Fine Arts Commons^™

The Birth Of "A Painting": You Yong Solo Exhibition, Dongpeng Wang

MA Projects

Curator Wang Dongpeng takes great pride in unveiling "The Birth of 'A Painting'," an exclusive solo exhibition by the renowned painter You Yong. In this thoughtprovoking display, You Yong harnesses the simplicity of the iPad to craft vivid artworks that capture the essence of individual lives amidst the pandemic. His pieces offer a window into the lived realities within mainland China during these challenging times. This exhibition is an invitation to an extraordinary art experience that breaks free from the confines of traditional art space, promising to leave viewers with lasting impressions. The Birth of "A Painting" stands as a …

Unveiling Urban Photographs: The Evolution Of Street Photography Through Cameras, The New York Photo League, And Visionaries Lisette Model And Helen Levitt, Isabella Danesi

MA Theses

Street photography is a visual art that began to pick up in popularity in the 20th century especially in large cities like New York. There was so much going on in the world at the times and it was a perfect opportunity for aspiring artists to go out into the streets and capture the realities of what was happening. This thesis dives into the origins of street photography as well as an emphasis on the development and shaping of street photography while being used in urban settings in the 20th century. A discussion of the technological development of the camera …

Digital Reproduction: The Degradation Of Art Viewership, Zoe Wallis Weingarten

MA Theses

This thesis explores the impact of the ease of photographic reproduction on the
experience of contemporary art viewership. This study establishes historical precedent and explains the phenomenon of the serial photographic reproduction of works of art by contemporary audiences. In doing so, the thesis identifies the implications of reproductions on the original work of art they replicate as well as the consequences of such reproduction. The photographic duplication of artworks in the museum allows the viewer to recommodify the artwork, become its quasi-possessor, and alter its meaning and function. This study is centered around the argument that this widespread practice …

Lost & Found, Minji Choi, Myeongkyo Kim

MA Projects

Lost and Found focuses on olfactory art and stimulates the sense of smell through
various means and materials. In this exhibition, diverse associations of the sense of smell are evoked through visual art. Through these fragrant works of art, personal, psychological, social, and cultural dimensions are conveyed and explored. The exhibition's title, Lost & Found, refers to the restoration of the sense of smell, which many people have temporarily lost due to the physiological and social effects of COVID-19.

(Un)Orthodox Orient, Su Ergeneli

MA Projects

The term Orient was born from a Western-created body of knowledge, or rather discourse, with the authority of the West over the East. This paper, through historical and political analysis of the Orient, questions the reasoning and accuracy of the institutionalized Western knowledge of classical cultural archetypes of the East. Orientalism is a product of the West discovering the Orient and dominating and restructuring the Orient. Hence, it is represented by the dominating
frameworks. By taking the Orient out of the ideological discourse, this paper emphasizes Orient as an individual and evaluates the Near Eastern art market’s transformation as its …

Artificial Minds, Lara Bayer

MA Projects

This paper explores the artistic possibilities of artificial intelligence, as well as its ability to act as a creative being through its learned knowledge from the collective consciousness of human beings, whether this learned knowledge can be used by the AI to represent reality, and whether this can be problematic regarding learned biases from the preexisting ones of our own. Looking at the history of how far artificial intelligence has come within the creative artistic realm, examining the technical aspects of how exactly an AI is able to generate original art, and examining four artists that all collaborate with artificially …

Untamed: The Terrifying Beauty Behind The Works Of Woman Surrealists, Shely Calderon Benpalti

MA Projects

An exhibition of work spanning the works of five late North American and Latin American born or naturalized female Surrealist artists, Frida Kahlo (1907-1954), Leonora Carrington (1917-2011), Remedios Varo (1908-1963), Leonor Fini (1907-1996) and Dorothea Tanning (1910-2012). Untamed explores themes of female existence, alchemy, astrology, dreams and symbolism through painting works on paper and photography. Between the dark years during the first world war, the second world war and postwar, Surrealism as a means of possibility to live a dream-like life were the theory behind this artist's body of work. The deception of dreams, parallel realities and profound studies into …

Revolution And Revelation: An Early Russian Avant-Garde Private Collection, Olivia A. Aurtenechea Eguiron

MA Projects

Revolution and Revelation: An Early Russian Avant-Garde Private Collection is an
exhibition proposal with accompanying essays that explore the value and influence of the Russian Avant-Garde art movement, highlighting its significance as a revolutionary force in early twentieth-century art. While the first essay provides a comprehensive overview of the Russian Avant-Garde art movement, the second one explores the considerations and advantages of exhibiting a private collection of early Russian Avant-Garde art, specifically Suprematism, in either a museum or a gallery. The first essay, A Look Into Russian Avant-Garde, delves into the value and influence of the movement acknowledging the challenge …

