Art and Design Commons^™

Retratos De Las Criollas: Fashioning An Identity In Eighteenth-Century Bourbon New Spain And Peru, Daniel F. Ymbong

Theses and Dissertations

This master's thesis will examine the iconographies of elite Creole women in Bourbon eighteenth-century New Spain and Peru. This paper is a comparative study of the colonial regal portraits of elite Creole women with emphasis on preferences in: dress, hair, and accessories.

Much of the pictorial format is informed by European styles and decorum, that is the Spanish and Italian Renaissance in materiality. The prevailing silhouettes dictated by the French Bourbons are adapted, but strategically morphed an identity for the colonial elites, as there were different preferences for colors, accessories, and hair.

Art Of Katharsis: A Study Of Creating Abstract Expressionist Art In The Quest For Emotional Release And Healing, Maria Fatima Lai

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis paper discusses the art seen in the exhibition, Katharsis, is a body of work inspired in the quest to validate suppressed emotions pulling from personal experiences of grief and abandonment. The methodology behind the work explores the artistic process that enables the transformation of pain and grief. The research is guided by understanding the artist’s process through therapeutic methods found in abstract expressionism. Art produced in pain, allowed a process of healing and honest forgiveness. The vicious cycle of feeling trapped in the idea of letting go when you have not allowed yourself to understand, threatens the …

Boricua Type: Intersectional Hybrid Transcultural Art Concepts And Illustrations, Isaac Santiago

Theses and Dissertations

The concepts and artworks contained in this thesis embodies most of the research that I did in and outside the University. My particular experiences as a Puerto Rican, born and raised, and as a migrant artist in Mexico and Texas. Most of the research was made by trail and error independently or with little to no guidance. In conclusion I found my artistic self: technically, personally, and reached a high level of commitment to our community as a prepared professional.

Difference In The Perception Of Political Art Inside And Outside The Art Gallery, Jose Maria Parga

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of the research for this exhibit was to explore whether a major difference exists in the way political art is perceived by an audience when the art is in an art exhibition and when it is seen in an urban environment. Since the subject matter of En el País de No Pasa Nada, is the current wave of violence and corruption happening in Mexico, the targeted audience for this exhibited is limited to Mexican people and people on the US border with Mexico. If there is a difference in perception, what does the work of art gain, and …

Reflections Of Oppression, Fatemeh Semiari

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This thesis is an investigation into the lives of women living in Iran. I develop a critical framework for understanding it. It is now my understanding that women suffer greatly from the restrictions they are subjected to. I discuss what some of these restrictions are, and how these pressures create turmoil and confusion within some women. The artwork created for my thesis project is a reflection upon the relationship between social proscription and a woman’s desire to express her individuality publicly. The women I portray in my thesis project exhibit a range of emotions such as anger, depression, despair, defeat, …

The Return To Aztlan, Eliseo Moreno

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

With this thesis I will focus on my Chicano artistic influences as well as on my life experiences as a third-generation Chicano growing up in the barrios of Browntown, “Tejas” (Brownsville, Texas) I will also examine in my paintings the Chicano identity; its culture, traditions, beliefs, and lifestyle. In this thesis like my artwork I will depict the myth of “Atzlan” via eras of the Chicano movement. I will start my writings with the mid-nineteen forties, the “Zoot Suit” era, which I believe is the original beginning of the Chicano movement, and advance to the nineteen sixties and seventies where …

The Borderline Between The Personal And Political, Celeste De Luna

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This paper is a documentation of the form, content, techniques, and processes of the body of visual artwork I created for my M.F.A. graduate coursework. My work frequently uses themes based on the migrant/border experiences of women, children, and families throughout generations in the context of the larger American experience. My acrylic paintings on canvas, assemblages and installations validate Latino/Chicano experiences and invites reflection and learning. My work is influenced and relates to contemporary Chicano and Post-Chicano Art, Feminist Art, and the writings of Gloria A. Anzaldua.

Art, The Social Enzyme: The Emergence Of An Art Community In The Rio Grande Valley, Heaven Lashley

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study explores the emergence of an art community in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) region of South Texas. In researching this objective, I relied on observations at many gallery public functions where I had the opportunity to observe the interactions between prospective buyers, gallery owners and artists. I also visited with gallery owners and artists many times in small group settings where I raised open ended questions about the region's artists and other historical developments that would allow me to put together a cohesive story about the emergence of the art community

This study began as an unstructured exploration …

Diurnal Rhythms: The Daily Life And Art Of A Mexican American Migrant, Lillia Munoz

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

My series of paintings and sculptural pieces of art, embody a singular theme; the noble labors and life of migrant farm workers. The creative process used to produce my works involves two realities: a mental state and a physical state. Within the formulation of an idea, these mental and physical states often occur simultaneously, at other times separately. Consciously, my art depicts the psychological perceptions and effects of the migrant experience. Repetitive lines mimic rhythmic patterns, monotonous rituals, and daily routines of harvesting, marketing, and unrelenting work. Human and architectural shapes and forms are simplified to reflect the simplicity of …

The Art And Myth Of The Coyote And Related Folk Tales From The South Texas And Northern Mexican Border, Esau Rubio Pena

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This paper will examine the relationship between the myth of the coyote and the folk tales that are indigenous to the South Texas/Mexican border. Moreover, I intend to explore several common folk tales pertaining to the coyote and how I have chosen to synthesize them into my artwork. In my paintings, I have become cognizance that the coyote possesses many identities. In one instance, the coyote can appear as a wild animal, a rogue of nature; however, in another instance I have learned that the coyote is a highly adaptive creature capable of being a protector of the natural world. …

Chthonic Power Versus Synthetic Power: Iconography And Color Symbolizing The Female Principle Relative To The Male Principle, Kathryn M. Thorn-Simpson

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The images depict an exploration of an expressive, abstract aesthetic that delineates visual content with symbolism: depicted by color, iconography, and form. The artistic intention underlying the imagery is to evoke emotional awareness of the possibility that chthonic forces of nature—the mysterious life force generated by earth and the universe—in contrast to man-made synthetic powers—technology, science, machines, war, and ideas related to control over nature—are manifested as a dichotomy of experience between female and male; the forces of nature as the female principle and synthetic powers as the male principle. The imaginative elements in the imagery use colors and forms …

Tracing The Cultural Memory In The Rio Grande Valley: Mexican-American Dichos, Proverbs Interpreted Through Art, Jennifer Michele Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Conversational phrases, dichos are verbal hallmarks from Mexican-Americans and familiar to the Hispanic culture through different versions. This folk wisdom is exposed through communication, tracing historical accounts of life, love, struggle, and ultimately survival among Mexican-Americans. I have started a series of paintings and collective art pieces focusing on Mexican-American dichos unique and familiar to the Rio Grande Valley. They are a cultural representation of life unique to this area, and combine the recollective spirit from not only myself, but from my family's accounts of these spontaneous conversational phrases.

With influences stemming from the Pop Art period, specifically Roy Lichtenstein …