Digital Commons Network^™

Examining Our Relationship With Death: A Participatory Art Project, Lia A. Davido

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Death is a fact of life, yet researchers such as Caitlin Doughty, Todd Harra, Ernest Becker, and others, have found that people deem death a taboo topic of conversation. Doughty herself started a social movement, death positivity, to encourage this taboo to be broken, and to normalize talking about death. However these researchers published their findings in the early to mid 2010’s, before a major pandemic made death a more common occurrence for people. Inspired by previous researchers' experiences, this project asks the question: How do people feel about death now, and can socially engaged art create a space where …

Chroma Cowboy, Jessica Gryder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Chroma Cowboy consists of eleven canvases wrapped in used feed sacks layered with vinyl to create brightly colored narrative scenes. Pulling from Pop Art colors, cubism shapes and a consciousness of materials, I designed this body of work to give the hard-working cowboys, ranchers, and agribusinesses a way to have their stories told to a larger audience. The strain on ranches due to generational changes, politics and environmental circumstances makes it even more important to document this way of life. I strive to further advance and inform the general public’s knowledge of the unyielding lifestyle and dedication that it takes …

Meat The Future., Xin Chen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research focuses on the subtle relationship between human life, the environment, and other animals that we live among every day. Under the mainstream social background of capitalism and a commodity economy, animals are the victims of constant consumption and exploitation. However, meat is a basic substance for human nourishment, especially in certain cultures. As a result, meat becomes an important part of the commodity economy in capitalist societies, wherein the supply must be filled to accommodate society’s demand. This research formed an exhibition using glass and ceramic artwork using a playfully satirical tone to offer a crucial alternative: how …

It's All Fun And—: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Space In The Pandemic., Erica Von Proctor Lewis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This exhibition and document explore spatial rhetoric during the pandemic, utilizing materiality and relational aesthetics to reflect on the different ways in which the public and private are made distinct from one another. In doing so, Lewis addresses new cultural navigations of shared spaces, both digital and corporeal, public and private. In addition, the artist also examines the faulty social and institutional systems that the pandemic brought to light, such as socioeconomic dynamics and voter suppression, while utilizing Kenneth Burke’s concept of the terministic screen. Games are a central theme throughout the exhibition, as they are often coded as “home” …

Transformation., Jingshuo Yang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My works mainly show my perception of life and my change of thought. The world is full of changes, and the pandemic has disrupted our lives. Many people, including me, are confused about the world. Philosophy and my observation and thinking about the world helped me to have a clearer understanding of the world. My paintings Licia, Butterfly Woman, and Live with Covid reflect my understanding of German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer's theory of empathy. Within my art, I also use another German Philosopher Theodor W. Adorno's theory of the culture industry to deepen my understanding of some social phenomena. My …

An Investigation Of The Impact Of Covid-19 Infection Control On Visual Art Installations In Hospitals With Pediatric Patients, Shannon Kimich

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the impact of COVID-19 infection control on visual artwork in pediatric hospitals and hospitals caring for pediatric patients. The study involved five hospitals in three southern America states and addressed visual artwork and art installations. The researcher administered an internet-based survey to participants in job functions related to hospital administration, environmental services, and project management across the facilities and received participation from 18 respondents. Additionally, telephone interviews were conducted with three participants with the job titles project manager/analyst, child-life specialist, and environmental services director. Survey questions were designed to examine visual art programs in selected children’s hospitals …

Invocation., Shae Taylor Goodlett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The research of this thesis is concerned with the investigation of various approaches to religious theory; specifically, the observable analysis of performed ritualistic procedures and their theoretical anticipated effects. Through the examination of the illusory characteristics of the interaction of color and light I am able to draw analogous correlations between art making and ritualistic action. By enacting optical illusion as metaphor for ritual presence, I compare rational and empirical methods of observation. This analysis examines the discrepancy of physical fact and physic effect in that illusion employs physically observable means to render an intangible (non-material) physic effect. Such observances …

Journey & Connections, Aldo Ornelas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Journey & Connections is a series of work comprised of ceramic sculptures that explore my personal experiences in relation to the human figure, immigration, and nature, as well as experiences influenced by my continuous travels between my country of origin and the United States.

This exhibition is composed of an Installation titled “A Line on the Wall” and a series of six sculptures that resemble monoliths, strong and expressive figures of spiritual origin that represent important figures in life, sources of wisdom and stelae that connect to the earth.

Nonautomata, Jeremy Haynes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is a formal examination of the exhibition titled “NonAutomata” by Jeremy Haynes, as partial fulfillment of requirements for a Master of Fine Arts degree from Stephen F. Austin State University.

By examining the psychological influences within my artwork, I question the assumption that we are all just organic machines built with the same parts although we are all assembled and wired differently to perform specific tasks in society. I recall my personal experiences and how these influence my reactions to everyday life. While using clay with traditional and non-traditional processes, I have been …

A Tale Of Two Dogs Fine Art Exhibit, Jeff Harris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this paper is a formal examination of the fine art exhibit titled A Tale of Two Dogs by Jeffrey A. Harris as a partial fulfillment of requirements for a Master of Fine Arts degree from Stephen F. Austin State University.

