Art and Design Commons^™

Fragmented Bodies, Lauren Careese Alexander

Art Theses and Dissertations

Through Memory Webs and fragmented ceramic vessels, I express what it feels like to grow up living in a biracial body. I utilize mixed media to emulate a mixed-race experience. My Memory Webs are fashioned by painting on scraps of canvas and attaching them with crocheted wire and ribbon to speak to how my memory has impacted my identity. My fragmented ceramic vessels are cut up and stitched back together to represent disjointedness and un-belonging. All of my work is contextualized through the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and what the Monster may represent for people of color. I also …

Long Story Short, Hannah M. Varghese

Graphic Communication

Long Story Short and is a vintage up-cycling art brand. Our mission is to breathe new life into vintage pieces, crafting them into modern wearable art. As the name suggests, each creation tells a story while being revitalized for today’s fashion forward community.

Fast fashion and trend cycling has been a growing problem in today’s society. Things are going ‘in’ and ‘out’ quicker than they ever have. Trend cycling usually operates on a 20-year timeline. But, today’s sped up cycle encourages people to constantly over-consume in chase of the next cool thing. It’s unsustainable and an impossible chase. With a …

The Interplay Of Hollywood's Golden Age And The Evolution Of The Jewelry Industry: A Historical And Cultural Analysis, Man Luo

MA Theses

This thesis delves into the intricate interplay between Hollywood's Golden Age and the evolution of the jewelry industry, examining the dynamic relationship from three distinct angles. It first traces the historical lineage of the jewelry industry, spotlighting the American naturalization of European jewelry houses such as Mauboussin. Their involvement in Hollywood was enabled by the technological advancements within the film industry, and the creation of on-screen icons like Marlene Dietrich, collectively orchestrated the course of jewelry trends. This dynamic interplay significantly influenced the cultural and aesthetic zeitgeist during Hollywood's Golden Age. In the following section, the study delves into the …

Pearls Of Power: Navigating Empire And Kingship In The Nineteenth Century In Qing Dynasty China And Victorian England, Jinrui Chen

MA Theses

This thesis provides an academic exploration of the socio-cultural and political connotations of pearl jewelry during the Qing Dynasty in China and the Victorian era in England. It examines the symbolic prominence of the Eastern pearl within the Qing Dynasty’s hierarchical and imperial contexts, juxtaposing this with the emotional and personal resonance of pearl jewelry in Victorian England. The study employs an array of primary Chinese sources and insightful case studies to investigate the dynamics of pearl harvesting, consumption, and perception, thereby unveiling the diverse roles pearls played in these distinct societies. This comparative approach addresses a gap in existing …

Encapsulating Scars, Ashley Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My work explores scars through encapsulation, a desire to enclose and express the emotional scars of memories or physical scars of the body. Life’s experiences impact the living, leaving behind scars that we feel the need to understand. Through the mediums of metal and mixed-media photography, I utilize found and created imagery, as well as a triality of text in order to preserve and remember these scars.

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.

Algorithmic Mirage: The Enigma Of Black Box Algorithm, Brenda Li

Masters Theses

In Algorithmic Mirage, I delve into the intricate connections between black-box algorithms, perception, and control. This artist book presents a series of thought-provoking projects that expose the ways in which algorithmic distortions shape our understanding of value, relationships, and social norms. By materializing the intangible and using jewelry as a metaphor, I reveal the power dynamics that drive our interactions with technology and each other. The book unfolds through three interconnected projects, each focusing on different aspects of the relationship between black-box algorithms and human perception. The first project, Boxed Rings - Algorithmic Distortion, uses diamond rings as an entry …

Postindustrial Playbook++, Maxwell Fertik

Masters Theses

There is no such thing as an undisrupted ecosystem. Every inch of the planet is impacted by industrial development and its chemical legacy has mutated the soil and water. As a response, this thesis is designed to promote abundant over extractive resources and visualize a post-industrial reality. It consists of a series of objects, writing and design research on the relationship of industry and ecosystem.

