Digital Commons Network^™

Opening, Renee M. Wilcox

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While examining some of the dark, chaotic, destructive issues that exist on a global level, I see an opposite movement actively emerging as a means to counteract, mend, and create new patterns of non-violent communication. This change is an opening to new beginnings. Opening expresses this concept through iconography, the use of symbols, which opens an internal and external dialog with the viewer, through incorporating text, and through portraits of contemporary leaders who are devoted to peace-building work. Members of the community have also expressed this desire to open themselves up to these possibilities, through their written intentions and dreams, …

When I'M With You, Jenny Ziomek

CGU MFA Theses

Everything I make is related to books. My artwork functions as visual storyboards or is used directly in books. Props and videos are inspiration for drawings. My paintings are meant to feel like pages from a larger narrative. Often, the formats through which stories are told are as important as the stories themselves.

Out The Window: The Coalescence Of Internal And External Space, Micah Allen Zavacky

Theses and Dissertations

Out the Window: The Coalescence of Internal and External Space is a supportive statement for an exhibition of prints, drawings, and paintings that begin with direct observation. Building on Yi-Fu Tuan’s distinctions of space and place, I examine how these terms reflect my subjective interpretations of objective subject matters. Landscape, still life in domestic interiors, and garden subjects, as observed and interpreted in the prints, drawings, and paintings, not only reveal the shifting roles of space and place but also the ongoing processes of change occurring both externally in the observed environment and internally in my response to it.

The Effects Of Visual Arts On Expressive Language In Participants With Dementia, Shannon Valentine Daly

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Visual aids such as memory books have been shown to help increase recall of information and facilitate improved communication in people with dementia (Bourgeois, 2014). Because of the effectiveness of visual aids for people with dementia, this study aimed to determine if the type of visual stimulus would produce differences in the quality of language expressed. It was hypothesized that a more realistic picture in full color would elicit more descriptive language than a black and white line drawing. Verbal descriptions of Norman Rockwell’s realistic painting, Coming and Going and descriptions of a black and white line drawing of the …

An Aesthetic Theory Of Gamesmanship, Derek A. Fordjour

Theses and Dissertations

An Aesthetic Theory of Gamesmanship is an in-depth analysis of the personal, sociological, and historical elements contained within the art of Derek Fordjour with considerations given to artistic and literary influences that inform his intention and goals in the work. Also included are illustrations of specific art works and descriptions.

Chiasma: Plural Selves On Ink And Paper, Sapira Cheuk

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

My work depicts female sexual experience, particularly the complexity of the subject and corporeality. The series Pair, examines the notions of individual subjectivity as porous at the site of desire. These images explore moments of sensual experience - moments when the individual subject is destabilized and becomes indistinguishable from another.

Very much like the Chinese brush painting tradition of having the viewer experience the mountain and streams in performative brush strokes, I intend to capture the feeling and expression of the body and communicate the feeling of that sexualized body with a calligraphic mark. Instead of illustrating a figure's features …

Through Magic Glasses, Katie Bullock

Masters Theses

For six years I have documented and chronicled phenomena I encounter in my life every day.

This compulsive habit began as a way to explore and study light and space. Over time this activity not only defined my practice, but became essential to the way I go about sensing and living my life.

Most of the phenomena occur in the periphery of my senses, and are documented in passing. They are comprised of familiar materials and objects, and illuminated in some way, by the sun, or a local source. Although they are made up of the commonplace, they manage to …

Kimono, Elizabeth D. Hoffman

CGU MFA Theses

Globalization opens up opportunities for the international community to push for freedom of expression. It is precisely because the history of kimonos is a multi-cultural one, invented by the Chinese, then adapted and adopted by the Japanese, then altered by Western colonialists and changed as it permutated from the aristocracy to the middle class and to laborers, that I felt that it was relevant to today and the cross-cultural influences of globalization. This summer, I purchased two authentic Japanese kimonos, (one an everyday cotton one to use as a model for my drawings, and the second, an elaborate silk one …

Residual Residence, Krista Clark

Art and Design Theses

Residual Residence is an account of my process and how it is shaped and informed by the language of architecture and abstraction. It pinpoints shifts from a predominately drawing-based practice to one sensitive to the possibilities of drawing within physical space. Formal gestures of erasing, overlapping, layering and stacking are employed to play with relationships of space. For my thesis work, Residual Residence, I use the visual language of architecture and the literal physicality of building materials to create collaged drawings and site-specific installations.

Exploratory Study Of Graph Drawing On A Continuum Of Expertise, Emily Macleish

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Graphs are used in our lives daily to communicate information such as political ads or car sales. In the sciences, understanding graphs is essential to effective communication as graphs are often used to report experimental results or observed trends. However, research suggests that college students are not fluent in this form of scientific communication. Additionally, research has also found that standardized assessments of quantitative literacy fail to be clearly defined at the curricular or institutional levels. This research looks at the differences between the cognitive and metacognitive strategies of how individuals along a continuum of biological expertise visually represent data. …

Stochastic Methods For One-Sided Bipartite Crossing Minimization And Its Variants, Tanya Jeffries

Computer Science ETDs

The one-sided bipartite graph drawing problem has been extensively studied in the graph drawing literature, with numerous papers appearing over the years showing novel algorithms and heuristics for minimizing associated edge crossings. Although stochastic methods have been highly successful when applied to bipartite graph drawing, a large, comprehensive study to compare said methods has not been carried out for one-sided crossing minimization on traditional, unweighted graphs. Even more so, the variant problems of weighted and bottleneck bipartite crossing minimization have seldom been studied, with only one published algorithm, 3-WOLF (designed for one-sided weighted crossing minimization), and one published heuristic, MEC …

Meta-Forms, Rickey P. Bump

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The artist discusses his Master of Fine Arts exhibition, Meta-forms, held at the Tipton Gallery in downtown Johnson City. Exhibition dates are from March 14 through March 25, 2016. The artworks on display are a series of drawings made from carving wood panels and sheet metal and are accompanied with a large scaled site-specific installation. The exhibition culminates from research of historic and contemporary figures for non-objective art. The author gives insight to the artistic process while creating his exhibition, as well as their personal connection with the artwork.

