Art and Design Commons^™

John B. Fairbanks: The Man Behind The Canvas, Rachel Cope

Theses and Dissertations

A biographical sketch of artist John B. Fairbanks, this thesis primarily probes Fairbanks' evolution as an artist. From amateur, to art missionary, to professional artist, Fairbanks influenced his cultural surroundings in Utah and in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His commitment to his career and his impact on others significantly affected Utah and Mormon art. Thus it is important to understand and recognize the full portrait of John B. Fairbanks.

John B. Fairbanks, born on 27 December 1855, developed an interest in art while still young. Until reaching the age of thirty-four, he often worked as an …

Self-Image, Tammy Jean Wymer

Theses and Dissertations

Many current media images of women have underlying messages that affect our psyche in a negative way, whether or not we are aware. These images convey an unrealistic, distorted view of ideals and perfection, which create an unattainable model to live up to. As women, we should be cherishing our uniqueness, but, rather than celebrating and accepting ourselves, we are taught to judge and conceal. This project seeks to address inner beauty as a reflection of our energy, vitality, wisdom and the mental, as well as emotional, engagement in our lives. The terms perfection and imperfection will be redefined and …

The Generation Of Forms And Thai Typeface Design, Pornprapha Phatanateacha

Theses and Dissertations

Changes in culture, design, fashion and lifestyle are very common for a developing country such as Thailand. Losing the identity and significant quality of Thai culture is the biggest concern in this rapid movement in Thai society. The biggest challenge is to preserve the existing culture within the development in the society. These problems within the rapid change not only affect Thai lifestyle and fashion but also Thai graphic design. There is a trend in poster design, advertising, and packaging to follow Western design. That influence suggests that Thai design follow a Western model in order to be as successful. …

The Integration Of Technology Into Home Space In The 2020s, Ying Li

Theses and Dissertations

Research on the current housing status in the United States, and the features of middle-class and high-end houses, revealed that home space consists of five spaces: living, work and study, resting, service and circulation. A meticulous look at the four-century American housing history disclosed that transformations in the five spaces were profoundly impacted by technology. To predict home space in the near future, research on future technology and lifestyle was performed. There will still be five home spaces, with new and improved components. Technology will bring greater comfort and flexibility to the home interior. Two design solutions for middle-class and …

The Historical Ceramics Of Camp Floyd, Jennifer L. Elsken

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an historical archaeological project involving the classification and analysis of the ceramics found at Camp Floyd, a 19th century military site 40 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah. United States military troops were dispatched to the Utah Territory to establish a Pony Express Station and an Overland Stage Trail, to assert federal authority in the Territories, and to end the ongoing conflict between the federal government and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The primary research question concerned the ceramic usage patterns at Camp Floyd as compared to other military sites and non-residential …

Dorothea Lange In Utah, 1936-1938: A Portrait Of Utah's Great Depression, James R. Swensen

Theses and Dissertations

In his 1978 biography of Dorothea Lange, Milton Meltzer appraised Lange's 1936 photography in Utah as nothing more than mundane work done for the benefit of the Farm Security Administration (FSA) and not for her own benefit as a photographer. Yet, her work in Utah encapsulates the aspirations, goals, and styles of Lange, and gives insight into her vision as a photographer and representative of the New Deal. Through carefully composed photographs, Lange shows the hardships and hope of life in Utah during the Great Depression.

This thesis investigates Lange's photographs in order to gain a greater understanding of the …

From Writing To Sculpting, Orhan Tekin

Theses and Dissertations

I subscribe to the notion that art is the process of capturing a moment in life, by way of projection on to an artist's senses, and a subsequent filtering through his mind, and ultimately a materialization through his hands and instruments. However, that is just the beginning. To take a life of its own, the work of art should further find its way into the minds of its viewers or listeners again through a series of projections and filtering. The excitement of the moment that impinges upon the senses of the artist can be very powerful at times, so powerful …

Sense Of Duration, Lucie Noel Thune

Theses and Dissertations

The following writings contain different segments about the concept of time. To best describe certain feelings and thoughts concerning my ideas and work I have used poetry and short stories in a prosaic manner. I also felt it necessary to include some historic facts about the history of time and its measuring devices.

Searching For Green, Santiago Cal

Theses and Dissertations

A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University.

In Search Of The Meandering Absolute: The Prints Of Mitzi Humphrey, Mitzi Humphrey

Theses and Dissertations

Art is more than just a bridge to (or a reflection of) the natural world; it is a natural force in itself. The author is a strong advocate of "artist's prints," prints which are conceived and printed by the artist. She believes that there is a natural sequence of actions and thoughts which cannot be approximated by the substitution of an artist/printer collaboration unless the artist is truly involved with the printer or assistant in every step of the decision-making and mark-making processes.

