Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Architecture As As Act Of Transfer: Framing Denise Scott Brown's Architectural Practice With Performance, Kelsey Kuehn

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the architectural practice of theorist, planner, architect, and activist Denise Scott Brown. Existing scholarship about the architect’s work is sparse and typically situates her as a significant figure due to her status as a woman working in a male-dominated field. To address this gap in scholarship, this thesis analyzes Scott Brown’s intellectual formation relative to her work on the Crosstown Community Advocacy Planning project carried out in Philadelphia in 1968 through the lens of performance theory. Her practice is considered a mediation between the archive and the repertoire as they are defined by performance studies scholar Diana …

Broadening Our Understanding Of Noble-Wieting: A Langford Tradition Village In Central Illinois, Kristin R. Travis

Theses and Dissertations

The Noble-Wieting site is an Upper Mississippian Langford Tradition village and burial mound, located in east-central Illinois on the outskirts of the Langford Tradition region and distant from other known Mississippian villages. Archaeological excavations at Noble-Wieting during the 1960s and 1970s unearthed features within limited sections of the site, leaving a large portion unexplored. Excavations revealed a higher than average percentage of shell-tempered Middle Mississippian pottery as compared to other Langford villages, giving rise to questions regarding internal changes of cultural identity and suggestions of isolation from contemporary communities. However, the 1976 excavations in the southern portion of the site …

Staging A Modern Nation: The Art And Architecture Of The Peruvian Pavilion At The 1939/40 New York World’S Fair, Alida R. Jekabson

Theses and Dissertations

At the 1939/40 New York World’s Fair, the Peruvian government installed a multimedia display of objects and products in a foreign pavilion. An examination of the building and its contents provides a basis to understand how art and commerce work together to construct narratives of authenticity, nationalism and modernity.

In Present Past: Sun Tunnels And The Historic Reconstruction Of Vision, Patrice M. Capobianchi

Theses and Dissertations

The following study investigates how Nancy Holt’s Sun Tunnels makes effective use of time and land to reprogram the modern viewer’s eye. By utilizing sculpture that is reminiscent of pre-historic observatories as an observational framing device against the landscape topography, the artwork succeeds in presenting a historic reconstruction of vision.

Carving Out A Space In Time: Sandra Swan And Her Block Island Oeuvre, Kylie S. Knee

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis focuses on the Contemporary artist Sandra Swan, and how she peels back the layers of false identity and history created around Block Island, RI in her woodcuts. These woodcuts document the seafaring, landscape and architectural elements of the island, which are proven to be more contemporary than Block Island claims them to be. Through her pure observation and documentation, Swan reveals the falsities behind the early history of the island, as well as the maintained narrative of Block Island as a “place lost in time.” Her woodcutting technique links her to traditional nineteenth-century lithography, yet also places her …

Fragmented Ornament: An Analysis Of Print Reproductions Of Medieval Ornament And Decoration During The Gothic Revival, Allison M. Ransom

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis considers how printed reproductions of medieval ornament, produced in England during the Nineteenth Century, had the potential to misrepresent medieval art to the public, since they only focused on one element of ornamental significance from an object, thereby presenting an incomplete picture.

Disruption And Recovery In The Work Of Botticelli And Piero Di Cosimo, Ellen G. Birger

Theses and Dissertations

Florence underwent major destabilization during the 1490s, creating an extremely stressful time for its citizens. Chief amongst these events were the death of Lorenzo dei Medici and the ascendance, then demise, of the charismatic preacher Girolamo Savonarola. The impact on the work of Botticelli and Piero di Cosimo is evaluated.

Two Become One. Collaboration In Life And Work: Emilia’S Role In The Work Of The Artistic Duo Ilya And Emilia Kabakov, Elena Coureau

Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines the artistic collaboration of Ilya and Emilia Kabakov in terms of co-authorship. Through a discussion of collaboration in diverse fields, this paper develops an understanding of the artists’ decision to join forces and highlights Emilia Kabakov’s artistic talent and originality, diverging from the previous scholarship.

