Art and Design Commons^™

A Pursuance Of Self, Kassidy Albert

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The self portrait is a consistent aspect of art history, with many artists returning to it again and again across their lives. This project intends to explore the function of the self portrait. Through research and execution of artwork, the artist has found that the self portrait has multiple functions, including: a practice of anatomy; a display of status, skill, and likeness; an outlet for emotion; and a place for psychological confrontation. Across the life of this project, the artist completed twenty-two self portraits in a variety of styles and materials.

Mfa Master Project, Owen Pierce

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

I am a storyteller.

I just happen to paint, draw and sculpt my stories more often than I write them. Thematically, I gravitate towards stories that speak about ecological and humanitarian concerns. Fantasy illustration is where I can create with the greatest freedom and indulge my love of crafting stories, and also as a form of escapism. As the author

Ursula K. Le Guin quotes, “If the direction of escape is towards freedom, what then is ‘escapism’ an accusation of?” Long running series of programs, films and books attest to this desire to be engaged at a deeper, more meaningful …

Rabbit Hole, Olivia Wiebe

Scripps Senior Theses

Rabbit Hole explores an alternate reality which erupts within moments of insomnia, and posits it as a place of self-discovery. Though this Rabbit Hole is a personal one, the work implies that these worlds can be found within any person when they are alone. Digital spaces have become tools of absolute availability and distraction, capitalized on by companies who profit when our eyeballs are stuck to our screens. However, cyberspace was once dreamed of as a place of self-discovery and experimentation. Rabbit Hole is an attempt to reclaim digital space, and turn towards ourselves within technology. These individual “Rabbit Holes” …

Character Development And Refiguration Of Narrative, Vladan Djordjevic

MSU Graduate Theses

Character development is the process of creating believable fictional characters by giving them depth and compelling visual characteristics, which reveal a narrative framework behind formal solutions. Character development is the creation of effective communication. It gives essential information about character progression and the thought process behind a character’s evolution over time in the practice of visual development. This approach is a procedure of creating visual forms that convey clear messages, very often intangible ones. Their meaning is constructed through the use of different iconographic and narrative structures that, when presented within the same context, give thought-provoking and unusual formal solutions. …

My Spring 2023 Honors Thesis, Callie Honaker

Undergraduate Honors Theses

For my thesis project, I displayed fifteen printed photographs of self-portraits that I have made outside of class. In these self-portraits, I have applied special effects makeup to my face to create different portrayals of myself. These range from more abstracted makeup to characters. The majority of these makeups are from the chest up and created with face paint and self-made prosthetics. In this imagery, I have also chosen accessories and the background to coincide with the makeup and the mood that I am conveying. Minor adjustments have been made digitally in order to enhance how the image comes across. …

Off The Grid, Matthew Owen Buffington

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Off the Grid explores the messy relationship between public and private perceptions of our urban spaces, especially the tensions created when lived experience runs up against the physical and conceptual networks of cities: street grids, construction tape, and property lines. Incorporating different modes of spatial representation, from cartographic diagrams to isometric illustrations and Renaissance perspectives, this exhibition examines the role drawing plays in how we conceptualize the divisions and definitions of everyday space. The drawings engage the often overlooked detritus of city life, from layers of old graffiti to overgrown dirt piles and unmoored electrical wiring, that complicate our understanding …

Understanding The Expressive Cartoon Drawings Of A Student With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Michael S. Collins

Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on the highly expressive comic drawings of Amy, a child with autism. This study connects larger fields of research: the study of how people with autism spectrum disorder [ASD] process faces and emotions; and, research about artists with ASD. Amy's understanding of emotion was analyzed by asking her to view and identify humans and cartoon characters expressing different emotions. Her ability to illustrate emotion is tested by asking her to respond to various drawing prompts. The study concluded that Amy has difficulty identifying the emotions of humans and cartoons, but she does have the ability to illustrate …

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 …

Subsurface, Elizabeth J. Huhtala

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

What's Left Over, Bryanna Jaramillo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The MFA thesis exhibition titled, What's Left Over, is comprised of a series of drawings as well as a large painted sculptural installation assembled as a child's fantasy world. The work explores the roots of creativity through the lens of childhood play by assembling an invented world named Lola. By exploring the relationship between the real and the imaginary, the work manifests childhood memories into a form that can be studied and better understood. Lola is an elaborate but clearly handmade world that explores an unresolved past.

Show Me A Story: The Creative Process Of Communicating Truth Through A Picture Book, Katie Hopmann

Honors Theses

After working at camp for six weeks during the summer of 2011, I was exhausted. I had great expectations to love the camp counselor life, but God was continuing to shape exactly how I would serve Him with my life. Driving home from camp, I was confused. I felt Called to minister to children and so badly wanted to be a "camp person." I wanted to be that awesome camp counselor, full of energy and fun, but I had discovered I was simply not. Like God often has, He spoke strongly to me when my pride was broken.

I had …

Exploration Of Directions And Philosophies Of Two-Dimensional Media, Michael James Murphy

All Master's Theses

My thesis show records the exploration of directions in two-dimensional visual experience with particular emphasis on the perceptual experience of space.

Photographic Imagery As A Source For Iconography In Painting And Drawing, Eric Peder Brakken

All Master's Theses

Any verbalization of an artistic statement is by its very nature, an inadequate interpretation. However, I feel there is some merit in a concise declaration of my general concepts in the study. This paper represents a summation of the concepts and directions involved in my studio investigation in painting and drawing.

Specifically, it is within the scope of man's altered and effected perception of reality that I have based the studio research.

A Use Of The Visual Metaphor: The Relationship Between The Figure To The Environment, Betty Anne Skalicky

All Master's Theses

In this study the human figure was used as a departure. I imposed my own style of drawing on the human form in order to achieve not only the illusion of a threedimensional quality, but to create a personal identification with the image on the part of the artist and the viewer.

Expansion Systems In Drawing, Anna Jane Licka

All Master's Theses

Drawing as a creative mode of expression has maintained in some artistic circles a "puristic doctrine." "Puristic doctrine" in this case means the utilization of characteristic drawing implements and techniques (ie. pen, pencil, ink, charcoal, crosshatching, shading). In contrast to this "puristic doctrine" is what can be termed an "eclectic expression" in art. As applied to drawing in this thesis, an "eclectic expression" will go beyond the traditional techniques by the application of other media such as photo-stencil, stuffed fabric, and three-dimensional tableau considerations. The purpose of this creative thesis is to expand the two-dimensional quality of drawing into a …