Art and Design Commons^™

Access In Ambiguity, Moritz Lónyay

Masters Theses

The wealth of color present in nature has long been a major source of inspiration for works of art and design. Yet as more species become extinct due to habitat loss, climate change and unchecked hunting, will we face a less colorful, more monotonous future? How will this impact art and design and how could either be utilized as tools to counteract the loss of color? This thesis speculates upon such a future by the sixth wave of mass extinction and instigates a movement that celebrates color. Growing up in the Anthropocene, the first geological epoch in which human existence …

Reintroducing Hemp (Rongony) In The Material Palette Of Madagascar: A Study On The Potential Of Hemp Clay Components And Its Impact On Social And Ecological Communities., Henintsoa Thierry Andrianambinina

Masters Theses

When mentioning the word hemp, especially in the local language of Madagascar, the literal translation does not set it apart from marijuana, as they are both called “rongony” - creating the stigma around hemp as the negative stereotype of marijuana. However, the material has been used by the ancestors of Madagascar, as well as across cultures, in its fibrous form to produce fabrication like textile goods and packaging. During colonization, the prohibition of hemp intensified, and since then, any activity related to either of these plants is prohibited and will end in severe punitive measures. This thesis explores the strengths …

Mapping Maple Memory, Grace Derksen

Senior Projects Spring 2023

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Multidisciplinary Studies of Bard College.

Your Friend, Wildfire, Elizabeth Riddle, Aubrey Frissell, Mackenzie Weiland, Katherine Wendeln, Rory Mclaverty, Lillian Hollibaugh

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

The frequency and severity of wildfire has increased around the world within the past two decades, due to shifts in land management practices, climate change, and other factors. The effects of these fires have led to an inaccurate public perception of wildfire as a whole. This overly-simplified, vilified perception of all fire obscures the role that it has played in shaping landscapes for thousands of years, and how indigenous peoples have applied fire to take care of landscapes.

Positive public perception of using fire as a tool for land management creates a more supportive environment for healthy landscape management. Thus, …

Justification For An Apparel-Based Sustainability Course At The University Of Arkansas, Sydney Taylor

Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Undergraduate Honors Theses

The University of Arkansas' Apparel Merchandising and Product Development program does not currently offer a course on sustainability in the apparel and textile sector. Due to a lack of sustainability information, students may not have a thorough understanding of their degree. If students had the opportunity to learn about current sustainability-related topics before entering the workforce, they would have a new perspective and a deeper understanding of the industry, allowing them to potentially make good change.

By elaborating on the need for an apparel-based sustainability course to be offered at the University of Arkansas in the Apparel Merchandising and Product …

Plant Wise, Sophia Llamas

Honors Projects

Conceptually, Plant Wise is the key to bridging the gap between preconceived ideas about vegan and vegetarianism and successfully integrating plant-based foods into your everyday life. Physically, Plant Wise is a self-educational, interactive booklet chock-full of activities intended for users to complete at their own pace. Inside this 56-page booklet, there are recipes, doodling spaces, weekly check sheets, activities to do with friends and family, challenges, and so much more. Plant Wise utilizes these activities and journaling opportunities throughout as a self-reflective vehicle to give users an experience to reflect on, which aids in the retention of what’s been learned …

Activating Vacant Spaces: An Art And Environmental Justice Project - Assessment In Cleveland, Ohio’S Slavic Village Neighborhood, Patrick Connolly

Community Engagement Student Work

The overdevelopment of cities has caused residents to suffer from environmental and economic harm. Situated near a steel mill and a highway, and with less than 20% tree canopy, the Slavic Village neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio is a community that may be in need of environmental justice. The movement to introduce green elements to urban environments is growing, and there are clear economic benefits to greening urban areas. Using art as a tool for education, this project proposes a series of six sustainable art installations that attempt to teach the community about environmental issues. Using this art project as a …

Sealed For Your Protection, Olive Dunham Werby

Senior Projects Spring 2020

In this project, I ruminate on the shiny, shape shifting polymer saturated world we are continuously creating. Oil, plastic, and fossil fuels are all very convenient for turning a profit, for consuming more and more, for the structures in place today. Concurrently, it is becoming increasingly inconvenient for our future generations to avoid extinction.

Wish You Were Here, Janie Stamm, Janie I. Stamm

Graduate School of Art Theses

The State of Florida is under threat from the effects of climate change. Rising sea levels are creeping up on to Florida’s coast, eroding the beaches and encroaching on heavily populated cities. Over my lifetime I will watch the water spill over the streets of my home town. I will watch the water flood the Everglades, pushing saltwater into freshwater habitats. I will watch the water begin to drown the state, taking Florida’s many little known histories along with it. This thesis serves as a document of Floridian life during the Anthropocene.

Within this thesis, I tell the story of …

Nutrient Removal Performance Of A Wood Chip Bioreactor Treatment System Receiving Silage Bunker Runoff, Deborah Joy Kraft

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Silage bunker runoff is a form of agricultural pollution that contributes to aquatic ecosystem degradation. Current handling and treatment methods for this process wastewater are often ineffective or expensive. A woodchip bioreactor is an emerging treatment technology designed to facilitate denitrification through the provision of an anaerobic, carbon rich environment. A wood chip bioreactor treatment system, consisting of three pre-treatment tanks, two wood chip bioreactors, and one infiltration basin, was constructed at the Miller Research Complex in South Burlington, Vermont in 2016. Runoff and leachate from an adjacent silage storage bunker is directed into the system. The pre-treatment tanks include …

Discovering Wonders And Tragedies, Mackenzie Sayre Josephine Wardell

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Discovering wonders of the weather and the ever changing plant life in the Northeast, and tragedies about how disrespectful and selfish humans are towards the environment;My senior project is showing my viewers how exciting and diverse the natural world is and how necessary it is to recognize the destructiveness of plastic and our single-use culture.

