Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Half Dawn, Catherine Ashley

Masters Theses

By presenting these words on paper, I have given entry into a microcosm of recent research, questions, and creative explorations. There is potential for disconnection when trying to turn your head inside out and present it in a way that feels beautiful for other people. I’m trusting the moments of authenticity I’ve found in my wandering. Segue. Relationship. Gesture. Illusion. My musings all stem from notions of temporality. Time dances on the farthest ends of both immensity and desolation. I’ve spent stretches of time asking the people, texts, and experiments around me to define time in a way that I …

The Reciprocal Interaction Of Musical Performance And Analysis, Gregory Hartmann

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Musicians can generally be divided into one of two kinds: practitioners who compose or perform music, and thinkers who analyze or write about music (theorists, musicologists, and critics). These roles might seem to be of approximately equal importance, so the perspectives of each should be given proportionate consideration. Yet the existing music-theoretical literature consistently relegates the performer to an inferior position. When performance is discussed, it is usually done in objective terms; an analysis is presented as a rationale to judge a performance as right or wrong. My dissertation challenges this perspective and provides an alternative. By marrying rigorous, theory-based …

Snowstorm, Caleb Shafer

Masters Theses

This thesis explores the connection between memory and place-building, focusing on how personal narratives and physical models compress details to reveal their core essence. Memories serve as a bridge between time and space, allowing for a non-linear experience of time and offering a unique perspective on the existence and transformation of places. Although this compression involves some loss, it generates new narratives and insights into life while examining the power structures and cultural systems inherent in representation.

I Am Becoming., Dai Asano

Masters Theses

This is a collection of essays documenting my grappling with the idea that time is always in motion. When you say now, it is not now anymore, but we are still in now, a new now. How can I stay in the now without being swept away by the current of time? Describing a film by Ozu Yasujiro, Deleuze writes, “The vase in Late Spring is interposed between the daughter’s half smile and the beginning of her tears. There is becoming, change, passage. But the form of what changes does not itself change does not pass on. This is time, …

Perform—Produce, Rebecca Wilkinson

Masters Theses

Perform — Produce defines graphic design as a discipline rooted in work rather than a process that springs forth spontaneously from the creative imagination.

Perform — Produce is driven by strict constraints and machine-like craft, employing outdated tools and the physical body in processes of making that are stubbornly slow.

Perform — Produce deploys performance as a tactic to expose the otherwise invisible labor of design, and to reveal the ways design acquires value.

Perform — Produce proposes a new organizational model that integrates live happenings, cross-disciplinary exchange, and self-publishing to consider not just the product of design but also …

Out Of The Closet And Into The Classroom: Teaching Anne Finch's Plays, Diana Solomon

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640-1830

The publication of the Cambridge Edition of the Works of Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea makes it possible to teach not only a much wider assorted of her edited poetry, but also Finch’s two dramas: the tragicomedy The Triumphs of Love and Innocence, and the tragedy Aristomenes. This essay proposes integrating Finch’s plays into a course on Restoration and eighteenth-century drama by proposing a class, “Genre Trouble,” which sets them in dialogue with frequently-taught plays of the era. Included herein are a syllabus of primary and secondary sources, suggestions for discussing Finch’s plays and dramatic paratexts in comparison to works …

The Land Of Reverie, Sarah Moon

MFA in Visual Art

As children we are fascinated by the mythical. Imagining the attractive or even the disturbing serves as an escape from reality. By painting unicorns, vast surreal landscapes, and imaginative playscapes my work expands the white cube gallery into an immersive extension of my imagination. By viewing the canvas as a portal into a world where limitations dissolve, I paint acidic colors, fluid boundaries, and a malleable reality.

My studio practice is inspired by artists who experiment with color and scale like Kenny Scharf, Katharina Grosse, and Pipilotti Rist. In my colorful, large-scale works I explore the transformative power of play …

One Day At A Time, Four Decades Apart: An Analysis Of The Doxic, Mimetic, And Diagnostic Performances In The Original And Rebooted Pilots Of The Classic Norman Lear Show, Katrina Frank

Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology

In the modern era, it has become easier than ever to watch serial shows, whether they air on primetime television or are released on subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services. However, the lack of Latinx representation in these shows is severely lacking. This is why shows like the rebooted Norman Lear classic One Day at a Time are so important to the audiences it reaches. Shows with Latinx actors and storylines can impact the way their Latinx audience members view themselves and break the stereotypes associated with them (Contreras 2021).

