Files
Abstract
This thesis examines Russian-American artist Ilya Kabakovs complicated relationship to artistic identity through his invented Charles Rosenthal character. In a move rarely seen in a fine arts context, in several postmodern installations Kabakov attributes his own paintings to the fictional Rosenthal. The works primarily consist of Soviet Socialist Realist images that feature strange blank, white portions. I argue that these white spots are a visual device evolved from Kabakovs 1993 School No. 6 installation, and that they are directly connected to the artists 1981 essay, On the Subject of the Void. Through an analysis of these works and their voids, this thesis explores Kabakovs own concerns with Soviet history, Jewish heritage, childhood, Russian history, and the vocation of painting.