In many ways it is a playbook++, laying out possible strategies or “plays’’ for making do with what exists around us amid collapse.

Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica)(ي'ڑ*), a plant that grows in the most degraded …

Making Then Meaning, Ben Denzer

Masters Theses

This is an artist talk contained within a book. It is 816 pages and 49 minutes long. Closed captions run across the spreads. A video of this talk can be watched on bendenzer.com/making-then-meaning

At RISD, I’ve been prompted to expand the scope and tools of my practice and to reflect on questions of meaning in my work.

I spend my days making things, but I’ve never really had good answers to questions of why I make the things I make, or what their meaning is. I don’t think there are simple answers to these questions.

I think meaning comes from …

Home. Objects. Transitions., Fei Gao

Masters Theses

As migratory life challenges traditional understandings of "home," can domestic objects, materials, or substitutes transformed into portable art forms soothe migratory anxiety, navigate connections to home, and become alternatives to the ideal home?

This thesis is an investigation of the value of domestic objects as transitional markers of "home" and their ability to foster positive emotional connection among those whose lives are in flux migrating people. Based on British psychiatrist Donald W. Winnicott's research on "Transitional Objects" or "Transitional Phenomena" such objects not only represent "comfort objects" for infants but also foreshadow the many roles assigned by individuals throughout their …

The Common Destiny Of Living Creatures, Xiaodai Huang

Masters Theses

This thesis explores the transformation of recycled materials and trash, into materials for jewelry making, and investigates the effects of human consumption on the environment. It is also concerned with ecological damage and biological harm by combining physical research methods with literature and data review. It also calls for consumers to reflect on their behavior and actively participate in the collective action of protecting the environment.

In this thesis, I collected and analyzed studies and information related to consumptive behavior, environmental pollution, and ecological damage. This includes academic papers, reports, statistics, and perspectives from professional organizations on consumption patterns, waste …

Surfacing: A (Loose) Manual On Unlayering / Stuff-Making And Hypervisibility, Zoë Pulley

Masters Theses

This is a (loose) manual on a method I like to refer to as surfacing.

A method that synthesizes narrative through the use of surfaces such as textiles, paper, web & video to reveal the spectacularly ordinary parts of Black life within a growing design practice.

A method I (currently) practice in three (evolving) steps:

Unlayering and piecing together stuff (rememory)

Acknowledgment of ancestry through stuff-making (kin)

Consciousness of oneself and the place / time / space in which the work is being disseminated (hypervisibility)

This is a manual that profiles a (current) design practice of a Black female maker …

Physical Documentation Of Censored Incidents Liberates One From The Doubts Of Existence., Winnie Cheung

Masters Theses

Clouds are free. Hovering aimlessly, they drift with no set forms, looking down on humans high from the sky. As an artist, I explore the freedom between humans and nature, with ‘cloud’ as a carrier, and extend its definition to the perspective of Chinese society and individuals through the format of jewelry.

As both a translator and jeweler, I am acutely aware of the ongoing censorship of language and events in Mainland China. My jewelry documents a diverse range of texts in China that expose the societal constraints imposed on its people, a miserable contrast to the freely floating clouds. …

Bridging Empathy, Qianwen Lu

Masters Theses

As a jeweler, ally, and sympathetic witness to the traumatic stories of survivors, my work aims to support the process of reconstruction and reintegration for victims and the greater community. To move beyond isolation, resentment, and debilitating helplessness requires care and support. I want my jewelry to act as catalysts in the healing process by straddling both sides of the trauma-induced situation, to create greater awareness and empathy. National Coalition Against Domestic Violence shows that women are more likely to become victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or other forms of physical and psychological abuse in unhealthy emotional relationships. These …

Soul Furnace / فرن الأرواح, Isa Ghanayem

Masters Theses

“This is the good washing, this is (the washing) which separates the dirty body from the pure body. This is like silver mixed with lead, it is separated from it by this (process): one makes for it a cupel of bones, which is what is called the “head of the dog” and of which the common name is kūja-which is the crucible—and this must be made of burnt bones. One melts the silver in it, one gives it a strong fire: the cupel will absorb and receive the lead, the fire will make its subtle (part) fly away and extirpate …

