make up who I am, one from a personal perspective and one from an outside perspective. I want to display myself in my work in a way that is not literal, I want the audience to be unsure and have to think about what is being displayed. Using acrylic, watercolors, and resin, my work will show  people see who I am as a person in similar ways to abstract expressionism artists.. Everyday, we as people tend to not completely give ourselves up and let people in. This would be the first time that I am fully revealing my truth, not only to myself, but to the world. I want people to leave my show feeling safe, I want my work to be a safe space for those who feel like they cannot live their full truth, no matter what the reason. My work will be a reflection of myself. I want those who don’t know me to take everything at once and see me in my raw, true form even if they cannot fully understand what that raw true form is. For those that do know me I want them to take a step deeper into my life, the truth that I am now setting free.