Monumentality Of The Artist Chapel: Dissecting Light, Color, Spirituality, And Permanence, Katherine Isler

MA Theses

The concept and creation of the artist chapel is an opportunity presented to only a select few artists. Artist chapels are monumental, permanent works of art that expose a sweeping summary of the artists oeuvre and act as a window into the mind of the artist. The chapels of Ellsworth Kelly, Dan Flavin, and Mark Rothko present a variety of similarities through the mediums of light and color. These characteristics take the artist chapel from a piece of art, to a transcendent
environment that cocoons the viewer in a space of both the seen and unseen. Each of these artists …

Artists In Legacy-Land: Endowing Foundations To Balance Market And Philanthropic Activity, Lucas Mischler

MA Theses

In this paper, artist-endowed foundations are examined to assess the direct and indirect impact of their philanthropic activity on the art market. Beginning with an overview of historical and contextual variables paving the way for private philanthropy in the 20th century, specific case studies are analyzed--established foundations, as well as varying formats for smaller foundations, that illustrate the symbiotic relationship between the art market and artist-endowed foundations. Emphasis is placed on the newfound popularity of artists establishing foundations, and securing legacy, within their lifetimes rather than upon death, as this has the potential to yield the best results. Best practices …

The Women Of Impressionism: The Influence Of Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, And Eva Gonzalès On The Art Market, Caroline Finden

MA Theses

My thesis addresses three overlooked female Impressionist artists, Berthe
Morisot, Mary Cassatt, and Eva Gonzalès, the hardships that they faced during their lifetimes, the sociological and political influences that shaped their narratives, and the triumphs that allow us to call them great female artists today. Art historians and feminists alike, such as the exalted Linda Nochlin, have searched for understanding as to why so many extraordinary female artists have gone unnoticed throughout art history, often leaving more questions than answers. To better understand each of these women I analyze both an iconic work and the highest selling work at auction …

Keith Haring And Jean-Michel Basquiat: Visionaries Of The Legendary Art Movement Of The Eighties In Downtown, New York City, Ritu Cipy

MA Theses

The 1980s in New York Downtown culture was about rebellion. A vibrant community of young artists had occupied Lower Manhattan; interested in various art forms like painting, music, dance and theatre. The community thrived in an area largely ignored by Ronald Reagan’s presidency. It was an explosion of creativity that has had reverberations ever since. Jean-Michel Basquiat’s and Keith Haring’s art grew out of that zeitgeist. Their art was an uprising against a world that did not support their talent. Their need to enforce a social change prompted them into
using their work as a call to action. Their illegal …

On Curation: A Hermeneutical Approach, Elisabeth Yumin Kröber

MA Theses

Starting point of this paper is the philosophical field of hermeneutics.
Hermeneutics was established to account for different conditions of understanding
and how they shape our interpretative processes. As different times constitute
different conditions, the goal of the discipline essentially is to bridge the temporal
gap between the creation of a work and its perception at a given point in time.
Whereas traditionally, understanding was a matter of analyzing the historical
tradition of author/artist and reader/viewer, nowadays, the perception and
interpretation of art is shaped by another instance, the curator. Under the premise
that selection and arrangement, i.e. curating, cannot …

Manifesting Magic: Occultism And Feminism In The Art Of Leonora Carrington And Remedios Varo, Margaret Dirschl

MA Theses

The artworks of Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo are replete with
symbolism and evocations of the occult, formulating bodies of work that are charged with magic and mysticism. When studied within the context of their male contemporaries of the Surrealist group, it becomes apparent that this use of the occult operates as a compelling and historically based feminist strategy. Immediately stemming from the occult revival of the previous century and the issues for females presented by Surrealism, the foundations of this idea originate much earlier in the pagan traditions of antiquity and the witch hunts of the 15th through 18th …

Spirituality And Abstract Art, Hao Zheng

MA Theses

Through a close analysis of abstract art and metaphysics (ontological and psychical), the paper examines how metaphysics might be related to abstract art, as well as the early emergence of abstract art in diverse cultures around the world, and its development from the 19th to the 20th century in the modern art world. The paper conducts an examination of some modern abstract art pioneers, as perceived by general public, such as Wassily Kandinsky and Agnes Pilton, who
experimented with the art form in the 19th and 20th centuries, and their intentions based on metaphysics: spirituality and mythology are included in …

The Currency (Volume 1, Issue 1), Elsa Akesson, Claudio Castillo, Sophie Delaplaine, Jade Wu, Maria Paula Suarez

The Currency--SIA Student Magazine

Table of Contents

Page 2: Elsa Akesson, "Kids of Morondava," 2020, oil & acrylic on linen, 130 x 97 cm.