By examining the multiple established points of view within his artwork, the author questions these establishments and asks if this approach leads to a relevant way of seeing. Using expanded polystyrene foam as a sculpture medium, a series of artworks created during the MFA research process are conceptually analyzed to explore the value of maintaining a multiplicity …

Deconstructing Abject Complacency Of Ascribed Gender, Kyle M. Hooten

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My life has been dedicated to the relentless pursuit of masculinity throughout my transition from female to male. While originally focusing on the physical transition, my attention is now focused on the social aspects of transition. For me, this involved coming out, managing legal name/gender change paperwork, and understanding a newfound, cultural privilege. This is where I draw inspiration to create my work. My process and techniques are informed by Drag Kings and Queens as well as contemporary culture and art. After performing as a Drag King for a year I developed a sense of gender that differed from what …

Indirect Measure, Nicholas Boismenu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper is in support of my thesis exhibition “Indirect Measure” May 5th – June 3rd 2017, at the Reece Museum, located on the campus of East Tennessee State University. This document is an account of my examination into what constitutes art and the change in my perception of the utilitarian ceramic vessel during my research into the perceived difference between craft and art. Using broad definitions, I define what I believe art to be and how it is different from, and the same as craft.

Man/Boy., Nick Hartman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Verisimilitude, or the appearance of being true, is a concept I turn upside down; relating it to a guise I wear as a contemporary male in a society dictated by learned social behavior and gender norms. Cultural iconography and expected gender norms are tropes I confront within my artwork. Drawings of seemingly everyday objects act as meditations or a fetishized repetition of supposed unobtainable objects and ideals that deal with masculine societal norms. Manliness, machismo, masculinity… it is all a culturally learned and expected pose placed on all men. Coming to the realization that I do not necessarily fit …

There's No Place Like Home, Stacey Lynn Rathert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I grew up on a farm in Northeast Kansas, under a big sky that had open views of the fields, pastures, and farmsteads. During that upbringing I learned about hard labor as well as work ethic, and what it took to survive in an often harsh and unforgiving environment. It is these experiences from my formative years, in that environment, where most of the driving force behind my artwork is derived. The work materializes as objects and narratives in sculptural manifestations. The themes range from domestic activities taught to me by the women in my life, to the hands-on, “dirty” …

Visual Phallacies, John Howard Cummings

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Roland Barthes wrote that only after removing all of the author's intentions and traces can a work of art truly be perceived by viewers fairly (Barthes). A viewer's perception of the world is influenced by his or her individual subjective history, which is the product of his or her own experiences. But as the author of ceramic work, my influence is ever-present. Clay records every push, pull, spank, squeeze, and poke. It fully records its physical history and as well as my actions upon it. This thesis exhibition asks the question: Can a viewer de-contextualize familiar-but-contentious subject matter and be …

Concrete Painting, Stephanie Cafcules

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the evolution of my artwork with synthetic materials through influences of the Minimalist and Process Artists of the 1960's and 1970's, inspiration from natural forms, and my exploration of concrete painting. Each work reveals discoveries of different processes and materials, accelerating the creation of new works. It is my hope this thesis will inform viewers about the process and concepts that my work embodies.

Doubting Thomas: The Testaments, Ivan Riascos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper will discuss the creation of my artwork, which has been inspired by my experiences and understandings of Catholicism and its icons. I will consider how iconography works in art, its influence, and how and why I have created this artwork dealing with my beliefs. I will also refer to the works of contemporary artists Duane Michals and Michael Wesely to help explain my exhibition, which I have titled "Doubting Thomas: The Testaments."

Keren, Shelly Bradon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The intent of this thesis is to recognize the everyday victories of a child living with physical disabilities. This complicated subject matter has forced the exploration of a variety of media to successfully communicate the story; drawing, painting, china painting, altered books and sculpture have all become part of the process. At the age of 8 months the subject, Keren Hernandez, was diagnosed with Bilateral Closed- lip Schizencephaly, a rare disorder that inhibits development. Since the diagnosis seven years ago her family has struggled to overcome these challenges, committing to avail themselves to every resource possible. I began painting and …

Transient Motel, Bryce Hammond

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

"Transient Motel" is an exhibition that investigates the interactions of people and physical environments in low-income areas of Daytona Beach, Florida. The purpose of the exhibition is to raise social awareness of low-income communities among the public through visual art. Interactions between motel guests were documented as first-hand sound recordings of conversations, interviews and other activities. These recordings are projected through speakers within a constructed life-sized replica of the motel rooms in which they were recorded. Found and appropriated furniture and fixtures from the actual rooms are arranged within the replica as objects of art to familiarize the public with …

Living Between Two Worlds: Conflict, Investigation And The Change, Noura Abdulhameed Shuqair

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Beginning with my exploration of art as an aesthetic object, this paper shows the growth of my work and concept. Through my practice, I have been able to understand the contradictions in my traditional society and western modernity. It has helped me grapple with my own beliefs, and begin to confront those I don't agree with.