Gaslight, Melis Agabigum

Theses and Dissertations

Gaslight is an exploration of the psychological phenomena of “gaslighting” in abusive relationships. Sensations of disorientation, insecurity, and the overwhelming feeling of being trapped are metaphorically imbued in the soft sculptural objects installed within the confines of the gallery space. In conjunction with the crocheted soft sculptures, the use of fabricated shadows also manipulates the viewer into questioning the physical truth of the art objects.

Reality is further blurred as the objects extend their capacity of occupying space, drawing the viewer in to inspect whether or not the shadows that they are seeing are true projections or ghosts from previous …

On The Way / Far And Away, En Iwamura

All Theses

My work investigates how I can influence and alter the experience of viewers who occupy space with my installation artworks. I have been working on semi-figurative large-scale coil built ceramic sculptures with layers of drawings. Inspirations of form, color, and subjects of drawings come from both American and Japanese historical and pop cultures, which surround my life. To utilize my expression of ceramic sculpture effectively, I employ the method of narrative/storytelling approaches in my work. For my thesis, I feature walk-in installations of large-scale ceramic sculptures and drawings, which explore interrelated themes of an epic journey in the post apocalyptic …

Anyone Can Architect, Christine Wright

Honors Projects

Because people often assume that one has to know architecture in order to study it, this interactive text makes it more approachable. Anyone Can Architect is an interactive sketch book introducing the basics of architecture to anyone from middle- and high-school students who are starting to explore different fields of study to those already studying and practicing architecture who might want to have fun with some of the basic principles. Not only does this text provide useful definitions of terms alongside some well-known examples, but it takes readers a step further by asking them to complete some specific tasks that …

Reinforcement Of Variability And Implications For Creativity, Harvey Ray Bayliss

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

One of the defining characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is repetitive, rigid, or stereotyped patterns of behavior. A proposed approach to treating such patterns is to provide reinforcement for response variability. Though research demonstrates that the variability of responses can be influenced by contingencies of reinforcement, no studies have examined the effects of placing contingencies on different units of behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine effects of two modified percentile schedules on variety of completed drawings and individual lines drawn by students with ASD who had been referred for engaging in rigid patterns of behavior. For …

Branching Topology: The Aesthetics And Symbolism Of Glass Trees, Michael Lyn Tracy

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis discusses my glass artwork which I make to help me understand the world. Trees, specifically bonsai trees, are used as inspirational imagery. The work explores the physical and symbolic aspects of the trees and the relationships that develop between the maker, the object, and the viewer. The series of work split into two distinct styles and the relationships of the styles as they relate to aspects of my personality are explored.

This Is Only Temporary, Melanie Robyn Wall

LSU Master's Theses

This is only Temporary examines my personal history of homes as reimagined spaces. The series of prints in the exhibition depicts reconstructed memories of houses. These visual narratives give context to the installation constructed from handmade paper and raw materials. The framework is reminiscent of housing plans that converge into a labyrinth. Participants actively engage the space, navigating the confined structure. A playful nature runs throughout the prints and installation reflecting upon reinterpreted memories within transitional spaces.

Choreographic Space, Kelsey Sheaffer

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis, Choreographic Space, and accompanying exhibit is an arrangement of contemporary work being done in the cross-over between movement, drawing, sound and architecture. The thesis develops a lineage of choreographic thinking through a fissure in the classification of a dance as necessarily the body in motion. Through the link of the “choreographic object,” Choreographic Space asks how an interdisciplinary exploration of the principles of movement can reveal novel ways to think about the body in space.

A Crow And A Hanger, Kelsey Ann-Morgan Livingston

LSU Master's Theses

A Crow and A Hanger is a body of work that explores and illustrates the nature of life and death through the use of mixed-media drawing and printmaking techniques. My intention for this work, and this thesis paper, is to explain my thought process and how the imagery came to be. For me it is not at all important for every viewer to fully understand each image and the thoughts that went into the body as a whole. I let the images and their titles lead the viewer in a general direction and allow for their personal history and biases …

Subsurface, Elizabeth J. Huhtala

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Build-Up, Kate Lund

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Build-up is based in an appreciation for quietude within the landscape that is interrupted by a sense of urgency and distress. The renderings, gestural drawings, and sculptural work are the result of allowing my studio process to mimic my analytical decision making and sensory observation as a wildland firefighter. The research investigates my work in relation to Romantic painters such as JMW Turner and Sublime philosophy, particularly Edmund Burke’s 1757 Sublime theory. Burke emphasized the emotional and psychological response to the Sublime experience of terror and awe. My research also discovers connections with contemporary artists, Robert Smithson, John Peña, and …