Art and Design Commons^™

Detritus In Situ, Ariel R. Lavery

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

This thesis paper explores some of the cultural phenomena that influence my conceptual framework and describes the logic behind the formal decision-making that defines my work. Beginning with a description of the nature of the materials and environments I appropriate, this thesis aims to deconstruct the layered system of binaries that build the logic behind my work. The concerns in my work circulate around domestic consumption and the objects detritus, a term coined in the paper, that are produced as a result. However, rather than allow the objects detritus to remain cast-aways of a culture of excess, my work …

Canvas And Catalyst: Reinventing Urban Space, Ricardo A. Borges

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

As an intervention strategy set amid a stark and neglected, yet highly energized urban setting of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this project seeks to relieve a stagnating urban condition through the introduction of contemporary and dynamic forms of expression. Skateboarding and street art can be seen as interpretative modes of action that reinvent objects, spaces, and conditions within the urban landscape, lending creative and engaging gestures to the everyday. As (sub) cultural expressions in their own right, these practices transcend their mere formal representations, and present unique identities, spaces, and modes of engagement within a society, initiating a creative mindset and DIY …

The Praxis Of Horst Hoheisel: The Countermonument In An Expanded Field, Juan Felipe Hernandez

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

This paper examines the work of German artist Horst Hoheisel in Latin-America. I open the conversation by including Hoheisel’s provocative participation in the 2005 memory debates in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Here, I introduce the nature of Hoheisel’s reasoning and the dialectical self-reflectiveness that is at work in his artifacts. In each project, I look for the way in which Hoheisel lays down the “memorialistic substance” of a specific site together with the self-critical rationality that characterizes his creation. The second part of this essay attempts to construct the theoretical parameters for the expansion of the definition of the countermonument. This …

Transformation Of Urban Public Space, Ruthanne Harrison

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

The concept of my thesis is to employ architectural intervention in residual urban space as a catalyst for transformation. The goal is design of a building and environment that could be used for any combination of purposes, be used freely by all members of the community, be designed so that the art and architecture is interactive, and could be transformed by the users of the space. The project makes use of a residual urban space that would otherwise remain largely inaccessible. The project explores how the space could be designed to give a sense of ownership of it to the …

Letters To Anyone, Michelle L. Dickson

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Letters to Anyone is written as a parallel text to the body of work I’ve created during my time in graduate school, culminating in the installation almost‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐release.

This thesis deals with my personal narrative as a way to understand the ideas and concepts that my work is derived from. Specific topics include memory, the body, time, process, space, and change.

Community Restoration: Reconciling The Legacy Of Contaminated Sites Within Our Communities, Kristofer H. Kennedy

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Separation, removal, and relocation are the initial steps in the “clean-up” of a contaminated site. While crucial to safeguarding the public health of adjacent communities and the surrounding environment, conventional remediation is subtractive from the community leaving many psychological wounds untreated. Architecture has the greatest potential to address the social concerns which contribute to the complexities of redeveloping a contaminated site.

Focusing on the 52 acre former General Electric Brownfield site in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, I have explored through design alternative approaches for the redevelopment of contaminated sites. My design research focuses on the ways in which architecture can be used …

A Process Of Design: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Dennis R. Berfield Mr.

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

A collaborative process, when implemented for a theatrical production, not only reinforces a design team's ability to tell a story, it supports a artistically unified design that can be communicated easily to all members of a production team regardless of their production role. The information within this thesis is documentation of a collaborative process between the Scenic Designer and the production team for the University of Massachusetts Amherst Department of Theater's production of The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by Rachel Sheinkin with music and lyrics by William Finn. Preliminary design images, model photographs, Autodesk AutoCAD design plates, …