Art and Design Commons^™

Cadent Diffusion: Permeating The Membrane, Isabella M. Kubo

Theses and Dissertations

cadent diffusion: permeating the membrane explores and documents KUBO's journey of cultivating a sustainable and curious artistic practice during their Master’s program in Richmond, Virginia (Powhatan Land) from the Fall of 2020 to the Spring of 2022.

KUBO's practice is the affirmation between life and change in an attempt to work along the forces of singularity; to free lines, scores, concepts, and events from structures that otherwise bind them.The cadent diffusion is the rhythm in this force. Or perhaps, it is the force itself.

Stranger’S Window, Nation’S Mirror, Kyoko Hamaguchi

Theses and Dissertations

In this text, I consider my identity as a Japanese immigrant in the United States during a global pandemic and its impact on my understanding of home as a liminal space. In particular, I discuss notions of home in relation to my work as an artist including two works that utilize the home-sharing platform Airbnb and three works that deal with the dichotomy of inside and outside.

Martin Margiela And The Japanese Designers: An Exploration Of Cultural Exchange Through Fashion, Bechet Dumaine Allen

Senior Projects Spring 2021

This paper will explore the exchange of culture and the topic of cultural appropriation. Using the Belgian fashion designer Martin Margiela as a case study, it will discuss the way in which he was inspired by Japanese culture and Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, and Rei Kawakubo– three Japanese fashion designers who first appeared in Paris in the 1970’s and 80’s.

Japan’S 2d Trauma Culture: Defining Crisis Cinema In Post-3/11 Japan, Matthew C. Hill

Theses and Dissertations

This paper labors to expound the link between the socially mediated “trauma process,” or the creation of collective trauma through social discourse, and the proposed moniker of “crisis cinema” that has often been deployed by media scholars with no clear parameters. This paper, then, endeavors to evince the trauma process’ relevance to crises and disasters, explicitly define a paradigm by which crisis cinema can be understood, and subsequently utilized by a larger patronage, and showcase the pair’s reliance on one another. This is approached through the locus of the March 11, 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and a selection of …

Wafuku: An Exploration Of Historic Japanese Apparel And The Future Of The Kimono Form, Elaina M. Reck

Senior Theses

This thesis is an exploration of historical Japanese dress for women, especially focusing on the kimono. It will delve into the comparisons between Western and Japanese dress (respectively yōfuku and wafuku), especially focusing on form and silhouette. It will conclude with an examination of the current status of the kimono, what led to its demise, but also what recent revitalization efforts have been made in Japan. The companion creative portion is a collection of modern clothing that is inspired by elements of these historic garments, showing that these design elements are timeless. I desire for this project to be …

Please Read, Joseph W. Anthony-Brown

Theses and Dissertations

This is a semi-fictional story told through a series of fake found documents. It describes my work and thoughts through metaphor. Machines have the potential to gain self-consciousness through accumulation of errors. Creativity can be confused with randomly generated variety. The acceptance of chaos and loss of control can provide a path to enlightenment.

A Solution To “The Woman Question”: Envisioning The Japanese Woman In The Bijin-Ga Of Japan's Modern Print Designers, Amanda Tobin

Honors Papers

My essay addresses the portrayal of women in early 20th-century Japanese prints. I examine the "bijin-ga," or "pictures of beautiful women," of Shin-hanga (New Prints) and Sosaku-hanga (Creative Prints) artists, focusing on the "after the bath" trope. These artists claimed to create woodblock prints that were both Japanese and modern, updating aesthetics and techniques. Their chosen subject matter, however, represents a psychological anchor against the widespread social changes of the Taisho Period (1912-1926) in Japan, during which time "new women" and "modern girls" were crafting public roles for women based on political activism and liberated sexuality.