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The 1895 Cézanne Show At Vollard’S Revisited, Robert Jensen

Art and Visual Studies Faculty Working Papers

The Cézanne show at Ambroise Vollard’s Paris gallery in November-December 1895 was a watershed moment for both artist and dealer. Both the artist and the dealer’s commercial successes date from this moment. The composition of Cézanne’s collectors was also largely divided by this exhibition. Who they were and what particular paintings they bought are listed below. The relative uniqueness of this solo exhibition is highlighted. The paper also addresses the still open questions as to how the paintings for the show were selected, by whom, and which pictures were included. In doing so it adds to the list of paintings …

(Dis)Possessed Black Youth: How America's Architecture Challenges Coming Of Age In Twentieth And Twenty-First Century African American Women's Literature, Margaret Frymire Kelly

Theses and Dissertations--English

This dissertation advances studies of Black childhood, particularly Black girlhood, by examining how African American women writers depict the troubled journey to adulthood in stories of segregation, immigration, and incarceration. I argue that authors of four representative literary works emphasize architectural structures as well as ancestral hauntings among which Black children grow up. Without examining the material structures, we cannot understand the strategies these haunted Black youth deploy to reach adulthood. Examining the architectural structures that the protagonists of Maud Martha (1953), Brown Girl, Brownstones (1959), Zami (1982), and Sing, Unburied, Sing (2017) grow up in and around, I demonstrate …

Artists' Genres: A Brief Introduction To Post-Medieval Western Art, Robert Jensen

Art and Visual Studies Faculty Book Gallery

Artists' Genres is a brief introduction to the history of post-medieval Western art organized by the major genres. The book is designed as a basic textbook for high school- or introductory college-level courses or for individuals simply looking for an interesting guidebook into the art of this period and geographical region.

This is the revised edition of Artists' Genres: A Brief Introduction to Post-Medieval Western Art, which was released in 2018.

Facing Others: Ray Johnson’S Portrait Of A Curator As A Network, Miriam Kienle

Art and Visual Studies Faculty Publications

Deploying various forms of art world communication (commercial, bureaucratic, and interpersonal), Ray Johnson made a portrait of the curator Samuel J. Wagstaff during the mid-1960s that unworked the singular and unified image of his subject and emphasized identity as contingent upon a person’s position in their social network. Although many have noted the networked character of Johnson’s mail art practice—wherein participants were connected to each other with and through continually circulated collaged correspondence—few have explored it in relation to contemporary network theory and none have examined how it relates to portraiture of the period. By analyzing the remains of Johnson’s …

De Alcalá De Henares A Ciudad De México: Ciudades, Universidades Y Preservación Del Patrimono Histórico, Juan Fernandez Cantero

Theses and Dissertations--Hispanic Studies

This dissertation explores the relationship between the city of Alcalá de Henares, Spain and Mexico City, Mexico, in terms of the colonization-decolonization processes of the latter. First, Alcalá de Henares and a few years later, Mexico City, suffered profound urban transformations that led to the construction of the so-called City of God (Civitas Dei). The City of God was a utopia: an urban, philosophical and educational model conceived during the first stages of the early modern period. By following Saint Agustine’s precepts, in his book, The City of God Against the Pagans, cardinal Francisco Ximénez de Cisneros created …

Yet Another Fight For Remembrance: Titus Kaphar’S Representation Of Race In The Past And The Present, Emily Hedges

Dean's Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Scholarship

With compelling portraits that challenge the representation of minorities within the art historical canon, American artist Titus Kaphar has emerged as an important voice in contemporary art. His paintings are best-known for engaging the history of art and visual culture founded on the construction of whiteness and restoring narratives of people of color through modern-day representations of once hidden historical actors. Kaphar questions how repressed histories have shaped preconceived notions of famous historic figures, such as Thomas Jefferson, and more importantly, of United States history. Throughout his career, his innovative practice has aimed to disrupt the visual field and reveal …

In Black And White: Richmond’S Monument Avenue Recontextualized Through The Photographic Archive, Charlsa Anne Hensley

Theses and Dissertations--Art and Visual Studies

The release of the Monument Avenue Commission Report in July, 2018 was the culmination of over one year of research and collaboration with community members of Richmond, Virginia on how the city should approach the contentious history of Monument Avenue’s five Confederate centerpieces. What the monuments have symbolized within the predominately rich, white neighborhood and outside of its confines has been a matter of debate ever since they were unveiled, but the recent publicity accorded to Confederate monuments has led to considerations by historians, city leaders, and the public regarding recontextualization of Confederate monuments.