A Crack In Everything, Jeffrey Hoffman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Contained herein is a close examination of self-awareness and self-portraiture as it applies to the works of artist Jeffrey Hoffman. Water, frozen into various forms and combined with natural elements of wood, slowly melt over an indeterminable amount of time, each droplet documented as the process transforms the elements. Through this process, we see change. We see time. We see truth. This documentation of change and time through natural elements is where the artwork comes full circle. Working with new media to explore man's interconnectivity to life, energy, and the cosmos, he produces time based installations, photographs, videos, and sculptures …

The Immaculate Condemnation, Corey Robertson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My work is a continuously evolving self portrait formulated by a combination of past experiences and influences. The Immaculate Condemnation body of work is a cathartic reaction that confronts Catholic Sin and rebels against gender conformity. As both a confirmed Catholic and transgender woman, I speak from an authentic voice that seeks open conversation regarding these topics. I also hope to demystify the transsexual body for the non-transgendered viewer. Additionally, I use allegoric imagery to communicate my interpretation of beauty, power, horror, and sex. I combine performance, photography, sculpture, video, audio, and graphic design to execute my installations. I intentionally …

Place, Space, And Form Captured Through Photographic Meditation, Sarah Stead

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Inspired by Buddhist philosophy, the photographic series Architectural Zen attempts to beautify banal and pragmatic architecture through limiting and preexisting artificial light conditions. The selective illumination of artificial light eliminates the non-essential details and enhances the pure forms and saturated color presented by the camera lens. This encourages the photographer and the viewer to enter a state of meditation. The resulting process is similar to a Zen approach to image making. The ancient Zen artist's compositions are strengthened by a meditation on form and subsequent elimination of the non-essential elements of the subject. Through embracing this Zen mentality and mindfulness,aspects …

Fuzzy Robots: Utopian Ideals, The Immortalization Of Youth, And The Innocence Of Childhood., Elizabeth Caps

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ideals, aesthetics, forms, and concepts have resurfaced in various cultures throughout time. I am interested in the idea of the recurring themes that exist in the collective unconscious. I create monolithic figures that exhibit these archetypal qualities. Heavily influenced by film, animation, video games, and contemporary art, I create figures and paintings that are manifestations of my subconscious. These manifestations personify utopian ideals, the immortalization of youth, and the innocence of childhood.

Decisive Moments In Fiction, Janae Corrado

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I approach artmaking with a sense of intrigue, portraying the human condition as seen through my own eyes. The results that surface are female forms combined with subliminal subjective symbolism--a fusion of my personal experiences and influences created through a partially subconscious process. I use this artistic process to help me understand myself and I dare my viewers to seek their own answers within the implied narratives I choose to paint.

Fabric Architecture: Body In Motion, Daniela Cosovic

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Making a dress, creating an object for someone else is a simple act of giving to another person. I did not want to decide between an object to wear and one to hang on the wall, so I gave you both, and movement in between. Take a dress off of a wall. Wear it. Put it back on the wall. Repeat it, or not. There is balance in movement of an object between a person and the wall. It is this quietness of balance amongst the sound of movement that I am seeking in my work.

My Mind Is A Hole In The Universe, Glen Gramling

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Today, science and creative fiction are closer than ever. The current unified theory of physics is bringing parallel worlds and infinite realities into the light of truth, proving that we have the creative power to build worlds with grandiose landscapes, uncanny characters, and miraculous events that exists throughout the vast plane of reality. My life experiences become a skewed alternate reality absorbing all of my thoughts, fears, and fascinations without control. As I glimpse into my own mind, I record the imagery of my imagined worlds and chronicle its events. I am not conceptualizing; I'm not asking what if. I …

Dimensions Of Identity, Alice Kramer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Imagination and fantasy environments created by writers and artists have always drawn people into their worlds. Advances in technology have blurred the lines between reality and imagination. My interest has always been to question the validity of these worlds and their cultures and to transcend the evolving virtual dimension by fusing it with what we perceive to be reality.

Perceptions Of Cuteness And Beauty, Danielle Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Upbringing and psychological make-up inspire individual norms for beauty and cuteness. The mannerist approach in my work is a product of the figural liberties found in cartooning, illustration and art history. By altering facial and bodily features, I relate the proportions of an infant to cuteness and innocence. However, I tailor the photographs to empower the subjects all the while mirroring trends in contemporary pop culture. I'm interested in themes of everyday life, vitality and emotion placed in obscure, imaginary or exaggerated venues. I fictionalize subjects of my reality to compel viewers to identify with and fancy emotions, circumstances, moods …

Of Gods, Beasts And Men: Digital Sculpture, Brian Salisbury

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My most recent body of work explores the synthesis of my influences, interests and life experiences into imagery of common themes: The expression of dynamic figures and forms and colors in digital 3d space, cinematic composition, and vibrant color, expressed through a semblance of Aztec culture and wildlife. My sculptures of nature and ancient culture are created using contemporary digital art creation technologies and techniques. I examine the art and religion of the Aztecs and the universal search for understanding and purpose in the world and the forces around and beyond us.