Family Secrets: The Secrets That Lie Within

• Main Author: Calvert, Stacy Jill
• Format: Others
• Published: OpenSIUC 2015
• Subjects: family; installation; mfa; mixed-media; post-memory; video
• Online Access: https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/theses/1839; https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2855&context=theses

This thesis paper explores the mixed-media MFA installation show, Family Secrets: The Secrets That Lie Within. The show is a culmination of the author’s work during her time in the MFA in Media Arts Program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The show uses a variety of mediums including sound, video and illustration to tell this tale of family secrets and betrayal. As a young child, the author thought her family was perfect. They gathered every week at her grandparents’ house and were very close, or so she thought. As she started to move into adulthood, the idyllic childhood seemed like a distant memory. A series of events happened that changed her family dynamic forever. In the show, Family Secrets, viewers are led through a series of scenes taken from the author’s life. Each room reveals a little more until you are faced with the family’s biggest secret.