Recontextualization of the monuments should not …

A Portrait Of Myself: Gaze Through The Eyes Of Florine Stettheimer, Sydney A. Mullins

Oswald Research and Creativity Competition

Saloniste Florine Stettheimer rarely exhibited her art while she was alive- and when she did, it was only to her inner circle of queer and avant-garde friends (including individuals like Marcel Duchamp and Carl Van Vechten). After her death, however, we see why she was so secretive- her works were very ahead of their time in the 1920s, and remain layered with intention. This essay seeks to analyze three of Stettheimer’s artworks- A Model (Nude Self-Portrait), Portrait of Myself, and Portrait of My Sister, Ettie Stettheimer- in the context of how gender and female sexuality were and …

The Revolt Against Mourning: Woolf, Joyce, Faulkner, And Beyond, Andrew Leo Beutel

Theses and Dissertations--English

The Revolt against Mourning calls into question the widespread critical alignment of literary modernism with Freudian melancholia. Focusing instead on “mourning,” through close readings of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, James Joyce’s Ulysses, and William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, I demonstrate how their depictions of this notion overturn both its traditional and contemporary understandings. Whereas Freud conceives mourning as a psychic labor that the subject slowly and painfully carries out, Woolf, Joyce, and Faulkner convey it as a destabilizing, subversive, and transformative force to which the subject is radically passive. For Freud, mourning is a matter …

Exploring The Knoedler Gallery's Premium Picture Market, 1872-1934, Robert Jensen

Art and Visual Studies Presentations

This paper was first delivered at the conference Art Dealers, America and the International Art Market, 1880-1930 sponsored by the Getty Research Institute, The Getty, Los Angeles, CA, January 2018. The essay is based on research conducted at the GRI Special Collections’s archival holdings of materials belonging to the New York art gallery M. Knoedler & Co. The paper outlines a quantitative methodology for approaching the Getty’s data set, which was created through the transcription of Knoedler’s 11 painting stock books covering the gallery’s operations from 1872 to its closing in 1970. The paper explores the advantages of concentrating on …

Escaping Into The Creative Imagination: A Case Study Of James J. Guthrie And The Pear Tree Press, Hayley Harlow

Special Collections Research Center Learning Lab Student Research

This paper focuses upon the collection of works by Scottish printmaker James J. Guthrie (1874-1952) housed in the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center. The collection includes numerous prints, drawings, and book plates from the Pear Tree Press, the private press Guthrie operated in England from 1899 until his death. My research will in part analyze the influence of the Romantic period in Guthrie’s work, particularly that of William Blake, as well as the connection between Guthrie’s own creative autonomy and the Romantic movement’s notion of poetic genius. It will examine this revival of Romantic poetry in …

From Practice To Performance: The Importance Of Ballet In Degas’S Dancer Painting Process, Whitney Leeann Hill

Theses and Dissertations--Art and Visual Studies

The context in which any artist creates an artwork is integral to understanding its significance, and one crucial aspect of context is how a work was created. When first looking at how Edgar Degas created his dancer paintings, his process seems simple- he watched the dancers and then painted what he saw. However, that is only a surface examination of a much more complicated system of observation, practice, repetition, mastery, and reproduction. This thesis investigates how Degas bridged the gap between observation and understanding of balletic technique; how deep his knowledge of balletic technique was; and if Degas did have …

Why Munch?, Robert Jensen

Art and Visual Studies Presentations

Why Munch? was a keynote lecture for the conference "Marketing the North," sponsored by the society Munch, Markets and Modernism, in November 2017. In asking the question, the paper explores Munch's canonical status, especially vis-a-vis other Scandinavian artists of his time. In particular, the essay addresses the evolving nature of artistic professionalism at the end of the 19th century, and how Munch's personal and artistic behavior evoked a new definition of bohemianism that resonated deeply with the rise of European modernism and the post-1900 avant-gardes.