During this past year, I’ve spent my time collecting from, observing, and recreating the natural world. I’ve experimented with new mediums such as cyanotype printing, which is brought to life by exposure to sunlight, and I’ve delved into my curiosities about the world of trash …

The Performance Of 2d And 3d Tsunami Evacuation Maps: A Case Study For Seaside, Oregon, Aaron M. Taveras

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Tsunami evacuation maps are intended to inform the public about the geographic extent of the hazard and where to evacuate, but these maps can be difficult to interpret for people unfamiliar with cartographic semiology. This study focuses on the performance of tsunami evacuation maps and how the tsunami hazard is represented cartographically, as at-risk communities must be able to act quickly, and effectively understand tsunami maps to remain aware of the hazard and adequately evacuate. This study investigated the use of static three-dimensional (3D) perspective maps and travel time to safety representation (shown using point markers and choropleth symbology), as …

Our Food Story: Examining The Relationship Between Food And The Community, Joan Kao

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Our Food Story is a project that critiques, analyzes and intercepts the cycle of concentrated poverty in the Near Westside through a look into the neighborhoods’ history and present day conditions. The project aims to offer a solution to the observed issues through interior design. Our Food Story is a casual eatery and a community food workshop as well as a source of employment to address the low employment rate in the area. Through biomorphic and biophilic design, Our Food Story hopes to engage all in and out of the community to bring back food, jobs and a community space. …

Speed And Resolution In The Age Of Technological Reproducibility, Shawn Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

The rate of acceleration of the biologic and synthetic world has for a while now, been in the process of exponentially speeding up, maxing out servers and landfills, merging with each other, destroying each other. The last prehistoric relics on Earth are absorbing the same oxygen, carbon dioxide and electronic waves in our biosphere as us. A degraded .jpeg enlarged to full screen on a Samsung 4K UHD HU8550 Series Smart TV - 85” Class (84.5” diag.). Within this composite ecology, the ancient limestone of the grand canyon competes with the iMax movie of itself, the production of Mac pros, …

Fashioning A Better Future: Why Educating Young People About The Impact Of Their Clothing Choices Matters, Andrea B. Neiman

MALS Final Projects, 1995-2019

This thesis explores who and what is harmed by the production and consumption of clothing. The research investigates the roots of today's slow fashion phenomenon. The evolution of anti-consumerism, do-it-yourself culture and "upcycling" is critically examined. In the twenty-first century, various options exist for individuals looking to shop and dress in a way that is reflective of their personal ideals about social justice, animal rights and environmental protection. Since young people are so receptive to fashion trends and spend their disposable income on clothing, educating them about the impact of their choices is imperative. The appendix contains a high school …

Sustainable Systems Thinking In Communication Design Education, Yvette M. Perullo

Open Access Theses

Design ingenuity and sustainability can, and should, work together. Designers have an ethical responsibility to provide ideas that do no harm, and better yet, create positive solutions that nourish the environment, social and cultural structures, and the economy. This approach, referred to as sustainable systems thinking--in contrast to more common design approaches--looks at a problem as an integrated component of an entire network. Sustainable systems thinking helps designers, clients, and consumers to consider who or what is connected to the design outcome, where the project will have positive and negative ecological, financial, cultural or social impacts, and make the entire …

Bikeurious: A Transportation Reorientation, Aerienne Russell

Pomona Senior Theses

Since a young age, I have been interested in bicycling as a form of fun and fanciful recreation, but it wasn’t until the summer of 2011 that a serious shift occurred in my understanding of the bike as more than a mere machine. A spontaneous 700-mile journey redefined my relationship with travel, transcended my notions of transportation, and enabled me to better mediate myself within my environment. In writing about these experiences, I hope to offer some insight into how American culture currently frames transportation and how I hope the construction of a bike positive culture can instill social, environmental, …

Development Of The Control And Ignition Systems On A High Pressure Gas Turbine Combustor, Carlos Alejandro Valdez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The ignition and control systems of a laboratory scale high-pressure gas turbine combustor were developed in the present work. This work provides a detailed description of the design, development and testing of the remote control system developed for a High Pressure Gas Turbine Combustor (HPTC).

The combustor has the capability to operate at pressures up to 1.5 MPa and temperatures up to 2400 K. It is also designed for a maximum air and fuel flow rates of 81.93 g/s and 35.77 g/s respectively. The fuel used will be CH4 for the early experiments but it is designed to operate using …

Development Of An Expert System To Aid In The Selection Of Sustainability Design Engineering Methods, Pedro Renato Acosta

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this thesis is to present the development of an expert system to aid designers in the selection of design methods, in particular for sustainability methods. When practicing engineers need help in their design process, they look for design methods and tools; this is a challenge especially for inexperienced engineers in the sustainability area. Engineers, due to time constrains, will only utilize one or few methods during their professional life. The origin of this situation can be traced to engineering education, where it is typical that an instructor prefers one or few methods in particular, and even when …