Page 4: An Interview with Generative Artist Claudio Castillo by Sophie Delaplaine, SIA-London '22

Page 9: Jade Wu, "Grain Rain," 2020, oil on canvas, 24 x 36"

Page 11: Navigating the Artworld: My Personal Journey as an Emerging Artist through the Pandemic by Maria Paula Suarez, SIA-NY '23

Reclamation, Laura Day Webb

MA Projects

This exhibition will take the form of a group show of African artists who weave
cultural heritage with the contemporary, to challenge Western perceptions of African art and culture. Artists Wole Langunju (Nigeria), Prudence Chimutuwah (Zimbabwe), Lincoln Mwangi (Kenya), Moira Bushkimani (Kenya), and Angèle Etoundi Essamba (Cameroon) are confirmed to participate. In addition to the contemporary works by these artists on display, two Nigerian Gèlèdé masks have been generously loaned from the private collection of Olusanya Ojikutu, one from the early 20th century and, the other, whose dating is undetermined. In showcasing these works in tandem, the exhibition creates a …

Pasado, Presente, Futuro: A Story Of Immigration, Constanza Galindo Acosta

MA Projects

Oftentimes when speaking about immigration the conversation centers
around specific political agendas, economic impact, or labor. However important
these topics may be, they fail to understand the humanity of immigration, leaving
behind the most essential part of the conversation: the voice of the actual
immigrants. How can a more individualistic approach towards the experience of
the immigrant give us a better understanding of the nuances of immigration as a
whole? Pasado, Presente, Futuro takes as inspiration the personal experiences of
nine Latinx artists that currently live in the United States as a way to tell the past,
present, and future …

Fpi Art Initiative: A Romanian Perspective, Through The Looking Glass, Francesca Popescu

MA Projects

The FPI (Francesca Popescu Ife) Art Initiative is a curatorial business that focuses on creating pop-up exhibitions featuring emerging and mid-career artists from countries that are not as widely represented in New York or other major art markets. The foundation of this company is to form partnerships with real estate, hospitality, and public venues to host curated pop-up exhibitions throughout New York City and the Hamptons with future goals to expand nationally. The objective is to showcase artwork within a home environment where individuals and collectors interested in art and design can view and discover new artists exhibited within a …

‘What A Woman Can Do:’ Analyzing Correlation Between Historiography Of Italian Female Artists And Auction Prices, Paige Boucher

MA Theses

“And I will show Your Most Illustrious Lordship what a woman can do.” These words are by the miraculous baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi, a Renaissance woman who took the plunge into a male-dominated profession.1 Women have taken the back seat throughout all walks of history. On the subject of their representation in art history, there was an extended period when researchers and scholars completely overlooked them. Due to negligence, knowledge of a marketable female artist of the Renaissance was close to an urban legend. Now,
through mending neglected recognition, the existence of marketable female Old Masters is bona fide in …

The Printmaking Boom And Its Effect On The Future For The Market For Prints And Multiples, Helen H. Condo

MA Theses

The purpose of this study is to examine the history of the market for prints and multiples beginning with the print renaissance of the 1960s to discover the underlying drivers of a successful editions market and make predictions for the future. Before the print boom of the 1960s, driven by the departure of printmakers from Europe during World War II, who reinvigorated a passion for the artistic process, printmaking was considered that of a craft. Once it was elevated from its secondary status, due to excitement from Contemporary artists and institutional accreditation, a market structure was solidified. By examining the …

How Nfts Are Driving The Latest Evolution Of Art From Physical To Digital In A Pandemic Age., Isabel Dominguez De Haro

MA Theses

Prior to 2014, the art industry did not know a lot about NFTs and the benefits of
blockchain technology. That is because when the technology was created in 2008,
it had nothing to do with art. In fact, it was primarily developed as a way to
decentralize a broken financial system.1 And, even when the art industry began
successfully using the technology in 2017, it was the digital art world and not
traditional artists, galleries, auction houses, or dealers who first recognized the
benefit of using digital tokens to represent ownership of a unique asset. So why
now are NFTs …

Selling Transcendence: The Rise Of Experience And The Big Business Of Immersive Art, Emeline Callaway