By analyzing several scenes from both the 1975 and 2017 pilot episodes …

Neurodivergence In Dance Performance: A Thesis, Alannah Martin

Dance Written

Does neurodivergence have any effects on dance performance? The goals of this research project are to reflect, analyze, and understand how individual neurodivergence impacts creativity, identity, and the choreographic process. The intersection of dance and disability studies is an ever-growing area of research that is in conflict because of the societal nature of the two concepts. Within the disability studies field, neurodivergence and neurodiversity are relatively new and undeveloped ideas that primarily interact with dance studies as pedagogical areas of interest. There is little attention on the impacts of neurodivergence in dance makers and their creative products in performance. The …

Girl Rot, Maddie Foss

Graduate Theses

Does individual identity curate our personal environments, or do environmental variables infiltrate the idea of selfhood? My work is a journey of questioning the origins of selfhood while simultaneously trying to understand identity through the lens of the physical world and online landscapes that influence me. Through an examination of identity work, the history of pop culture icons, and online aesthetics, my artwork is immersed in gender, sexuality, and media study conversations that help me better understand myself and others that heavily engage online. I am an interdisciplinary artist working in digital drawings, collages, and installations with my media reflecting …

Violin Intonation: The Connection Between The Violin’S Tuning System And Performance, Marion J. Johnson

Musical Offerings

The history of the violin’s intricate tuning system is rich with various pitch standards, the influence of musicians, and diversity of violin craftsmanship. The violin offers a wide array of tuning techniques, and even the smallest intonation adjustment can wildly impact the violin’s pitch and playability. Violinists possess an enormous capability to facilitate effective tuning in a solo and ensemble setting. The design of the instrument’s body, dating as far back as the early Renaissance and extending to the modern violin, impacts timbre, resonance, and string tension. Every detail of the violin, even those that may seem inconsequential, affects its …

Soundscape - A Guided Approach To Post-Tonal Horn Repertoire, Selena B. Boyda

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

More modern post-tonal works are being composed and it is imperative that horn players interpret the music as accurately as possible. Analyzing the music is a way one can interpret the music accurately. The purpose of this research is to develop a guided approach for interpretation of post-tonal horn repertoire using analytical techniques. Selected works analyzed and used are Olivier Messiaen’s “Appel Interstellaire,” Stanley Friedman’s Topanga Variations, and Jenni Brandon’s Dawn. Analytical techniques used include set theory, limited modes of transposition, contour relations, motivic patterns, modal analysis, and motifs.

Unveiling The Idiomatic And Performance Inspirations: A Comparative Study Of The Red Violin Caprices By John Corigliano., Johan Alexander Pepper

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

John Corigliano's composition for "The Red Violin," a 1998 film by Don McKellar and François Girard, presents a multifaceted exploration of thematic material and performance challenges. This dissertation investigates Corigliano's creation of the "Red Violin" Caprices, examining their origins in the film's soundtrack and their transformation into solo works. Corigliano's intention to showcase the artistry of violinist Joshua Bell through these caprices underscores their technical and musical complexity. The Caprices, replete with references to the Baroque era and various virtuosic works, demand a high level of virtuosity from performers. Drawing on a sequence of seven chords and Anna’s Theme from …

The Actor In Flux: Transforming Acting Techniques Through Individuality, Christian Gabriel Tolentino

Akda: The Asian Journal of Literature, Culture, Performance

Most young aspiring actors are searching to ground themselves to begin their acting journey, to define, understand, and apply “acting” in their careers. Through this paper, I will attempt to formulate a personal approach to acting with the data gathered anchored in autotheory. The study does not want to dictate an appropriate approach for all actors but rather gives a chance for actors to reflect on their individuality as actors/artists.

The meat of the text will include a brief history of acting techniques from Europe, to America and eventually the Philippines and see how these techniques/processes/methods converse. I will delve …

Introduction To Theatre Oer Course, Carmen R. Meyers

Open Educational Resources

Study of theatre and performance throughout history and across cultures including an examination of European, Carribean, and North and South American theatrical styles and genres.

This course is organized for a hybrid/asynchronous format. Our class meets on-campus every week for 75 minutes and the other 75 minutes will be completed asynchronously with weekly learning modules on Blackboard.