Luminous Eating, Ayesha Mohyuddin

Masters Theses

My work strives to reorient my gaze away from outward definitions of identity toward the complexities and nuances of experiencing the intersections of identity that comprise me and the space of home where I felt most extended. I do not want to essentialize the identifiers of Muslim, Bengali, and Tennessean, nor do I want to neglect the role memory and nostalgia play in shaping home as a place of expansion and ease. Food, cooking, and eating ground both nostalgia and identity in something physical. Through the sense of taste, I reorient myself to the inseparability of experience that cannot be …

Androgynous Figures On Etruscan Cista Handles From Praeneste, Melanie Naples

LSU Master's Theses

Muscular women and effeminate men adorn the lids of Etruscan Cistae found in Praeneste (modern Palestrina, 23 miles southeast of Rome, Italy). Cistae (Latin plural of cista) are storage containers used by the Etruscans for women’s beauty items. This thesis focuses on the androgynous, mostly nude, figures that serve as handles and are often displayed in pairs. These pairs frequently depict a man and a woman together and androgynous qualities are usually emphasized on the female figures. Discussions of the androgynous body in the ancient world have centered around Greece and Rome. Only recently (Sandhoff 2007, 2009, 2011), scholarship has …

Biodive, Morgana Faucett

Graduate Theses

Humans exist among an intertwined series of ecosystems and environments. As a species, we curate the spaces, these environments, that surround us to suit our internalized visions of the world. While such curation is not inherently negative, humanity’s industrial process of constructing our visions is not always handled with sustainable methods. This paper analyzes my creative work through the framework of architecture’s role in climate change and human impact, highlighting past and present building practices. Solutions for future practices will also be considered, specifically targeting the questions of construction material, building function, and repurposing of older buildings to achieve a …

Come To A Night In The Chapel And The Mall With Jackie Blue, Jackie Weddell

Senior Projects Spring 2023

My collection of garments and accessories being sold at The Mall was conceived in Southern Italy.

I visited the home of my ancestors in August of 2022 for the first time. Relatively early in my presenting feminine, I proved to be a spectacle for the places I visited and their inhabitants. Days filled with gawking, pointing, and yelling; the attention was not new to me, just in this case I couldn’t understand what my viewers were saying. Only at night, after the locals got drunk and the lights were dimmed did I sort of blend in with the other big-nosed …

To All That Will Ever Be, Has Been, And Is., William Silverstein

Senior Projects Fall 2023

Artist Statement:

Broadly, this exhibition celebrates steel and the transfer of force, both figuratively and literally, from one object to another. Metal is a medium that resists your inputs yet uniquely captures the labor required to shape it. In my work, I have blended historical and modern metalworking techniques to create my interpretations of natural and manmade objects.

Degradation, deformation, and pushing material to its limits have all been key elements of my process. How much weight can a weld hold before it fails? How thin can a surface be sanded before collapsing?

In recent years, I have been very …

The Application And Impact Of Digital Technology In Jewelry Art, Lai Tai

MA Theses

Since the invention of the first electronic computer in 1946, digital technology
has gone through three stages: the computer, the Internet, and a new-generation of information technology. The form of digitalization has different background and
environment, and the meaning explained is also different. The digitalization of
specific affairs is actually in a narrow sense, while the digitalization of enterprises and organizations is mostly in a broad sense. Digital technology has a big feature, which is that it can let you leave the physical world and come to the digital world. The digital technology revolution promotes the digital transformation of mankind. …

Winding Down River Road, Gillian Harper

LSU Master's Theses

As a mechanism to explore my temporary home in Louisiana, Winding Down River Road is a collection of artworks that integrates natural materials collected from landscapes in southern Louisiana with steel and petroleum-based products. My interest in researching environmental issues, ecology, and industry has shaped my vehicles for observation and how I generate data. Through a variety of methodologies, I am considering how climate change is forcing many of us to re-contextualize how our home can be affected by the very industries we rely on. Personal engagement with residents living in the dystopian atmosphere of southern Louisiana’s industrial corridor and …

