Little between Life and Work: Niki de Saint-Phalle and Tracey Emin A study of the relationship between art and the function of the literary diary

Carolyn Kelly
Trinity College Dublin
Department of History of Art and Architecture
2010
BA

Subject: Digital media and Sculpture
Country: England and France
Period: 20th Century

10,000 words

This dissertation examines the history of the diary as a literary genre and how it can be related to art, particularly in the work of Niki de Saint Phalle and Tracey Emin. The diary has served throughout the last four centuries as a both a public document (written by prominent men in high society). It documents a social era as much as the life of the author. It is also as a personal, intimate journal in which the author displaces secret emotions and thoughts to the page. This dissertation argues that the art of these women can be viewed as a form of diary, both in the public and private sense. It focuses on the manner in which the artists use their artwork to tease out difficult issues or emotions in their lives as the author uses the private diary, and on the use of diary-like passages of text in their work.

Irish Georgian Society

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Little between Life and Work: Niki de Saint-Phalle and Tracey Emin A study of the relationship between art and the function of the literary diary