The prints of this series are not about realistic pictorial space; they are about interior space--that of …

Toward The Universal, Jennifer Bracy

Theses and Dissertations

This creative project is concerned with archetypal forms expressed in art, design and communication, from Neolithic rock carvings and native American Indian petroglyphs to individual graphic languages that look to the 'primitives' like those of Joan Miro and Neville Brody. It is my belief that through the study of this diverse collection of graphic signs and archetypal forms, one can develop a system of signs that cross barriers of language and culture. A morphology, a collection of possibilities, derived from such archetypal forms, could provide designers with a foundation for the development and use of symbol signs and sign systems.

A Naturalistic Study Of The History Of Mormon Quilts And Their Influence On Today's Quilters, Helen-Louise Hancey

Theses and Dissertations

This interpretive study investigated the "quilt" and its significance to Latter-day Saint Women. Mormon master quilters were chosen because of their knowledge of fabrics, patterns, and symbolism, their skill levels, and their intense interest in quilting. The researcher conducted interviews with the master quilters from July 1995 to April 1996. Field notes were taken and data concerning both observed actions and verbal comments regarding the importance of the quilt were collected, charted, coded, and analyzed.

Several dominant patterns and themes emerged from analyses of the data, including: quilting is an enjoyable and active art form among Mormon women, pattern selection …

Synthesis As A Method For Elaboration, Polly Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Before I began this thesis, I examined my previous work and a consistent quality emerged. l tended to assemble (synthesize) things (entities) that were seemingly unlike (disparate). I q u e s t i o n e d my approach and its validity as a design methodology.

I found, through investigation into the nature of my p r o c e s s and the process of other artists and designers that specific methods of synthesis could be defined. In this thesis I have outlined three synthesis methodologies. They are not the only methods that exist, but were the ones …

From Constructivism To Deconstructivism, Gladys Brenner

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis deals with four major design movements, beginning with Constructivism, and ending with Deconstructivism, including two other movements, as intermediate links, that developed in the period between International - Swiss Design and Postmodernism. The purpose of this thesis is to explain in a visual time-line, the interrelationships of these movements while at the same time visually represent their concepts. Also it leads to an analysis and discussion of the role of Deconstructivism in graphic design.

Chinese Cultural Center, Wei Dong

Theses and Dissertations

During this period of high technology, designers are eager to create environments that have strong emotional appeal to people's physiology and psychology. Our exploration of the natural living space has become all the more an elusive search as modern technology advances. Interior design, in its concern for environmental engineering, endeavors to exploit the spiritual aspect of human resources. Through this message, people are inspired to higher planes of existence.A. PROJECT To design a Chinese Cultural center. B. PURPOSE 1. To introduce the traditional and contemporary Chinese culture to western people. 2. To illustrate and describe the philosophies of Chinese life …

The Effect Of Man On The Landscape And The Effect Of Land On The Manscape: Or Contingent Plans For Knowing A Mountain, Taylor Scott Baldwin

Theses and Dissertations

In my artistic practice, I emphasize personal and pan-cultural anxieties regarding civilization and the environment as an impetus for work in sculpture, video, and drawing. By locating marginal microcosmic subject matter that tellingly exhibits macrocosmic global dread, I seek to capture and distill our overwhelming eco-socio-political anxiety into a portrait of a society at a point in its history when the specter of nameless impending disaster weighs pressingly on the collective psyche. This thesis is supplementary to my work of sculpture in the Graduate School of the Arts Thesis Exhibition at the Anderson Gallery opening on April 27th, 2007. The …

Minerva Teichert's Murals: The Motivation For Her Large-Scale Production, Marian Eastwood Wardle

Theses and Dissertations

It is my thesis that the impetus for Minerva Teichert's prolific mural production came from the lofty ideals of the Beaux Art mural tradition which she encountered and embraced during her studies at the Art Institute of Chicago from 1909 to 1912. Furthermore, it was the great interest in mural decoration during the 1930s, spurred by government patronage, that provided Teichert with the opportunity to apply these ideals to large-scale works.
Research into the Beaux Art mural tradition has been difficult, as recent scholarship on the subject is negligible. An understanding of this early mural movement however, yields a greater …

A Pale Reflection: American Indian Images In Mormon Arts, P. Jane Hafen

Theses and Dissertations

American Indians in Mormon arts suffer from the imposition of the white man's traditional ideas, images and stereotypes. An examination of Mormon literature since 1941, Mormon hymns and music, and Mormon visual arts reveals little consideration of Native American values: tribal affiliation, significance of place and community, myth and ritual. While the mainstream of American art has incorporated Native American values into Indian representations, and even found a place for Native American artists, Mormon arts adhere to historical misinterpretations, despite a number of fine Mormon Native American artists.