Zoomorphic Amalgamation: Speculative Devices For Alternative Communication, Yuta Yang

Masters Theses

Zoomorphic Amalgamation: Speculative Devices for Alternative Communication is a series of speculative works that assist introverts re-adapting in the extro-oriented society. The work serves as a lens to challenge and question the authority afforded to extroverts in contemporary society, and aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of introverted personality. As a person with an introverted personality, the thesis project draws upon personal experience and to reflect on the current bias and stereotype of characteristics that common to the introverts.

By integrating technological sensors and microcontrollers, the works are created to help the wearer express insecurity, at the same time providing …

Valuations Achieved At The Sale Of Royal Jewels From The Bourbon Parma Family, Reka Szterenyi

MA Theses

The auction of the Royal Jewels from the Bourbon-Parma Family is considered iconic. It took place as an evening sale at the Mandarin Oriental in Geneva, on November 14, 2018 amid great interest from collectors and the media alike. It comprised a hundred lots from the collection of the Bourbon Parma Family, several of them with royal provenance. The most important pieces were ten objects that are believed to have belonged to Marie Antoinette’s personal jewelry collection. The white-glove sale achieved a total price of $53.1 million (CHF 53.5 million). This was a new record for a royal jewelry auction, …

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 …

A Hypothetical Debate, Talya Kantro

Masters Theses

A heated argument is taking place, and has been for thousands of years. We deliberate to voice our own opinions, to prove what others have declared, and to validate the past. Judaism – a culture bound by millenia of traditions – follows countless rigorous customs and laws. These traditions are strictly adhered to, and observant members of the faith go through great lengths to show their devotion to their beliefs. Although these laws and customs generally remain uninterrupted over the generations, they can occasionally be challenged by new ideas, new concepts, or new technology. Debates form around these novelties, and …

Hybrid Garment, Diya Wang

Masters Theses

What is in the overlap between jewelry and clothing? Does the combination of jewelry and apparel create a new, significant,way of seeing art?

Hybrid Garment is a series of work that explores the overlap between fashion and Jewelry. As an artist and designer, my background and training prepared me to dissect and rebuild the relationship between and potential of jewelry and garments. The potential of hybridity serves as a methodology to combine and conflate the two disciplines.The essence of this work carries the idea of inclusivity, it encourages people at all levels to wear them. In addition, anyone wearing it …

Futuristic Communication, Haotian Yang

Masters Theses

In today's world we can no longer separate our lives from technology. It is that fluidity between the human world and the technological world that my work explores. Technological development has brought us great convenience in communication. The existence of programs like Zoom allows people to work and socialize remotely. Instagram, Twitter and other social networks allow people to share their lives anytime and anywhere with a simple snap of a picture and push of a button. The emergence of mobile phones allows people to communicate at any time. Science and technology continue to develop and these developments provide many …

The Reenactment : "Object" As Performance, Yue Jiang

Masters Theses

Throughout history, women have endured many obstacles placed upon them in both the private and public spheres. Women are pressured to achieve an ideal beauty standard and the expectation to fulfill the obligation of traditional domestic roles. As a 23-year old Chinese woman who daily faces these pressures, I intentionally critique them using my body as the site and the pressure as subject. Through acts of performance, using handmade and mass-produced objects consumed daily by women, I highlight the insidious pressures and expectations placed upon women’s bodies. By utilizing the format of photography to document the discomfort of “wearing” or …

Security Blanket, Danni Xu

Masters Theses

I draw upon the stories of people who have experienced nostalgia to identify a sense of belonging to home. I create familiar objects specific to the stories of diasporic peoples to establish a connection between myself and the viewer or wearer, even when I am not present. As a former hotelier adept at initiating conversation, the goal of this work is to serve as a communication mediator, a way to find mutual interests among people in a proactive way.

This thesis addresses the following questions: Can jewelry build networks of connection across time and space? How does the format of …