Art and Design Commons^™

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 …

Harmony Of Difference: Theorizing Rashid Johnson's New Universalism In The Grids Of Antoine's Organ, Mark Fredricks

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My reading of Antoine’s Organ, a sculptural installation created by the artist Rashid Johnson in 2016, explores the artwork as a richly textured response to the limited universalism of modernism. I argue that Antoine’s Organ is a multimodal expression which crafts a harmony of difference using the aesthetic language and forms of both visual art and music. The term “harmony of difference” is taken from and inspired by a composition of the same name by jazz musician Kamasi Washington, and is used within to describe Rashid Johnson’s counterpoint strategy to work differences with and against each other, mobilizing the grid’s …

Mechanisms Of Nourishment, Raymond Lloyd Brown Iii

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This written thesis is a description and analysis of the ceramic work of Ray Brown. Included in this thesis is an explanation and defense of my work in my exhibition Mechanisms of Nourishment. It also unpacks the conceptual, technical, and formal aspects of the work.

The research explored in this written thesis discusses the relationship between the aesthetic and utilitarian components of pottery. From an analytical, iterative approach to form, I strive to isolate proportions that evoke a sense of volume and repetition. My references to Mid Century Modern and Streamlining Era design guide my efforts into dynamic mechanisms of …

Towards A Decolonial Feminist Aesthetics: Gender, Race, And Empire In Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’S Dictee, Juwon Jun

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Defining revolutionary struggle as a struggle between fictions, Trinh T. Minh-ha asserts that art in revolution is a spiritual presence which widens the conception of freedom. Political struggle is constituted by clashes in differently written and conceived realities—hinged on the creation and realization of multiple liberatory fictions. Liberation then requires us to attend to creating new myths and conceptions of freedom which can free us from the current structures of domination that produce current subjects and realities. If culture is indeed an “essential element in the history of a people,” mapping decoloniality in cultural and aesthetic fields may be essential …

Myelination: A Plastic Religion, Cody A. Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Plastic products are convenient, abundant and our use of them has become routine. This acceptance of

plastics’ presence has become a dogma that most humans adhere to. The continual consumption of

these single-use plastics in our daily lives has unknowingly shaped our environmental consciousness,

behaviors, and justification for them. This belief in plastics function has been strategically developed by

companies that rely on our behaviors to distribute their products. Humans have become the faithful

consumers of these goods and this belief. The brain and its ability to remain plastic and develop

decision-making skills are known as Myelination. New experiences enhance …

It's The Funerals I Missed Which Haunt Me The Most, Arno Goetz

Bachelor of Fine Arts Senior Papers

What makes a photograph great? This is the central question which guides my research, and I answer this question in two parts. The first element is the structure of the photograph, which Robert Adams addresses in his collection of essays, Beauty in Photography: Essays in Defense of Traditional Values. With the guiding principle that structure can provide harmony in an image, I develop a collection of guidelines for composing images and name them the “Rules of Clarity.” The purpose of these rules is to help photographers create harmonious compositions, free from distractions. When a photograph has few distractions, it …

Installation: Untitled#0420, Thesis: Is The Artist’S Position Valid And Necessary To Her Completed Artworks ? —— An Investigation Of The Artist’S Position Through Martin Heidegger’S Poetry, Language, Thought And The Fisherman Analogy, Coco Ma

Senior Projects Spring 2020

Artist statement:

In my practice of mixed-media sculptures and installations, I use different kinds of materials in unexpected ways to provoke uncertainties, inquiries, and reflections. My works entice people to stop and pay close attention. In this process, they may be confused and amused. By being labor- intensive and repetitive with ordinary materials, my works inspire people to see familiar forms and materials in new and fresh ways. Underneath the familiarity of the materials is the “white noise,” a hum of dissonance between the familiar and the strange.

The installation Untitled#0420 uses fishing lines as its major component, which is …

Viseral Projects, Matthew Conrardy

Undergraduate Honors Theses

A brand’s image, its identity, is established through what the brand is, what it does, where it is going, and how it is unique. The representation of a brand’s identity materializes through the messaging, images, graphics, colors, and typography associated with it. Brand manuals are designed to establish and maintain both the consistency and flexibility of the brand identity.

This manual outlines the visual and verbal applications that currently embody the Viseral Projects brand across the multimedia environment. It includes information outlining the Viseral brand story, identity system,

platforms, and examples of executions. It has been constructed with the anticipation …

Spooky Stuff, Petra A. Szilagyi

Theses and Dissertations

A real imaginal exploration of the aesthetics of the supernatural.

Queerness, Witchcraft, And Embodied Presence: Aesthetic Knowings Of What A Body Can Do, Megan Bigelow

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Taking as a point of entry the critique of representation and affirming the limitations of the cuts that language makes, this capstone project explores the imbrications and assemblages between Foucault’s concept of subjugated knowledges, witchcraft and other body-based ways of knowing and being, and the consciousness of non-human forms such as plants and through the framework of non-representational theory, process philosophies, aesthetics, queerness, and the concept of difference itself.

