Art and Design Commons^™

Cultural Investigation On Typography In Branding In The United States And In Brazil., Carolina C Ganon

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This cultural thesis is set to investigate the use of typography in branding, and how the same is influenced by cultural aspects, specifically in the United States and Brazil. The contrasting experience I have had as a student of graphic design in these two countries led me to discover the influence culture has in dictating the typography design use in branding. Typography, branding and cultural influences have been significantly researched in the past, but historically as three separate subjects, without focusing on the importance of their association and how they influence one another cross-culturally. Since the impact of graphic design …

Prescription Packaging Design For The Impaired : A Meta-Analysis., Amber C. Kleitz

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This thesis is a critical analyzation of the state of prescription drug packaging in the United States with respect to unresolved problems for users with visual, physical, and cognitive impairments. It begins with an anecdotal overview inspired by Deborah Adler’s journey of prescription drug packaging for her grandparents and her design solution outlined by a case study. This case study focuses on the need for better prescription packaging for those with the aforementioned and neglected issues.

This thesis uses studies in user-centered design, packaging design, and industrial design among others in order to critically assess and question the current state …

Title., Douglas Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Title is a series of drawings that explores the aspects of failed projects and the complications of representation within literary and visual practices. This series is informed by preliminary drawings, marginalia, and written notations that are inherent in the formulation processes of both visual and literary compositions. Through an investigation of the 19th Century Russian author Nikolai Gogol’s unfinished novel Dead Souls, I situate this series of drawings as a means to conflate literary theories with visual representation. In this way, the Title series presents fragmentary images, texts, and digressive narratives that demonstrate intermediaries between propositional states and reconciled …

Lacanian Gaze, Semiotics, And The Enigma Of Bosch., Virginia Lynn Hosono

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hieronymus Bosch’s (1450-1516) paintings have long fascinated, intrigued, and mystified viewers. In particular, the Garden of Earthly Delights (c.1500) has generated much discussion and speculation. Bosch’s use of medieval symbols and fantastic images, his preoccupation with sinfulness and Hell, and his dismal view of mankind’s future have long been sources of study and speculation. Not only do art historians ponder his work, but so do social historians, philosophers, creative artists and the general viewing public. There is no definitive interpretation of Bosch’s Garden that explains the power the painting holds over its viewers. By examining various interpretations of Bosch’s works, …

Man/Boy., Nick Hartman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Verisimilitude, or the appearance of being true, is a concept I turn upside down; relating it to a guise I wear as a contemporary male in a society dictated by learned social behavior and gender norms. Cultural iconography and expected gender norms are tropes I confront within my artwork. Drawings of seemingly everyday objects act as meditations or a fetishized repetition of supposed unobtainable objects and ideals that deal with masculine societal norms. Manliness, machismo, masculinity… it is all a culturally learned and expected pose placed on all men. Coming to the realization that I do not necessarily fit …

A Fly Has Died A Splendid Death In A Pool Of Strawberry Ice Cream., Miranda L. Becht

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Humans have evolved an overwhelming awareness of self, other, life, and death. We have learned to selectively process information and to replace dissociated memories with less disturbing ones. We have evolved this ability to deceive ourselves, thus producing a personal reality that is innately false. As a society we tend to idealize our vision of the past, particularly our vision of home. Our idealized notion of home presents itself as a supposedly traditional form of domestic life, but bears little relation to the way people actually lived. This concept of a cozy home full of family love is an invented …

Master Buddha & The Jolly Golly Fun Time Gang., Todd Edward Evans

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is the first two chapters of a novel. The novel parodies the capitalist and consumerist United States of the 21st Century in the tradition of Thomas Pynchon, Kurt Vonnegut, and Donald Barthelme.

Traces Of The Hand., Molly F. Passafiume 1989-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This body of work, titled “Traces of the Hand,” consists of a series of mixed media pieces that are made up of one or more clay forms that act as vessels to contain handmade paper. Each piece is a cross section or artifact that I created through abstraction and repetition. The clay acts as a frame for preserving these artifacts. The paper is arranged in a manner which abstracts natural patterns that mimic each other: the flow of water, the grain of wood, the strata of rocks, and the swirls of fingerprints. Each individual work captures and enhances a natural …

Displacement : A Reckoning Of Internal Affairs : Curatorial Practice Following Artist Praxis., Stacey Reason 1987-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

By utilizing the flexibility and sensitivity of the curatorial role through possibilities of collaboration and reaction between artist and curator, curating has the potential to explore territories previously reserved for the artist’s studio. The exhibition Displacement, A Reckoning of Internal Affairs was a two-part curatorial project that demonstrated parallels in studio praxis and curatorial process. It was born out of a reaction to and consideration of the increasingly globalized art world, and an application of the multi-layered driving forces inherent to contemporaneity on a local scale. It was developed using a delicate mixture of planning and intuitive response. It models …

