Art and Design Commons^™

An Alternative Visual Narrative: Latoya Ruby Frazier's The Notion Of Family, Madison Schultz

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

LaToya Ruby Frazier’s body of photographic work titled The Notion of Family (2003-2014) explores the toll the steel industry in Braddock, Pennsylvania, took on the black community there. The history of black Braddock is riddled with social, political, racial, economic and environmental hardship spurred on by the steel industry. Frazier intimately chronicles the lives of three generations of women—herself, her mother, and her grandmother—and their place in that history. The alternative visual narrative that Frazier creates commands viewers’ attention in telling a story that has been largely ignored by the American public. This essay contrasts Frazier’s work with that of …

A Concrete Water Pasteurization Device For Third World Countries, Andrea R. Murchie

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

In the rural areas of South Africa, as well as many other developing countries, people cook food and sterilize their water by heating over open fires. Many times the fires are inside of homes, which more often than not are very small. Children will often be the ones to tend to the fire, out of necessity while parents and other family members are tending to other work and needs.

The purpose of my Senior Honors Project was to design a concrete vessel that can hold water and heat the water to pasteurization (149°F) when exposed to sunlight for an extended …

Home Starts From Within, Joliza G. Terry

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Moving to Harrisonburg proved to be a culture shock for me because in the past, I had lived in areas where the levels of diversity were different and allowed me to feel more at ease. I faced the issue of feeling uncomfortable in a new-found environment and felt compelled to start a dialogue about my experience through my artwork. It was imperative for me to find a way to create a community for myself, and by doing so in my artwork, I have thrived from my experience of feeling out of place. I began making work about self-image, family and …