Art and Design Commons^™

We Came From The Sea, L. Alexis St. John

CGU MFA Theses

This paper contains a summary of the thesis exhibition, including an artist statement, exhibition flyer, images of the artwork with descriptions, and images of the gallery. The descriptions of the images are excerpted from the exhibition program, and include artwork titles in a constructed language called Ponder.

Primordial, Fel Nikoli Mccoy

CGU MFA Theses

The culmination of my desire to reconcile with my existence through art is to create myths. Mythology, however fantastical it may be, was once how people conveyed their deepest experiences to one another. I became a mythmaker because I needed to communicate my experience: my efforts to reclaim my indigenous Mexican heritage, my anxieties about surveillance and judgment, and my belief in preserving the lands I live on. The myths I create are mashups of the cultural influences in my life with the intent of understanding my identity and positionality in contemporary society. PRIMORDIAL is a collection of my work …

As I Wander, Michelle Lum

CGU MFA Theses

My work highlights moments of wonder from my everyday life to give a more holistic view of reality. To me, experiences of wonder are spaces where a person feels God’s presence, where the spiritual reality of our world becomes visible. Sacraments in the Christian tradition are visible signs of a divine reality. I think of my work as sacramental: heightening moments where the visible gives way to the invisible—not by denying their physical characteristics but through them. The heart of my work is in the intersection between that which is deeply ordinary and that which is deeply extraordinary.

Aesthetic Approaches To Symmetric Functions, John M. Campbell

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Symmetry is often regarded as an integral aspect about aesthetics. This motivates the pursuit of interdisciplinary studies based on the use of subjects in mathematics concerned with symmetry in conjunction with aesthetics. What is referred to as a symmetric function in the field of algebraic combinatorics is an abstraction based on polynomials that exhibit a symmetric property, and this leads us to pursue an algebraic combinatorics-inspired exploration based on aesthetics. In particular, we use different bases and transitions between them to create aesthetically pleasing visualizations of symmetric functions. We see that these visualizations in turn raise new and interesting questions.

Representing The Ali'i And Monarchy: Dress, Diplomacy, And Featherwork In Hawai'i, Tess Anderson

Scripps Senior Theses

When Native Hawaiians and haole (foreigners) first met, both participants belonged to fashion systems unknown to the other, composed of different materials, styles, tastes, standards, and construction techniques. As the outside world was introduced to the cultural heritage of Hawaiian hulu manu (featherwork), kūkaulani (chiefly fashion), and European skewed conceptions of Hawaiian indigeneity; the ali‘i (chiefs) and kama‘āina (commoners) received and adapted to incoming materials, technologies, and information. When these encounters transitioned into “prolonged contact” and settlement, dress and adornment proliferated in new ways. Analyzing the case studies of historic pā‘ū, holokū, ‘ahu'ula, and military uniforms shows the significance of …

Transfor, Yumeng He

CGU MFA Theses

The dialogue is not idealistic or theoretical. It's a step-by-step modification. I think of it as a sequence or series of "small episodes." These "small episodes" are of great help to the self-growth of the work. They reveal that my idea at the beginning is different from the finished piece. And, most important, the process can neither be predicted nor copied. This makes the work unique and authentic.

Itafdaloo, Janan Abdelmuti

CGU MFA Theses

My works are autobiographical. In them I explore the unconscious and conscious aspects of my life as a heterosexual cis female. My works function as a form of journaling. The repetition of lines, stitches, and patterns stand in for the repetition of different tasks. I try to submerge the onlooker into my emotional experiences through the use of pop culture references and familiar materials and objects. The inadequacy of life and lack of fulfillment has led to the creation of chromatic spaces. Pieces are void and then filled with silent moments. The quiet restlessness of inner turmoils combined with the …

Color Compliments, Jennifer Hansen Rolli

The STEAM Journal

A discussion of the range of use of complimentary colors

Embracing Imperfections, Raja Gopal Bhattar

The STEAM Journal

A window into my meditation practice.