The Process Of Curating Trace Of A Body : Creating Relationships And Building Experiences., Bailey Marie Mazik 1990-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the title suggests, this document details the course of curating an exhibition titled Trace of a Body and addresses larger themes of curating contemporary art. During spring semester 2015 the entire researching, planning, and implementation of the exhibition portion of this Master’s thesis project took place. Trace of a Body was exhibited from March 12, 2015 – April 5, 2015 in Gallery X, Schneider Hall, Hite Art Institute, University of Louisville. The exhibition was a monographic show of work by Chris Radtke, a prominent contemporary artist working in Louisville, KY. It was a great opportunity to bring together the …

Public Art In Urban Parks., Taylor Crush, 1990-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An analysis of contemporary public art in urban parks reveals challenges concerning the conservation of artworks and the stability of public interest. These issues have been relevant throughout history. Historical evidence reveals the transition of public art representing a ruling cultural or governmental power to art that represents visions of the public. Despite this change, the continuation of public interest remains a concern as art becomes neglected and misinterpreted. Efforts to properly educate, provide formal evaluations, and support daily maintenance of the art are a constant concern for arts organizations. After explicating public art in public spaces and art in …

Not Even Or Pretty : Improvisational Textiles From Recycled Clothing., Karen Anne Habeeb 1974-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis accompanies an exhibit of hand-stitched abstract geometric compositions in wool and other fibers recycled from discarded clothing. My work is process-driven, centered in a method of improvisation intended to break down the egocentric, perfectionist tendencies that are a barrier to free artistic action and creativity. An introduction sets the context for inquiry into strategies to pursue creative work fluidly without anxiety. A chronological discussion of specific works illustrates the gradual learning process and research that led me to articulate an effective working practice. Various cultural traditions and artists inform my work: the Gee’s Bend and other African-American improvisational …

Hugh Haynie And The Art Of Opinion : Examining History, Memory And Controversy In Museum Exhibitions And Interpretation., Jessica Bennett Kincaid

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper, which accompanies the exhibit “Hugh Haynie: The Art of Opinion”, examines the illustrative work of Louisville Courier-Journal editorial cartoonist Hugh Haynie, and the impact of his social and political commentary from 1958-1997. His cartoons targeted countless prominent political figures and notable pop culture personalities. His stance on controversial topics of the era was extremely progressive and his work facilitated political discourse through an easily accessible platform. The cartoons in the exhibit explore issues that occupied the work of Hugh Haynie, but are still very much with us today. The works selected for display present the multiple roles Hugh …

Maidens, Matrons, And Magicians : Women And Personal Ritual Power In Late Antique Egypt., Meghan Paalz Mcginnis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Utilizing an interdisciplinary approach to a variety of material, textual, and literary evidence, the aim of this thesis is to shed light on the realities – rather than stereotypes -- of an important aspect of late ancient women’s experience: the use of ritual power. Patterns of gender differentiation in late antique Egyptian magic are investigated and shown to be connected to the particular aims to which numinous powers were employed, aims which were in turn bound up with the social roles expected of each sex. The majority of this study consists of a series of case studies of different types …

Constructing The Robert Kingsley Papers., Heidi Caudill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a documentation of my efforts to organize the Robert Kingsley Papers held in the Margaret M. Bridwell Art Library at the University of Louisville. Motivated by the desire to preserve a record of his life's work, Louisville architect Robert K. Kingsley donated the collection of personal papers in 1993, shortly before his death from brain cancer. The Kingsley papers remained in its original state of disorder from 1993 to 2007, when I took on the role of archivist with the intention of making the collection available to researchers and scholars. I organized the five boxes of records …

New Deal Murals In Kentucky Post Offices., Eileen Toutant

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation takes a primarily art historical approach to the murals commissioned from 1934 to 1943 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration. This study is confined to the post office murals created for the Commonwealth of Kentucky under the United states Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts. Many of these paintings were lost or deliberately destroyed when the program was dismantled. Today most of the remaining murals are dirty and· faded and little noticed. Many of the artists have been forgotten. During the Depression years, however, these paintings contributed to local pride, optimism for the future, stronger patriotism, and a …

Abstractions Of Shapes And Space., Rita Ford Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstractions of shape and space is the theme of this thesis. These prints and drawings were created between September, 1984 and October, 1986. Emphasis was placed on developing a body of work which is expressive, spontaneous, and rhythmical.

Intaglio was chosen as a major area of concentration. I experimented with soft-ground etching, hard-ground etching, machine engraving, scraping, burnishing, open bite, sugar lift, aquatint, and with several techniques for color printing. The project also involved a study of various media with the purpose of finding a technique as artistically satisfying as intaglio but less physically demanding to execute. Colored pencils and …