MA Theses

There has been an explosion of immersive art experiences over the past few years. Even as the pandemic has taken a toll on tourism, immersive art ventures and experimental museums have expanded around the world, drawing significant crowds and offering investors an inside into a new, emerging industry. This thesis ties these new experiential businesses to the history of art through an analysis of immersive artistic exploration over time and connects the current forms of investment to the history of immersive art patronage. Exploring the relationship between major economic shifts and the development of the art market, this thesis explains …

Lauder Art Collections: Two Brothers, Two Collections, One City, Carol Bradford Abruzzo

MA Theses

This thesis highlights two New Yorkers who donate a plethora of art treasures to their beloved hometown. The value of these collective materials provides a permeance to the history of civilization. Art works within these institutions provides visual history and allows for an immediacy to learn and a simple way to connect with the past. However, the art is as good as it is culled into a meaningful collective with easy accessibility for all. The Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of New York and the Ronald S. Lauder Neue Galerie are two of the most distinguished …

The Private Art Collector’S Foundation In France: Issues And Implications For The Cultural Landscape, Milena Berman

MA Theses

The last two decades have witnessed an explosion in the number of private art spaces worldwide. From Bentonville, Arkansas, to Naoshima, Japan, hundreds of impressive structures built by star architects have been funded by private individuals and corporations to house collections of modern and contemporary art, often in unlikely places. The famously-termed “Bilbao effect” in which a grand museum structure is set up outside of the established art capitals of the world, thus putting the city “on the map” of cultural tourism, has become a widespread trend. The examples vary greatly and range from small private “home museums”
made to …

The Paradox Of Scarcity: A Look At The Old Masters Evening Sales From 2014 To 2022 In London And New York, Erin Haydon

MA Theses

This thesis sets out to disprove the theory of the decline of the Old Masters market using data from 2014 until 2022. The data is collected from the January and December Evening Sales at Sotheby’s auction house in both London and New York. It elicits that through the assistance of calculated estimates the market has been holding steady despite media headlines and assumptions. The market, as the smallest of the fine art sectors, fights against, but simultaneously uses to its advantage, the concept of scarcity. Many masterpieces that come to auction benefit from never having been seen before and thus …

Lucretia Van Horn: The Artist’S Meaningful Impact On The Development Of Modernism In The Bay Area, Annie K. Roddy

MA Theses

Women artists lack recognition for their significant contributions to the development of regional modernism in the United States during the twentieth century. This study seeks to highlight the important impact American artist Lucretia Van Horn had on modernism in the Bay Area from the 1920s through the 1940s. The study addresses how the artist worked in advanced modernist styles, achieving local recognition and success, but was ultimately overshadowed by her male counterparts in the larger dialogue. The results reveal an artist at the forefront of avant-garde trends who deserves much wider recognition.

Distorted Icons In Contemporary Art: An Examination Into How We Know What We Know And Why, Alessandra Ruggiero

MA Projects

The purpose of this exhibition, Distorted Icons in Contemporary Art: An Examination into How We Know What We Know and Why, is to explore the nature of icons, specifically contemporary renditions of modern or traditional icons. Colloquially, icons are a symbol of something well-known or an image that is easily recognizable. Traditionally, icons refer to religious figures, most commonly devotional paintings in Roman Catholic and Orthodox Greek churches and are used as a means of prayer to represent peace, piety and faith. However, what constitutes an icon in Western contemporary culture has changed significantly. Devotional images have been replaced by …

Antiquities And The Art Market: Forever Divided Or Will Ancient Art Find Its Place In An Evolving Contemporary Art Market?, Yvette Abiuso

MA Theses

This paper argues that the market of ancient art will rise because of three positive trends: dealers, auctions, and galleries offering both antiquities and contemporary art together to potential collectors; the improving and added transparency of provenance research techniques; and millennial art collectors who have brought a new perspective to the art market. This study will explore if the combination of ancient art and contemporary art in gallery settings has increased sales. It will ask how much has “crossover collecting” affected the art market by exploring the techniques used by modern galleries to implement both genres in art fairs and …

The Brave New Virtual Art World The Evolution Of Digital Art: Nfts And Their Effects On The Art Market In 2021, Sophie Delaplaine

MA Theses

The first half of 2021, NFT crypto art captured both the public’s attention and the art market due to the escalation of sales prices and the auction houses acceptance of cryptocurrencies. As an artform, digital art is not new. It began in the 1960s and 1970s with roots as early as the 1940s. During this evolution the lines between technology and art have intersected, often become blurred and in many cases have merged into new artforms. Even when scholars trace the origins of digital art to present day it is difficult to tell if scientists are influencing artists or artists …