Altar/Installations By Amalia Mesa-Bains In A Feminist Context, Carmen Del Valle Hermo

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the path-breaking art installations and attendant writing of Amalia Mesa-Bains, who fused the home altar traditions of Mexican and Chicana women with contemporary considerations of identity politics and hybridity, naming the form domesticana. It situates her practice within a trajectory of feminist art.

The Narrative Of Revolution: Socialism And The Masses 1911-1917, Stephen K. Walkiewicz

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis seeks to situate The Masses magazine (1911-1917) within a specific discursive tradition of revolution, revealing a narrative pattern that is linked with discourse that began to emerge during and after the French Revolution. As the term “socialism” begins to resonate again within popular American political discourse (and as a potentially viable course of action rather than a curse for damnable offense), it is worthwhile to trace its significance within American history to better understand its aesthetic dimensions, its radical difference, and its way of devising problems and answers. In short, this thesis poses the question: what ideological structures …

The Villa Baizeau And The Casa O’Gorman: The Modern House In 1929 Through Two Case Studies, Nora L. Boyd

Theses and Dissertations

Using as case studies two houses designed and built in the years 1928-1931 in Mexico City and Tunis, which early scholars connected to the Swiss architect Le Corbusier, this study illuminates inherent biases in architectural history and proposes a more historically rigorous framework, reoriented around individual buildings rather than architects.

Ornament And The Vienna Secession: A Study Of The 1902 Beethoven Exhibition, Chika Jenkins

Theses and Dissertations

My thesis examines the vital roles of ornament in Vienna Secession’s Beethoven Exhibition (1902), the embodiment of Gesamtkunstwerk and artistic freedom. Gustav Klimt and Joseph Maria Olbrich evoked various senses, alluded to Apollonian and Dionysian aspects of artistic creation, and celebrated its evolution and freedom, inspired by Alois Riegl.

Kiddush Levana, The Moon Is Your Handheld Mirror, Noa Ginzburg

Theses and Dissertations

Noa Ginzburg is weaving cast-off and hand-made objects, lights, reflections, spells, drawings, and an abundance of knots into site-responsive installations. In her thesis, Ginzburg addresses Hieronymus Bosch’s paintings, the synergy of assemblages, repurposing of materials in the era of Anthropocene, and how notions of solidarity and indeterminacy influence her work.

Seen And Unseen: Visualizing Contradictions In Postwar Japan, 1950s–1960s, Christina Lai

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis offers a comparative study on how photography visualizes the political dynamics, ideological and psychological contradictions in postwar Japan. The discussion includes the exhibition The Family of Man in Tokyo (1956), Werner Bischof and Robert Capa’s photographs of Japan, and local photographers Ken Domon and Shomei Tomatsu.

Un Miroir De Mariage: An Iconological Analysis Of The Bal Des Sauvages And Combat Des Hommes Sauvages Et Chevaliers Tapestries, Olivia Grace Lonetti

Theses and Dissertations

The enigmatic fifteenth-century tapestry fragments Bal des Sauvages and Combat des Hommes Sauvages et Chevaliers from the Château Saumur depict curious scenes of Wildfolk and humans. These fragments have received relatively little scholarly analysis. My thesis seeks to discern the subject matter and historical context of the des Sauvages tapestries in order to ascertain a clearer understanding the pieces. I accomplish this first by considering the des Sauvages tapestries’ historiography and examining the veracity of the various scholarly hypotheses put forth regarding the works and their subject matter. Chapter II of this thesis considers the tapestry medium and provides brief …

Adolf Wissel: Compliant Dissidence, A Nonbinary Reading Of Work Executed From 1933 – 1941, Jeremy Lyn Schrupp

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the vast amount of scholarship devoted to the Nazi era, there is very little dedicated to the analysis of its works of art. This paper aims to rectify that, by analyzing the work of Adolf Wissel. Aside from its didactic use amongst academia, there is only one academic analysis of his work. The intent of the present analysis is to build from that foundation and provide an additional layer of contextualization to an era that is relatively unexplored within our field. This analysis will establish that Adolf Wissel maintained specific subject, compositional, and stylistic choices that subtly opposed NSDAP …

