Megan Hassler

Art History

Megan Hassler is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography, with an expected graduation date of May 2023. Megan’s research is primarily concerned with contemporary art, animation, and photography. Her studies have exposed her to a breadth of art historical niches, such as tattoo and body art, photographic optics, and contemporary methodologies of study. Overall, she is interested in contemporary art viewing spaces and the expansion of the art historical field.

Her goals after graduation include increasing accessibility to art and art historical scholarship, diversifying the mediums studied, and broadening the inclusivity of artists, students, and educators alike. Megan’s first exploration into these goals is her summative History Thesis project, which pushes for the inclusion of pop cultural media, especially animation, within the art historical canon. Her research utilizes the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender as a case study to demonstrate the artistic value of animation. Her project compares it with Asian art historical works and analyzes the intrinsic value of animation as an art form to encourage its incorporation to the canon.