My work has been rooted in the philosophy of Existentialism. Especially in the belief that individuality is crucial in finding happiness and that we are not preprogrammed prior to birth but are provided some basics but we are the sum of our own experiences and personal choices. Society can compartmentalize humans for its benefit in many ways but this is not beneficial to our personal humanity. What I make are reflections and commentary to how I see these effects and how I choose to try and rebel. Abstract metal weapons, black and pointed, made to covey a battle against conformity, control, and structure. Futuristic metaphors used to swing, jab, and shoot mediocrity. Chunky little facets like tadpoles to the frog. They were created to work with a favorite material and to experiment and develop my skills. Made from a lust to put my hand on steel again. And the boxy, domesticated animals made of steel looking like giant toys. They evoke a claim that the corporate man has become the pig in the trough or the faithful dog on the lease. Empty and humorous they define how human supply and demand along with control has reduced the working man to just another cog in the wheel. How standardization has made work so completely uninteresting you can barely cope.
","abstract_html":"<p>My work has been rooted in the philosophy of Existentialism. Especially in the belief that individuality is crucial in finding happiness and that we are not preprogrammed prior to birth but are provided some basics but we are the sum of our own experiences and personal choices. Society can compartmentalize humans for its benefit in many ways but this is not beneficial to our personal humanity. What I make are reflections and commentary to how I see these effects and how I choose to try and rebel. Abstract metal weapons, black and pointed, made to covey a battle against conformity, control, and structure. Futuristic metaphors used to swing, jab, and shoot mediocrity. Chunky little facets like tadpoles to the frog. They were created to work with a favorite material and to experiment and develop my skills. Made from a lust to put my hand on steel again. And the boxy, domesticated animals made of steel looking like giant toys. They evoke a claim that the corporate man has become the pig in the trough or the faithful dog on the lease. Empty and humorous they define how human supply and demand along with control has reduced the working man to just another cog in the wheel. How standardization has made work so completely uninteresting you can barely cope.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["LaCien, Michael"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Art","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Michael Hart, M.F.A.","Javier Chavira, M.F.A.","Jerry Slowik, M.F.A."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-10-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-10-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:24:36Z","subjects":["metalwork","steel","MFA","M.F.A.","Art and Design","Sculpture"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://opus.govst.edu/theses/77","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Michael Hart, M.F.A.","Javier Chavira, M.F.A.","Jerry Slowik, M.F.A."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["LaCien, Michael"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-06-21T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Art"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["metalwork","steel","MFA","M.F.A.","Art and Design","Sculpture"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://opus.govst.edu/theses/77"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["My work has been rooted in the philosophy of Existentialism. Especially in the belief that individuality is crucial in finding happiness and that we are not preprogrammed prior to birth but are provided some basics but we are the sum of our own experiences and personal choices. Society can compartmentalize humans for its benefit in many ways but this is not beneficial to our personal humanity. What I make are reflections and commentary to how I see these effects and how I choose to try and rebel. Abstract metal weapons, black and pointed, made to covey a battle against conformity, control, and structure. Futuristic metaphors used to swing, jab, and shoot mediocrity. Chunky little facets like tadpoles to the frog. They were created to work with a favorite material and to experiment and develop my skills. Made from a lust to put my hand on steel again. And the boxy, domesticated animals made of steel looking like giant toys. They evoke a claim that the corporate man has become the pig in the trough or the faithful dog on the lease. Empty and humorous they define how human supply and demand along with control has reduced the working man to just another cog in the wheel. How standardization has made work so completely uninteresting you can barely cope.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["AbstractionsInMetal"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Michael Hart, M.F.A.","Javier Chavira, M.F.A.","Jerry Slowik, M.F.A."],"dc:creator":["LaCien, Michael"],"dc:date.available":["2016-06-21T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["My work has been rooted in the philosophy of Existentialism. Especially in the belief that individuality is crucial in finding happiness and that we are not preprogrammed prior to birth but are provided some basics but we are the sum of our own experiences and personal choices. Society can compartmentalize humans for its benefit in many ways but this is not beneficial to our personal humanity. What I make are reflections and commentary to how I see these effects and how I choose to try and rebel. Abstract metal weapons, black and pointed, made to covey a battle against conformity, control, and structure. Futuristic metaphors used to swing, jab, and shoot mediocrity. Chunky little facets like tadpoles to the frog. They were created to work with a favorite material and to experiment and develop my skills. Made from a lust to put my hand on steel again. And the boxy, domesticated animals made of steel looking like giant toys. They evoke a claim that the corporate man has become the pig in the trough or the faithful dog on the lease. Empty and humorous they define how human supply and demand along with control has reduced the working man to just another cog in the wheel. How standardization has made work so completely uninteresting you can barely cope.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://opus.govst.edu/theses/77"],"dc:subject":["metalwork","steel","MFA","M.F.A.","Art and Design","Sculpture"],"dc:title":["AbstractionsInMetal"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Art"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:24:36Z"}