Alexandre Cabanel's St. Monica In A Landscape: A Departure From Iconographic Traditions, Rebecca Ann Kidd

Theses and Dissertations

The iconography employed by Alexandre Cabanel in the 1845 work St. Monica in a Landscape drastically deviates from the established artistic tradition utilized in other depictions of St. Monica in Christian art. Cabanel’s work depicts a female saint accompanied by a derelict young child. This thesis considers an alternative identity for this female saint, proposing that St. Elizabeth may be the definite subject of the work, accompanied by a young St. John the Baptist. The visual content of St. Monica in a Landscape is analyzed in conjunction with other works depicting St. Monica, as well as St. Elizabeth with a …

A Reexamination Of El Greco’S View And Plan Of Toledo As A Question Of Sources And Patronage, Cameron Ewald Quade

Theses and Dissertations

El Greco’s View and Plan of Toledo (c. 1610, Museo del Greco, Toledo) explores multiple ways of representing space by juxtaposing a sweeping view of the city of Toledo with a trompe l’oeil map of the city’s streets. Recent scholarship has shown that that El Greco probably copied the map from a plan of Toledo in the Atlas de El Escorial (1538-45), a royal commission that would have been the first complete atlas of Spain. Significantly, this atlas was likely available to the owner and probable patron of View and Plan of Toledo, the scholar and map collector Pedro Salazar …

Window 43 At Chartres Cathedral: A Hagiography Of Saint Eustace In Stained Glass, Natachia Mavis Attewell

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis looks at window 43 at Chartres Cathedral, France which is one of the fullest versions of the Eustace narrative and features furriers and drapers at work. I exam the window under a narratological lens and establish an alternative order of reading the panels that is more in tune with the story as told in the window. Additionally, I compare the window to other artworks from the time that depict Saint Eustace to establish the saint’s relevance within French society at the time of the window’s construction.

Distorted Norms: German Expressionist Prints And The Legacy Of The Early German Masters, Youngchul Shin

Theses and Dissertations

German Expressionism, one of the most influential art movements of the twentieth century, was the source of unprecedented experiments in printmaking. Although the works appear modern to our eyes, Expressionist printmakers drew heavily from the early history of printmaking, which emerged in northern Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The early history of the print included the development of the woodcut, the innovation of the printing press, and the invention of new printmaking techniques such as engraving and drypoint. The ways in which German Expressionists drew upon their heritage in printmaking is evident in three key ways: the revival …

Face. Off. Faceoff: Mapping African Representations In Western Art Institutions, Samantha Lyn Goral Maloney

Theses and Dissertations

In this project, I analyze the influential perceptions of African art objects, cultures, and histories formed through audience interactions with museum representations of Africa. In the Western world, curiosity cabinets and natural history museums first presented African objects as cultural artifacts aimed to intrigue and educate viewers about distant, exotic lands. Later, art museums reclassified African objects as art and some displays highlighted this shift, but African art exhibitions largely conformed to the anthropological models previously established. Scholars have analyzed these distinct display techniques while considering the visual environment from which these works were historically significant. Despite this critical scholarship, …

Understanding Community: Microwear Analysis Of Blades At The Mound House Site, Silas Levi Chapman

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding Middle Woodland period sites has been of considerable interest for North American archaeologists since early on in the discipline. Various Middle Woodland period (50 BCE-400CE) cultures participated in shared ideas and behaviors, such as constructing mounds and earthworks and importing exotic materials to make objects for ceremony and for interring with the dead. These shared behaviors and ideas are termed by archaeologists as “Hopewell”. The Mound House site is a floodplain mound group thought to have served as a “ritual aggregation center”, a place for the dispersed Middle Woodland communities to congregate at certain times of year to reinforce …

A Pivotal Point: James Mcneill Whistler’S Harmony In Blue And Silver: Trouville And The Formation Of His Aesthetic, Eugenie B. Fortier

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a study of the seascapes of James McNeill Whistler’s formative career. It highlights Harmony in Blue and Silver: Trouville (1865) as a crucial painting that demonstrates his revolt from the influence of Gustave Courbet and marks the synthesis of his artistic style.