The Formulation Of An Adult Dramatic Program For The Division Of Recreation And Parks In Henrico County, Virginia, Sandra Bishop

Theses and Dissertations

It is hoped that the contents of this thesis will help to provide a course of action through which the dramatic arts program may move closer to the objectives established for it by the HDRP administration. The dramatic arts program for adults, as set forth in the thesis, should create specific goals so that the HDRP may provide a consistent direction for the development of a dramatic arts program for adults. The adult dramatic arts program as formulated in the thesis should, combined with the already established dramatic arts program for youth, form a major portion of the comprehensive cultural …

Twelve Representative Patterns Of The Period 1920 Through 1945, Henry Charles Swartz

Theses and Dissertations

The twelve patterns presented in this collection represent the period 1920 through 1945. It is in no way a complete study of the period, but a representation of garments throughout this period in sketch and pattern form. The patterns presented are complete working patterns in full scale with no seams allowed. The garments have been dated according to research into the period. In addition to the pattern, sketch, and description of each garment, construction notes are included to aid in the building of these garments. Hopefully this collection will be useful for theatre costuming or where ever there is a …

Dialogues In Light And Temperature, Stephen Althouse

Theses and Dissertations

The work illustrated and discussed in this paper was exhibited in the Anderson Gallery, Virginia Commonwealth University, November, 1974, as my graduate show. Presented here is a written explanation of the work contained in that show.

The Porcelain Groups, Robert Edward Chance

Theses and Dissertations

My background in clay has emphasized the development of technical considerations in functional ceramics as well as the search for personal images. The past two years have seen an emphasis on the exploration of technical areas chosen to lead to the development of a familiarity with techniques and a solidification of statement. The process has nurtured in me the realization that the objects I produce do not represent an attempt to attain an axiom of art but are personal statements developed through an empirical use of forms and images.

A Study Of Early Utah Water Color Painting, James Harvey Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

The intent of this study was to investigate those artists in early Utah art history who played an important part in the development of water color painting.

The Development Of An Idea, Marianne Stikas

Theses and Dissertations

Whereas certain people start with a recollection or an experience and paint that experience, to some of us the act of doing it becomes the experience; so that we are not quite clear why we are engaged in a particular work. And because we are more interested in plastic matters than we are in a matter of words one can begin a picture and carry it through and stop it and do nothing about the title at all.

I believe that this statement by Baziotes has a great deal to do with the way I feel about my painting. Perhaps …

A Study Of The Artistic Philosophy Of Mahonri Mackintosh Young, Albert John Swensen

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine Mahonri M. Young's philosophy of art as recorded in his personal writings and the writings of his contemporaries—particularly his close friend, Jack Sears.

Magazines, books, newspapers, and miscellaneous unpublished materials such as letters, theses, scrapbooks and personal papers were examined for the purpose of becoming more familiar with the character and personality of Mahonri Young. From these sources of information the following was attempted: (1) to record anecdotes and experiences which may have had some significance on the development of his philosophy, (2) to glean from his own writings his feelings and …

Kitsch In The Visual Arts And Advertisement Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Lori Schlinker

Theses and Dissertations

The writer's reason for making this study is a felt lack of taste and a general misunderstanding and misuse of the visual arts in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She is convinced that art, generally considered as a matter of personal taste, is actually a matter of professional judgement. A characteristic of our time is the "do-it-yourself" trend and to make up ones own mind about everything without any consultation of authorities and also a loss of feeling for integrity in productions of the human mind and hand which broke down the fences against kitsch and opened …

Four Objects: A Visual Hearing, Katharine Nuckols Gilbert

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis statement is of a two part nature. The first part shows photographs of my creative products in the process of making them and in their completed state. The second part deals with the process involved in my mental activity as these objects were created.

I have presented the photographs of my work first because I feel that viewing the work before reading the text is of primary importance. Visual comprehension of my work is my major purpose.

The photographs in the visual appendix are objects that exist within my world. They are abstractions. They are but a few …

A Study Of The Life Of John Hafen: Artist With An Analysis And Critical Review Of His Work, William Lee Roy Conant Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

This study presents the life facts of John Hafen and examines his attitude changes as well as the changes in his art throughout his life. It catalogs with photographs the majority of Hafen's paintings.

John Hafen's personal letters were searched, as well as books, manuscripts and newspapers for information germane to this thesis. Personal interviews were held with people who knew him best and his paintings were found, photographed, and examined for use in this thesis.

John Hafen's life of fifty-four years was dedicated to his family, his church, and his art.

A Survey To Determine The Public Responses And Attitudes Toward The First Festival Of Mormon Art At Brigham Young University, Trevor Southey

Theses and Dissertations

A survey was conducted to determine the responses of the public to the First Festival of Mormon Art on exhibition at the Brigham Young University. Data were collected by means of questionnaires made available to gallery visitors. Through these responses it was determined that:
(1) Over three-fourths of the visiting public felt that art is important in relation to the Gospel. There was a positive correlation between the respondents' interest and experience in art and their feelings for the importance of art in relation to the Gospel.
(2) Over three-fourths of the visiting public felt that the exhibition was successful. …

A Study Of The Effect Of Color In The Utah Temple Murals, Terry John O'Brien

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the effect conveyed by color in the murals of four Latter-day Saint Temples: St. George, Logan, Manti, Salt Lake, compared to the desired effect relative to the spiritual function of each room in which they are found.