Hayashi Yasuo And Yagi Kazuo In Postwar Japanese Ceramics: The Effects Of Intramural Politics And Rivalry For Rank On A Ceramic Artist’S Career, Marilyn Rose Swan

Theses and Dissertations--Art and Visual Studies

The use and firing of clay to make art instead of vessels was a revolutionary concept in Japan when it first was introduced by Hayashi Yasuo in 1948 with Cloud, and expanded upon by Yagi Kazuo in 1954 with Mr. Samsa’s Walk. Although both avant-garde artists were major forces in the advancement of abstract, nonfunctional ceramics, Yagi is usually given sole credit and occupies a prominent place in the literature, while Hayashi’s name can scarcely be found, despite his numerous international awards, large body of work and career spanning seven decades. This thesis seeks to identify the factors …

A Single Particle Among Billions: Yayoi Kusama And The Power Of The Minute, Isabelle Martin

Oswald Research and Creativity Competition

Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama has developed her career through the continued use of the infinitely repeated polka-dot motif, an element that has not only persisted throughout the entirety of her work, but has also become a fundamental aspect of her self-presentation. Kusama has long suffered from a mental affliction called cenesthopathy, which results in intense hallucinations and anxiety attacks. Her use of the polka dot is not only a way for her to visualize her hallucinations, but also an example of the physical commitment (identified by Kusama as self-obliteration) she has to her work—her repeated application of small motifs …

Gabe's Reimagined: A Multi-Use Renovation Of An Abandoned Hotel, Alissa Ramburger

Lewis Honors College Capstone Collection

The building, named Gabe’s Tower after owner and public figure Gabe Fiorella, was once an icon of Owensboro. Unfortunately, due to population growth southward and the opening of a rival hotel downtown (The Executive Inn), Gabe’s Tower was unable to remain open. It has since undergone many different ownerships, each of which have struggled to remain profitable. The building has remained vacant for years and therefore has been subjected to becoming a location for crime. This has produced a very negative image for the building and the surrounding area. This negative image drives the purpose of this project. Through the …

Impermeable Assemblages: Flooding, Urban Infrastructure, And Stormwater Politics In São Paulo, Brazil, Nate Millington

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

This project analyzes efforts to remake the relationship between water and city in São Paulo, Brazil. Currently experiencing overlapping problems of flooding, scarcity, and pollution, São Paulo illustrates the challenges of managing water in a contemporary mega-city. This dissertation subsequently considers the city’s water management through an approach that borrows from urban political ecology, social studies of science, and post-colonial urban theory. With an epistemological grounding in these literatures, this project analyzes ongoing conversations about water management in São Paulo, and focuses on how water is encountered and engaged with in the landscape by engineers, artists, and activists. This project …

The Virago, Hermaphrodite, And Jan Gossaert: A Metamorphosis In Netherlandish Art, Heidi Caudill

Kaleidoscope

In this paper, I examine the origins of the 1516 painting The Metamorphosis of Hermaphroditus and the Nymph Salmacis by the artist Jan Gossaert. Because there are no known representations of the myth in post-classical European art before Gossaert’s version, the existence of the painting provokes questions about its patronage, background, and possible implications. Derived from the myth of Salmacis and Hermaphroditus in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the focus of the work is on the physical struggle between a male and female figure. The artist casts these individuals into the roles of victim and aggressor, with the female as the dominant character. …

The Perfect Machine: The Reason Behind The Anatomical Studies Of Leonardo Da Vinci, Amanda M. Cothern

Kaleidoscope

The legacy of Leonardo da Vinci is most often characterized by the works of his brush — however, there is more to Leonardo than what meets the art lover’s eye. His notebooks overflow with scientific studies, the most amazing of which are his detailed drawings of human anatomy. Scholars have long assumed that Leonardo dissected corpses in order to better represent the human form in his painting. In this paper, I counter that assumption, making the following points:

1. Leonardo’s anatomical findings did not significantly influence his painting.
2. Leonardo was an accomplished scientist and engineer.
3. Leonardo applied his knowledge of physics …

Professionalism And The Market In 19th-Century Europe, Robert Jensen

Art and Visual Studies Presentations

This paper explores the changing identity of artistic professionalism, especially in late 19th-century France. It ties artistic self-fashioning to the collapse of the Salon system and casts professionalism as a marketing strategy.

The Truth Of Night In The Italian Baroque, Renee J. Lindsey

Theses and Dissertations--Art and Visual Studies

In the sixteenth century, the nocturne genre developed in Italian art introducing the idea of a scene depicted in the darkness of night. This concept of darkness paired with intense light was adopted by Caravaggio in the late sixteenth century and popularized by himself and his followers. The seemingly sudden shift towards darkness and night is puzzling when viewed as individual occurrences in artists’ works. As an entire genre, the night scene bears cultural implications that indicate the level of influence culture and society have over artists and patrons. The rising popularity of the theater and the tension between Protestantism …

Scribblescholar Was Here: Confessional Notes Of A Vandal Academic, Clay Shields

Theses and Dissertations--English

As a (former) vandal-punk in the academy, I often fear succumbing to Ivory Tower Stockholm syndrome. The identities I perform, vandal-punk and scholar, ideologically clash to the point that they often feel irreconcilable. By codemeshing the high-low discourses associated with these adopted cultures, I attempt to disrupt any hierarchal privileging of either, instead searching for a way to live with and harness both.