Since such theories themselves are living, breathing entities, this capstone project explores the ideological split that has occurred between sacred and secular beliefs, moving through different figures such as nuns and …

Humor And Allegory, Christopher Goodale

Masters Theses

This series of works proposes the merging of aesthetic interests that undermine the self-seriousness of the artist and the idea of labor in painting. Painting’s slowing of time can hopefully extinguish the peripheral noise of the outside world and provide space for thought. These paintings propose different ways to help the viewer understand visual depth, narrative, and formal decision-making. The optical depth of red, the spatial depth of glazed paint, and the spiritual depth of the figure can provide multiple meanings and possibilities. Another metaphor for the development of this series of paintings would be one comedian telling a joke …

(The Work Of) Play In The Age Of Electronic Reproduction, Alexis Newton

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Electronic technologies have allowed for the mass (re)production of new media artifacts on a previously unachievable scale. While media across the board have been effected by the scope of such technology, videogames specifically provide an interesting and generative point of contact in the digital world. Videogames bridge gaps between the academic, political, and popular often unintentionally and unconsciously in ways that other new media artifacts and technologies cannot. But, while this is so, there seems to be a gap in discourse that brings together virtual and embodied experiences in order to create a more cohesive and holistic understanding of the …

Primate Aesthetics, Chelsea L. Sams

Masters Theses

A cultural, historical, and scientific survey of the phenomena of primate pictorial behavior, presented in a series of interconnected vignettes. What do primates find visually appealing? What is their motivation when creating images? What are the implications for art and for science? By drawing explicit and implicit connections between science, art, case studies, research, and personal narrative, I attempt to weave together what we know, and what we may never be able to know about this complex field.

Art As Display, Frank M. Boardman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Art is essentially a type of display. As an activity, art is what we do when we display objects with certain intentions. As a set of objects, art is all of those things that are displayed for those purposes. The artworld is the social atmosphere that surrounds this particular activity of display. And a history of art is an evolving narrative of change in the practice of this sort of display.

Specifically, to focus for convenience on art as a set of objects, this is what we can call the “displayed-object thesis”:

x is a work of art iff: (a) …

Nuanced Translations: The Search For Unity Between Text, Image, And Self In Oscar Wilde's Fairy Tales, Jana Purington

Senior Theses

Few scholars have invested much time studying Oscar Wilde's fairy tales, focusing primarily on their place within the fairy tale genre, their morality, and queer themes latent in the stories. Fewer still examine them as visual, rather than merely literary, texts. Many of these ways of understanding his tales provide valuable insight, convincing interpretations, worthwhile avenues for thought, but by considering the artistic elements of Wilde's work, we can appreciate the cross-fertilization of his abstract, theoretical Aesthetic principles and the tangible objects he produces. Even among the subset of critics who do emphasize the visual aspects of Wilde's books, attention …

Poiesthetic Play In Generative Music, John Priestley

Theses and Dissertations

Generative music creates indeterminate systems from which music can emerge. It provides a particularly instructive field for problems of ontology, semiotics, aesthetics, and ethics addressed in poststructuralist literary theory. I outline how repetition is the ultimate basis of musical intelligibility and of memory in general. The extension of these abstractions beyond tonal music to sound in general is afforded by the concrete iterability of audio recording media. Generative systems delineate a music that is repeatable in principle and in certain qualities, though not in specific forms; a music that produces emergent complexities from novel combinations, retaining the potential to surprise. …

Consumer Goods?, Matt Sigmon

Art and Design Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to extrapolate through research the conceptual underpinnings of a body of artwork created by Matt Sigmon. The thesis explains the work in relation to art historical references to readymade art and the dilemmas that arise when fine art is compared to consumer commodities.

"Inspired Industry.", Amanda M. Dock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis supports the Master of Fine Arts exhibition entitled "Inspired Industry" at Johnson City Area Arts Council, Johnson City, Tennessee, from November 14 - December 22, 2005. It is the culmination of studies and research affected by the artist's own industry vis-à-vis personal inspirations, including: discussion of aesthetics and personal utilization of the techniques learned in relation to both functional and non-functional ceramic forms. This is a self-evaluation of personal preferences and how this body of ceramic work evolved.

A Blending Of Purpose: The Juxtaposition Of Functional And Aesthetic Qualities In Pots Of Use., Jessica Lindsay Decker-Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis supports the Master of Fine Arts exhibition entitled A Blending of Purpose at East Tennessee State University, Carroll Reece Museum, Johnson City, Tennessee, November 4 – 22, 2004. It discusses the artist’s desire to create exceptionally crafted functional work which focuses on both compelling aesthetics and strong utilitarian considerations. Topics include the artistic validity of functional works, aesthetic and functional qualities, tactile sensation as a consideration, machine-made works versus hand-made works, a characteristic described as the Life Quality, and the piece’s completion in use.

The artist examines her influences including work ceramists Dan Finnegan, Nick Joerling and …

Thematic Manifestations: An Aesthetic Journey., Jeff Kise

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis, in support of the Master of Fine Arts exhibition entitled Thematic Manifestations at East Tennessee State University, Carroll Reece Museum, Johnson City, Tennessee, March 2-12, 2004, describes in detail three aesthetic themes that are manifested in the work exhibited. The artist discusses his journey in establishing a “criterion of aesthetic values” whereby his work is conceptually developed. The three themes – The Paradox of Simplicity, The Decorative Power of Nature and The Beauty of the Irregular – are founded on historical and contemporary influences and are further described in practical application of form and process.

Increasing Visual Sensitivity In Urban School Students: A Strategy For Involving Students In Aesthetic Concerns, Harold Louis Johnson

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this thesis project was to investigate a way of fomenting greater student involvement in visual aesthetic concerns through the teacher taking on a partial role of artist-in-residence in order to give students direct contact with his creative ideas. A group of approximately one hundred fifty students at John Adams High School were presented with a week-long display of abandoned automobile mufflers accompanied by drawings of the mufflers in various media.

A Brief Survey Of The Art And Execution Of Bronze Sculpture, Paul Lawrence

Art & Art History ETDs

The general problem included the art and execution of bronze sculpture. It was felt that the theory of art of bronze sculpture, or any art, could be best comprehended when substantiated by practical illustration. In order to fully realize the problem, a brief history of bronze metal and bronze sculpture was presented in addition to the research in the field of various techniques of bronze casting. The practical illustration of this study was made in the form of a composition for bronze sculpture.