Digital Commons Network^™

Enduring Covid-19 As Nyc Subway Riders, Ruben Cuevas

Theses

My thesis paper describes my master art project of paintings about the New York City Subway riders commuting routine prior and during the Coronavirus. As a regular subway rider myself I am closely connected with this particular art project because I witnessed the subway riders endure the most contagious viral pandemic of the 21st century. My thesis recounts how from a few sketches and photo shots of people in the subway this art project developed into a collection of paintings carefully completed on large linen canvas and acrylic medium. The initial set of my paintings narrate typical NYC subway rider …

Behind The Plexi, Janina E. Martinez-Fields

Theses

I am a realistic figurative painter focusing on culture, family, friends and identity. Throughout my life I have found little representation for artists who are women and less for women of color, and emphasized this topic through my art. I incorporated the struggles experienced through this past year's pandemic as an added layer of obstacles for women in the creative industry. I combined two surfaces; wood to represent life and plexiglass to represent how we have protected ourselves through separation. I use vibrant acrylic colors on both the wood and plexiglass layers to represent the moods, professions and activities of …

Carousel: Performance And Ritual Of A Child's Play, Erik Maniscalco

Theses

Carousel is a series of oil paintings inspired by my seven year old

daughter, as well as my work towards becoming a childhood educator. My

aim with this project is to explore the performative and ritualistic nature of

children’s play: focusing on the creative ways children stretch and reshape

their reality through imagined play narratives. Upon the carousel’s stage,

children select a character and take part in a performed ritual. I’ve long felt

connected to the visual vocabulary found within baroque and renaissance

styles, and I am fascinated by the mixture of amusement, tradition,

religion, and distortion imbued within the …

Race Book, Robert Dejesus

Theses

Race Book is a satiric animated short film about how social media influenced people during the 2020 presidential election.

This Month, Jennifer N. Figueroa

Theses

This Month is a series of collages that depict police violence at civil rights and Black Lives Matter protests. By pairing events from 1964 to contemporary protests that occurred in the same month, the collection draws a connection between the past and present.