Everything We Touch Is Touching Us, Molly Markow

Theses and Dissertations

EVERYTHING WE TOUCH IS TOUCHING US

MOLLY MARKOW

22 Pages

Images shape both personal and collective experiences of place in the Anthropocene. I am interested in the relationship of landscape and representation to purity politics, longing, and escape. I am critical of the role of idealized depictions of “nature” and question how images shape our notions of paradise, desire, and fantasy. Who benefits from notions of paradise, and who doesn’t? I ask these questions while searching for a way to embrace impurity and the beauty in contamination. How might we come to an understanding of the post-pure that leaves room …

Sex, Drugs, And Rock-Lined Privies: An Analysis Of Embossed Glass Health Product Bottles From Victorian-Era Brothel And Non-Brothel Archaeological Sites By Socioeconomic Status, Erin Lynn Randolph

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines consumption patterns of Victorian-Era health products once contained in embossed-glass bottles to elucidate trends among different socioeconomic groups during the mid-nineteenth century through the first decade of the twentieth century. The consumption patterns of 20 types of health products from nine different archaeological sites across the United States were analyzed among Victorian-Era brothel residents and the non-brothel population, by socioeconomic class, and then by both socioeconomic status and affiliation with the sex industry. This process was repeated using the ingredients contained within the health products examined above.

Analysis revealed that soda water was exceptionally popular as a …

Big Sister Enterprise: Just Be There, Wai Ying Zhao

Theses and Dissertations

Wai Ying Zhao, an artist and curator, instituted an American company named Big Sister Enterprise in 2018. BSE is a Delaware registered LLC that imitates briefcase companies implemented in order to foster a community of emerging artists with the intent of exhibiting and promoting their works. Zhao’s initiative stems from the awareness that many artists are struggling to continue their studio practices because of unstable income or being overworked in jobs such as art handling, gallery sitting and bartending. Through openings and events held in spaces in both New York and Shenzhen, she aims to create a community where emerging …

Constraint And Control, Patricia Ayres

Theses and Dissertations

I have long considered themes of the body. Drawing on my knowledge as a fashion designer, I bring materials and hardware from the fashion industry into my artwork transforming and rendering them non-functional. My sculptures relate to stories of isolation, separation, and confinement. The following pages will analyze how the United States penal system controls, constrains and restricts the body through physical and psychological wounds. Furthermore, they will examine how the Catholic Church controls people’s minds and behavior through a ritualistic belief system.

Deconstructing The Image Of Woman: Video Portraiture And Women’S Performance For The Camera 1972-1980, Olivia Gauthier

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines key examples of video portraiture, a subgenre of 1970s video art in the United States. Through the examples three aesthetic categories are defined: mirroring, masquerade, and disrupting the male gaze. Video portrait works are framed by goals of the Women’s Liberation Movement and Second Wave Feminism.

How Is Global Postmodernism Globalized? Lee Seung-Taek’S Conceptual Art As The Methodology Of Survival For The Unrepresentable, Mi Hyun Oh

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis takes a comprehensive look at the integrated social context of South Korean artist Lee Seung-taek’s (b.1932) biography. I look at the ways in which Lee’s life experiences and practices capture the essential and critical influence of postwar South Korea’s strong anticommunist stance and his precarious status as a North Korean refugee in South Korea on the formation and development of his conceptual sculpture and performance work.

Access Point: Yuan Dongping’S Mental Patients In China And The State Of Chinese Documentary Photography In The 1990s, Sheung Ng

Theses and Dissertations

An investigation of the biographical, political, art historical, and social factors that could affect the discrepancy between the intention and reception of Chinese photographer Yuan Dongping’s Mental Patients in China photobook published in 1996, providing insight into the state of Chinese documentary photography publishing in the 1990s.