Unlocking The Energy Within; A Journey Through Healing And Evolution, Juliana Favela

CMC Senior Theses

Through a series of acrylic paintings and watercolors, I set out to document emotions, feelings, and experiences that I’ve had through my personal process of healing. By engaging in meditations for each piece, I was able to decide on a set of motifs, symbols, colors, and messages that I wanted to portray. This paper discusses in more detail how I went about this process and what the significance of each piece is, in addition to my inspiration, my identity and its impacts on the work, as well as what I learned from this process. I argue that as we unravel …

Unlocking The Energy Within; A Journey Through Healing And Evolution, Juliana Favela

Scripps Senior Theses

Through a series of acrylic paintings and watercolors, I set out to document emotions, feelings, and experiences that I’ve had through my personal process of healing. By engaging in meditations for each piece, I was able to decide on a set of motifs, symbols, colors, and messages that I wanted to portray. This paper discusses in more detail how I went about this process and what the significance of each piece is, in addition to my inspiration, my identity and its impacts on the work, as well as what I learned from this process. I argue that as we unravel …

Lost & Found Memories: An Examination And Critique Of My Past Through Art, Alice Chi

Scripps Senior Theses

Ever since I was young I depended on triggers to retrieve my deeper memories. It is because of this quality that I think I have developed a tendency to collect and assign sentimental value to various items that I associate with certain people and moments. Over the course of my life, I have kept many objects, trinkets, and documents because of this. To catalog these memories and confront my lost relationships, I have collected these found sentimental items around my home and compiled them into a documented history of the lingering relationships throughout my life. The resulting product is a …

Specimen X1-2020 Behind The Cover, Clayton Ehman

The STEAM Journal

No abstract provided.

Evolution Of Island, Dominique Kongsli

The STEAM Journal

Evolution of Island emerged from the depths of an ocean of blue paint. My process involves observation of nature: I remember scuba diving in Thailand in the Andaman Sea and having a spiritual experience underwater while observing Christmas-tree worms pop in and out of the coral.

Animal-Human Art, Trace Johansson

The STEAM Journal

Art work that shows the bond between animal and human

Tenacity, Order & Disorder, Lucy Manalo

CGU MFA Theses

My work is about empowerment. The idea of using metal comes from my past experience as a welder/machinist in the Air Force. Metal is a tough medium and I believe it conveys the themes of strength and tenacity through it’s materiality.

Rhythms Of Light, Jessica R. Csanky

CGU MFA Theses

My works are visual expressions of a true love for movement, rhythm, and saturated color. In making art, I present lived experiences that are rendered abstract. These formal representations originate from an energetic space or sensory association and express a connection to places I have been, whether physically or emotionally.

Integral to my practice is the uninhibited exploration of materials and tools. I am committed to deepening my understanding of what paint can do when combined with drawing and installation techniques.

My compositions address architecture, landscape, memory, as well as psychological and physical spaces that we move through during our …

Capacity, Rachel Baydian

CGU MFA Theses

This Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition by Rachel Baydian is an installation of ceramic sculptures that function as a stand-in for the human body, touching on relationship, interconnectivity, and imperfection. Using abstracted forms that derive from the earth, these art objects are sculpted to mimic nature and its processes. The work highlights our human connection to nature as integrative and vital. Through experience and tactility, there is more of an awareness of space and heightened senses. The work taps into the awe and seduction of the mystery of nature through seemingly ordinary elements of the physical world.

Language, Memory, Place: Building On Disappearance, Alexi Butts

Scripps Senior Theses

Language, Memory, Place is an investigation into clay’s therapeutic and tactile qualities. When combined, these attributes make clay an effective tool for priming spoken communication, increasing connectivity and serving as a tangible means of accessing and physically grounding abstract memories of home.

Conducted in France throughout the summer of 2019, my research set out to engage French speakers in a reflective dialogue on what it means to transform empty spaces into ones filled with feeling and meaning of home. In addition to verbal conversation, I simultaneously directed individuals of different ages, origins and living in seven different cities through an …

Metaphorical Cities - Behind The Cover Art, Elana Melissa Hill

The STEAM Journal

This is a reflection on how cities function like organisms. An artist's interpretation of the spaces surrounding them.

Metaphorical Cities, Elana Melissa Hill

The STEAM Journal

This is a reflection on how cities function like organisms. An artist's interpretation of the spaces surrounding them.