The first half of the course focuses on the history of theatre from Ancient Greece through Modern Realism. The second half of the course, students engage in the procedures of professional theatre artists through writing and refining a dramatic text; enacting a performance; …

Time, Place, & Purpose: The Performance Of Creole Identity In Louisiana, Rachel N. Aker

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Though much of the early development of Louisiana Creole culture can be found in New Orleans, the culture spread and continued to grow throughout the rest of South Louisiana in both similar and different ways. Expanding beyond Joseph Roach’s treatment of Creole cultural performances in New Orleans in Cities of the Dead (1996) and journeying across land and water, this project identifies more Creole cultural performance as they emerge across place and time. I present Louisiana and the Gulf South as a kind of inland archipelago, with the currents of culture-creation moving in and around distinct community enclaves. The flow …

All Things New: An Analysis Of Alfred Gaul’S “A New Heaven And A New Earth”, Hope V. Dornfeld

Montview Journal of Research & Scholarship

These program notes originally accompanied the performance of a vocal piece, “A New Heaven and a New Earth” by English composer Alfred Robert Gaul. The notes provide a brief overview of the historical context of Gaul’s work as well as an examination of classification difficulties that arise when dealing with sacred works of the mid-to-late nineteenth century. They further detail the unique challenges that are inherent in presenting an underperformed musical work. As part of a performing arts research project, these program notes also address the methods of expression and creative process that went into preparing the performance of this …

This Life Is A Constant Rehearsal, Alex Schmidt

Theses and Dissertations

Alex Schmidt’s conceptual practice explores the artist’s precarious condition as an affective freelance worker; a utopian parasite. Schmidt employs paintings as props, performance as muse, and writing on transactional care as a metaphor for this cobbled life.

The Impact Of Body Image On Self-Confidence In Elite Dancers, Carissa Bethel

Applied Sport & Performance Psychology | Literature Reviews

In athletics and the performing arts, athletes and performers are expected to maintain a healthy, strong, and athletic physique. Specific professions foster a thin body image amongst athletes, which are expected to be maintained. Pressure to maintain low weight or an athletic body has been considered a risk factor for developing body image dissatisfaction (Nascimento, Luna, Fontenelle, 2012). Previous research has shown that from a health perspective body satisfaction is one of the crucial factors in the prevention of unhealthy, weight related behaviors, especially in female athletes (Kantanista et al., 2018). The research addresses body image concerns in elite performance …

Collective, Collage, And Translative Authorship: Writing To And From Multilingual Europe, Jamie H. Trnka

Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature

Letters to Europe (2011) is a collectively authored, transnational literary engagement with Europe as an idea, a place, and a set of socio-political relationships. A print publication and performance, the ambivalent generic status of the Brussels-based project raises productive questions about how collective translation, transnational authorship, and multimedial performance strategies combine to advance new modes of aesthetic and political representation for subjects in transit in twenty-first century Europe. I argue for attention to multilingual and multimedial translations as sites of creative self-documentation on the part of mobile subjects as a critical counterpoint to state-sanctioned forms of documentality (Favorini). To that …

They Smell Of Earth After Rain Exploring The Sacred Space Within Performance: An Examination Of Transcendence, Ritual, And Artistic Expression, Candy Jimenez

Dance (MFA) Theses

This thesis writing includes research about the intersections of sacred space, rituals, spirituality, artistic expression, and performance. Performance can serve as an event for transcendence, a gateway to the sacred space and the essences. The concept of sacred space and transcendence within performance expands beyond spatial boundaries, encompassing various art forms, particularly dance. Ritual, one artifact of human experience, is redefined in a contemporary context, serving as a vehicle for transformative experiences within performances. This thesis explores the nuanced dynamics between performers, audiences, and performance spaces to uncover transformative journeys for all involved. Sacred space, a central theme, is examined …

Simply Butter (One Pat At A Time), Maddie Mcsweeney

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Simply Butter (one pat at a time) is an investigation of food and intimacy through sculpture, installation, performance, printmaking, and recordkeeping. In this series of Happenings, I explore themes of love, loss, and empathy while dealing with emotions related to grief and mental health issues. I look to cultural phenomena and art history figures who are concerned with similar sentiments to make conceptual connections and inform my choices when creating this project. Drawn to silliness and the absurd, I use the rudimentary yet familiar form of a stick of butter to act as a monolithic stand-in for the emotionally, mentally, …

An Immersive Study Of The Artistry Of Gilbert Biberian —Guitarist, Composer, And Pedagogue— And Creative Responses From A Musical Apprenticeship, Stephanie J. Darcey

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This project examines the music of Istanbul-born British classical guitarist and composer Gilbert Biberian (1944-2023) and the potential of this music to stimulate original composition using an intuitive approach. Biberian is recognized as one of the most original and creative guitar composers from the second half of the twentieth century. His musical language embraces and integrates traditional tonality, jazz, post-tonal idioms, and the music of the Middle East. There are three strands to this project: an overview of Biberian’s life, philosophy, and music; a musical apprenticeship with Biberian on technique and musicianship; and also on my compositions. There will be …