Satire And Stoicism: Pieter Bruegel The Elder's Triumph Of Death, Susan K. Gisselberg

Kaleidoscope

In Bruegel and the Creative Process, 1559 – 1563, Margaret Sullivan explains how the religious and political disorder of the Reformation in the Netherlands influenced Pieter Bruegel’s most original works, including The Triumph of Death. During this period, Bruegel combined classical elements and vernacular traditions. As a result of this process, he was able to depict similar imagery to his contemporaries, yet convey a vastly different concept. In a review, Todd Richardson argued that her claim relied heavily on classical literary sources with inadequate visual evidence in the work itself, and her correlations to antiquity rely solely on the …

Tapestry Of Space: Domestic Architecture And Underground Communities In Margaret Morton’S Photography Of A Forgotten New York, Irina Nersessova

disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory

This article addresses the impact urban space has on individuals through the use of Situationist International theory and psychogeography. Representations of homelessness in New York in Margaret Morton's photography are used to demonstrate the interconnectedness among space, people, and social issues. Social issues manifest themselves in urban decay, and the inhabitants react to this phenomenon emotionally and artistically. Some inhabitants demonstrate their relationship with space by responding with material production of housing and art, which they accomplish by building without exploiting the environment the way the manufacturing of commodities often does.

Looking To The Future, Selling The Past: Churchill Weavers Marketing Strategies In The 1950s, Cassandra White-Fredette

Theses and Dissertations--Art and Visual Studies

This thesis explores the Churchill Weavers stereocards housed at the Kentucky Historical Society and Berea College based on visual analysis. By examining the stereocards as advertisements and comparing them to a series of short films created by the company, I will discuss how the Churchill Weavers created a brand that emphasized both an image of traditional American rural production and modern urban consumption. I will further discuss how the marketing strategies used by the Churchill Weavers exemplify a larger trend in American advertising in the years following World War Two.

Edward Steichen And Hollywood Glamour, Alisa Reynolds

Theses and Dissertations--Art and Visual Studies

As a word, glamour is hard to define, but is instantly recognizable. Its association with Hollywood movie stars fully emerged in the 1930s in the close-up celebrity portraits by photographers like George Hurrell. The aesthetic properties in these images that help create glamour are characterized by the Modernist style, known for sharp focus, high contrast, seductive poses, and the close-up (tight framing). My essay will explore the origins of the visual aesthetics of glamour, arguing that their roots can be found in the still life photographs of the 1910s, produced by fine art photographers such as Edward Steichen. This essay …

From Geology To Art History: Ceramist Alexandre Brongniart’S Overlooked Contribution To The Developing Science Of Art History In The Early Nineteenth Century, Julia A. Carr-Trebelhorn

Theses and Dissertations--Art and Visual Studies

Alexandre Brongniart was known for his work as an important geologist and as an administrator at the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, but his roles as art historian and museologist are overlooked. Brongniart created a holistic methodology taken directly from science and applied it to ceramic art of all cultures and eras. He had a uniquely modern perspective on time, world culture, and archeology. Brongniart wrote about the art of Asia and the Americas on an equal status with that of the Classical West at least fifty years before it became a mainstream idea. Brongniart integrated scientific principle and practice into the …

Classic French Modern, Robert Jensen

Art and Visual Studies Presentations

This conference paper presented at Art Without History symposium sponsored by the Oskar Reinhart Collection, September 2012, explores the development of modern house museums devoted to collections of 'classic French modern,' works primarily by the Post-Impressionist artists Cézanne, Gauguin, Toulouse-Lautrec, Seurat, and van Gogh. These museums largely reflect the collecting activities of an international group of collectors that includes the Clark brothers, Duncan Phillips, Chester Dale, and Albert Barnes among the Americans, Samuel Courtauld in Britain, and the Swiss collectors Emil Bührle and Oscar Reinhart. The collections offer an alternative view of Post-Impressionism, one leading not toward the 20th-century avant-gardes, …

Caravaggio And The Head Of Goliath, Veronica Polinedrio

Kaleidoscope

No abstract provided.

Animals As Metaphor: Feminist Art And Animal Rights In The 1970s And Beyond, Ashley Watson

Kaleidoscope

No abstract provided.