Art and Design Commons^™

Creative Connections: Building Empathy To Foster Ecoliteracy Through Art Education, Jocelyn Salim

Masters Theses

This thesis investigates the potential positive impact of fostering empathy and understanding for the natural world through art education. Through action research, this study examines various teaching approaches, such as incorporating scientific knowledge, employing literature to discuss ecological themes, and engaging in participatory storytelling activities to cultivate empathy among elementary school children. The objective of this thesis is to explore empathy as a potential pathway to encourage children to foster connections with the natural world and develop compassionate traits, attitudes, and behaviors towards nature as they grow. The findings of this study reveal that children exhibit high levels of enthusiasm …

Call And Response : Experiments In Storytelling, Deanne Fernandes

Masters Theses

Being part of RISD's inaugural Masters of Illustration cohort has been an immense honor. This journey has been nothing short of transformative and healing, as it has allowed me to unearth layers of self-discovery through my creative practice.

In my thesis, I introduce a fresh research methodology rooted in the principles of call and response, with adaptability, creativity, and storytelling as its foundational pillars. Through the lenses of visual storytelling, experimental animation, graphic journalism, and fictional world-building, I demonstrate how these techniques can effectively bridge the gap between theory and practice. This dynamic approach fosters meaningful connections among diverse perspectives …

Memory And Experiential Lab, Yufan Xu

Masters Theses

In the tapestry of our lives, there exist moments and places that we can never revisit, scenes etched into our memories that fade with the passage of time. These experiences and memories are treasures, provide us with an anchor to our past. Unfortunately, many of these moments are like fireflies in the night, here one moment and gone the next. Yet, they remain invaluable, forever etched in our hearts and minds. I wonder if it is possible to trigger cherished past experiences and memories in our daily lives, allowing individuals to re-experience similar moments, thereby nourishing the spiritual world. Therefore, …

New Commandments, Jacob Sussman

Masters Theses

I reach into the earth, pull out mud-encrusted objects, and recombine them to define new meanings. With every object transposed, the past breaks down; new potentials form. “New Commandments” recombines historical symbolism through an intuitive building, destroying, and merging to reimagine or re-establish meaning.

The work critiques rites of passage, masculinity, and stereotypes by deconstructing how histories, ideologies, and preconceptions form.

As a queer person raised in-between Judaism and Christianity, social preconceptions and religious expectations festered my formation. Our choice is taken away at this moment of conception. To take back autonomy, I reimagine historical, and religious symbolism and transmute …

Cohabitation X Adaptation, 2100: A Climate Change Epoch, Kyle Andrews

Masters Theses

Some seventy-seven odd years in the future, the world as we know it will only be recognizable by those who are willing to accept it. The bustling metropolis of Boston Massachusetts has been transformed to appease the tides of Mother Nature as a consequence of human intervention. In the decades prior, humanity viciously fought to contain the effects of climate change, until many realized the colossal undertaking of such a battle. Municipalities across the globe had begun to accept that fighting the earth was no longer an option. Instead, the only hope forward was to adapt to a reality in …

Overlooked Modi Vivendi, Natalia Silva

Masters Theses

Traditional gender roles, performance of heterosexuality, marriage, parenthood, and a large variety of other societal expectations manifest themselves in the domestic realm, both intangibly and spatially. The design of domestic spaces has historically catered towards heteronormative living stereotypes, marginalizing people whose way of living challenges the norm. Even in the present day, designers with non-user clients — developers, investors, real estate firms, etc. — will design with heteronormative households in mind. The rise in feminist and LGBTQ+ rights movements has allowed for non-heteronormative modi vivendi (ways of living) to be more vocally and visibly present in the sociopolitical and cultural …

Liquid Border, Yingfan Jia

Masters Theses

A River is a mighty and constantly-evolving force, leaving behind an intricately designed and constantly changing system. Not just a river, the Rio Grande stretches all the way from Colorado before intersecting with the US-Mexico Border in southern Texas - a point where the powerful forces of nature now merge with a clearly-defined political boundary. The outcome of this is a unique ecological niche, which may often go unnoticed despite its distinctiveness.

Texas is famous for its farms and ranches, and the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas was once an agricultural hub. However, urbanization and the depletion of water …

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 …

Material Encounters: Making Memory Beyond The Mind, Ariel Wills

Masters Theses

Can acts of making carry the memories of our embeddedness within the world? This thesis explores how making things can nurture a sense of kinship that cuts across the organic and inorganic, erasing the distinction between living and dead, material and spiritual. Through handwork such as art-making, sewing, knitting, cooking, woodworking, and beyond, the burden of remembering and of archiving is shared across human and non-human bodies, cultivated through practices of making, and through the materials themselves. By recounting the stories of my family’s experience as Jewish immigrants in the United States, I aim to reveal how their domestic practices …

Risd Pod 2014 Alumni Research Report, Project Open Door

Publications + Documents

Research and report by Craig Dreeszen, Ph.D., Dreeszen & Associates with Dr. Paul Sproll, Head, Department of Teaching + Learning in Art + Design (TLAD) and TLAD MA research assistants, Karina Esperanza Yanez, En-Ling Lu, and Lauren Allen, Rhode Island School of Design Funding for the research provided by the Surdna Foundation. Dreeszen & Associates was commissioned to work with the Department of Teaching + Learning in Art + Design faculty and graduate research assistants. The research objective was to identify, find, and collect data and stories about the paths taken by Rhode Island teens (RI POD alumni) who …

Welcome To The Doll House, Francie Latour, Risd Xyz

RISD XYZ Fall/Winter 2013: Out of Bounds

From the Barbie dresses he made as a boy to his first splash in the New York art world, Martín Gutierrez 12 PR is working to perfect what he has always done naturally.

Risd Pod 2011 Evaluation & 2012 - 2015 Strategic Plan, Project Open Door

Publications + Documents

This evaluation report and strategic plan documents key findings of an external review of Project Open Door and agreement and the 2012-2017 Project Open Door Strategic Plan. The plan represents consensus among Project Open Door faculty, staff, and Dean of Graduate Studies, Research and Engagement, and Advisory Committee members to strengthen and institutionalize the program. Dean Phillips asked that the review “...evaluate the current condition of the program, confirm its scope, scale, and feasible and fruitful staffing scenarios, explore ways to successfully institutionalize it both within and outside of RISD, and identify pathways for the future, including greater visibility for …

Designer's News May 19, 1969, Students Of Risd, Risd Archives

All Student Newspapers

The Designer's News was a student-run weekly newspaper published in the late 1960s. The issue of May 19-25, 1969 featured an article about the RISD Landscape Architecture department's study to save Block Island, RI. There also was an interview with John Torres about summer programs at RISD and at a school in Vermont, and an article about a RISD photo student who taught local pre-teens about photography. Also included was an article about the Rhode Island Art Festival and some RISD students who were volunteering their time to help.

Blockprint April 15, 1968, Students Of Risd, Risd Archives

All Student Newspapers

Blockprint was a student magazine published throughout the 1960s. This issue of April 15, 1968 covers the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., including editorials concerning the event, as well as more local news related to the school. Also included is a double page spread of photographs from the school's COLAB program of the year.