It’S Not Trash, It’S Art, Kathleen Kile

EnviroLab Asia

Stepping off the plane in Hue, Vietnam took my breath away. I was slammed with heat and extreme humidity that is common for mid-May. I stood at the bottom of the jetway, trying to adjust not only to my new environment, but to the fact I took this leap of faith and traveled half way around the world to teach children with intellectual disabilities about art made from trash. Little did I know that that step would have such a huge impact on my life and further strengthen my core values.

Quiet Moments, Deitra Charles

CGU MFA Theses

I am a figurative artist who focuses on ordinary people and everyday objects. I paint moments. A moment of peace, a moment of tranquility, a moment of contemplation. It is my hope that my paintings will incite a feeling of warmth, presenting the possibility of thoughts that take you away from the stresses of day-to-day life – that they give you the opportunity to experience life differently, stirring within you some sense of peace.

It is my hope that my paintings will incite a feeling of warmth, presenting the possibility of thoughts that take you away from the stresses of …

The Standard Model, Manny Llanura

CGU MFA Theses

Photography is my medium. “The Standard Model” is a body of work created from photographs of the Los Angeles Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2019 Collection runway.

Each final work starts with over a thousand photos that become the raw materials from which I eventually produce my final piece. Deep in the final piece are the lights, shadows, hues, tones of a themed shoot.

I believe that the ability to focus on what is in front of you is not directly proportional to how detailed the image is. My goal is to incite appreciation of what humans have done or …

Carbon 碳, Mengyuan Li

CGU MFA Theses

Death is the one certainty in life. This fascinates me and I cannot stop thinking about it. When it comes to life and death, the cemetery is a more realistic place than heaven and hell, and it is also a place to feel life and death more directly. A simple gravestone separates life from death. Cemeteries let people come face to face with life, death, and even love.

In a cemetery, there is a tranquility that is different from the city or nature. In a cemetery, people take off their masks and face their emotions. I believe that when we …

Para Ti, Ashley Lothyan

CGU MFA Theses

This group of work draws from family photos that are over 15 years old, chosen from when I was born to the age of ten. Torn, wrinkled, and discolored, these photographs influence how I paint immediate family members, locations I grew up in, and myself.

Threaded, Madeline Arnault

CGU MFA Theses

This group of works is taken from my drawing practice. I have always been fascinated by the variety of line and color you can play with on fabric. For that reason each piece in this exhibition is image and line centric. I love the way a fabric can blend from color to color in the weave and yet contrast so sharply with a line placed on top. These works are a testament to that love.

Zooairyland- Xinjie Yin Mfa Thesis Show, Xinjie Yin

CGU MFA Theses

During the process of discovering myself in my art world, I have determined to use cuteness as a way to express my worldview, values, and experiences. Cuteness is my own philosophy and language in the interpersonal communication. I intend to make cuteness meaningful to me as well as to the rest of the world. I believe cuteness contains a power to bring people back to their original simplicity regardless of their age, it is the idea of innocence. Cuteness is like a shield for me to protect myself from the tough, scary and crazy reality; and it is a positive …

Facing The World: The Unapparent Merits Of Makeup, Ishbel A. Mccann

Scripps Senior Theses

The act of applying makeup is a ritual shared by many, often beginning at an early age. Though makeup is presented as a final product in the public sphere, the process of applying makeup can be just as, if not more important. This thesis acts as the theoretical basis for my digital art project, Facing the World. My work gives insight into the lesser understood motivations behind wearing makeup while shedding the stigma that wearing it is merely a superficial act or sign of vanity. The project Facing the World presents the makeup routines and personal narratives of seven …

Field Guide, Madeline Helland

Scripps Senior Theses

Field Guide is a mixed-media artist book detailing the exploration of a fictitious culture through cartography, narrative, and illustration. It is presented through the lens of an amateur archaeologist, navigating a chain of islands to search for ruins and artifacts. In part, the project is focused on the fantasy of an imagined world. The island chain is a place entirely of my own creation. By creating the viewpoint of an outside explorer, it was possible to navigate through this world. Although I, as the artist, can know everything about this fictitious world, adopting the perspective of someone distanced by time …