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Virginia Commonwealth University

Des Perdues: The Precariousness of Loss

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

The majority of losses that take place in a day are not large, or sad, they are built almost entirely on behaviors and systems that have nothing to do with loss. Most of these, I discovered, are the result of deliberate carelessness. The word loss is as difficult to define as truth, but its variation is what makes it so interesting and evocative. It is not, and never has been, a definition of loss that I seek: it is not enough to simply say I lost this person or that place, we must consider what is left and what can still be lost. I am interested in the moments of transition that surround loss, when something is in danger of disappearing yet is not quite gone; this work focuses not on past losses, but future moments to be preserved. There is beauty and humanity that can be revealed in fugitive moments and events, and value in their documentation.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Fine Arts
Level thesis:degree_level
Thesis
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Craft/Material Studies
Year dc:date.available
2008

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Davis, Alissa Grace
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Susan Iverson

Subjects

dc:subject × 9

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • © The Author

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-2294

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Commonwealth University
Base URL
scholarscompass.vcu.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Davis, Alissa Grace. Des Perdues: The Precariousness of Loss. Thesis thesis, 2008. https://doi.org/10.25772/AHY5-A284