Digital Commons Network^™

Send Nudes : Art On Social Anxiety And Human Connection In An Internet Driven Society., Lauren A Bader

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My social anxiety is the driving force behind my thesis work. Sufferers of social anxiety often have a hard time forming relationships because their fear of social interaction causes them to refrain from self-disclosure. Self-disclosure is the act of telling others personal details about yourself. This can be hard for people with social anxiety because of their intense fear of judgement. It is quite common for people with this type of anxiety to seek out opportunities to self-disclose online because they have the advantage of anonymity and time to construct thoughtful responses. In my work I seek out participants online …

North American Indigenous Collection And Curation And Its Impact On Market Arts., Adelaide Mccomb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the history of two North American Indigenous groups, those belonging to the Great Plains and the Arctic, and observes how settler-colonial influence determined the collection and curation of arts and artifacts in these areas. This art includes a mention of pre-Colombian works, but focuses predominantly on works being made after “first-contact” through the contemporary ear. The paper addresses the effect imperialist history has had on the development of Indigenous art markets, and how institutions such as museums may address them through ethical practices, and efforts to decolonize museum spaces.

Challenging The Self : An Examination Of The Media's Role In Creating Idealized Bodies And The Artists That Challenge Them., Jessica Oberdick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Seeking to understand the media’s influence over society, and the way the media motivate us to conform to specific ideals, this thesis focuses on how female bodies in particular are consistently idealized and objectified in mainstream media. Through television, print, and the internet, the media serve as our world’s main means of mass communication. Noting this, this text seeks to understand the female body’s historical objectification through art history and genres of the nude, how this has transferred to contemporary media, and finally states that these stereotypes and norms can be challenged through the work of contemporary artists. By reclaiming …

Transversal Approaches And Ecological Artwork., Madison Deanna Sevilla

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work explores systematic ecology as it relates to sculpture and language. This project exists in two parts: a written thesis and a thesis exhibition. Although both works explore ecological systems, Unseen: Visualizing Ecological Systems investigates visualizations and concepts of the ecological, whereas this thesis continues the exploration into the ramifications of disruptions in systems. Ecological systems such as the environmental, social/mental, economic, and political define the foundations of our known world and encapsulate all regions of society. No single system can function independently of the rest and all systems contain some aspect of human-system involvement. By using the work …

Let's Keep In Touch : Conversations About Access And Tactility., Whitney E. B. Mashburn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Let’s Keep in Touch: Conversations about Tactility, a project collaboratively organized by social practice artist Carmen Papalia and curator Whitney Mashburn, presents conversations between Papalia and artists selected by Mashburn, in regard to tactile access of the chosen artists’ works. The project aims to challenge visual biases in museum engagement, through dialogue with living artists.

Carmen Papalia takes social practice in a new direction as he applies it to the topic of accessibility. Using the tool of conversation, he creates strategic infrastructural activism and prompts exploration of non-visual perception.

In this thesis, Papalia’s work will be examined and discussed …

Site Responsibility : Eco-Art And Environmental Ethics In The Anthropocene., Nicholas Flint Collins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation proposes an interdisciplinary theory for examining the ethical dimensions of contemporary eco-art, based on the conceptual interplay between the art historical discourse of site specificity and philosophy of environmental ethics. It considers how eco-art redefines site specificity as eco-ethically-oriented site reform, and argues that eco-artists’ site-reformative actions are not only environmentally impactful and beneficial, but are also site-responsible because they realize humankinds’ moral obligations to respond to the human-caused ecological crises of the present by improving the degraded conditions of specific sites and amending site-destructive conduct. Site-reformative eco-artworks in turn yield variable propositional content that demonstrates site responsibility …