Fine Arts Commons^™

Ni De Aqui, Nor There. Pero As The In-Between, Vanessa Franquez

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This thesis explores first-generation Mexican American identity as a lived experience of translation and survival. Drawing from Judith Butler, Gloria Anzaldúa, and Jack Burnham, the work frames identity as performative, embodied, and shaped by overlapping cultural systems. Insects function as models of adaptation, camouflage, and defense, paralleling survival strategies such as code-switching and cultural hybridity. Through sculptural processes including tufting, felting, sewing, layering, and the inscription of Spanglish text, repetition and puncture become material metaphors for pressure, repair, and resilience. Language operates as both subject and substance, resisting grammatical purity in favor of hybridity. The work ultimately positions the in-between …

Roblox As Open Text: Identity, Meaning, And Ideology Through Eco’S Semiotics, Yuyus Rustandi, Nanang Sutisna

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

This study examines Roblox as a digital cultural space that constructs and represents adolescent identity through Umberto Eco's semiotic approach. Roblox functions not only as a game platform but also as an open text comprising visual signs, social symbols, and complex narratives. This studi is based on a literature review from nine prior empirical studies, this research analyzes how avatars, virtual environments, Robux economy, and user communities shape diverse systems of meaning. Findings show that Roblox serves as a site for identity construction, simulation of social values, and reproduction of dominant discourses such as capitalism and gender performance. The study …

From Editor, Rahayu Surtiati

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2026.

In this edition readers will find ten articles plus one book review proposing an idea of how culture survives modernization. The four articles (1, 2, 4, and 8 show how culture and ecology or culture and traditions can reshape collective memory and identity. Two articles: 6 and 7 discuss Japanese culture: first elderly people show learning a foreign language can keep their spirit of life; second Japanese urban culture in contemporary context. Last but not least three articles (3, 5, 9, and 10) describe three different situations: roads represent symbolic dimensions; priestly …

Third Place And Nostalgia In Postcolonial Jakarta: Adaptive Reuse Of Cikini Post Office, Ade Ariyani Sari Fajarwati, Mochamad Aviandy

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

The transformation of space in postcolonial cities extends beyond the restoration of old buildings; it involves cultural practices that reshape collective memory and identity. Through adaptive reuse, colonial-era heritage spaces are revitalised as social hubs. This study examines Post Kantoor cafe, a former colonial post office turned into a “third place” within urban spatial culture. Using qualitative methods—visual observation, spatial documentation, and a literature review—the study finds that nostalgic aesthetics, evident in antique artefacts, colonial atmospheres, and curated visuals, foster emotional connections across generations and social classes. More than a site of consumption, the cafe becomes a space for dialogue, …

Untouchable Beauty Of Everyday Aesthetics In Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days, Nindya Galuh Fatmawati, Agni Saraswati

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

Wim Wenders, in his latest film Perfect Days (2023), presents an everyday aesthetic experience conveyed through a visually striking aesthetic characterized by a "peaceful" gaze. This study aims to explore the everyday aesthetics depicted in Perfect Days, which align with traditional Japanese aesthetics, specifically wabi-sabi. The analysis is framed using Todd McGowan's Cinema of Desire theory. The research employs a qualitative descriptive method to examine the subject and utilizes a Psychoanalytic approach for analysis. The findings reveal that object ‘a’ in Perfect Days is highlighted through mise-en-scène and music, as these two cinematic elements facilitate a moment of …

The Silent Witness: The Journey Of Celibacy In The Life Of Diocesan Clergy Of Pagadian, Jumar T. Lague, Enrique C. Tapanan, Raven M. Leyte, Jinggle C. Selgas

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

Celibacy is a defining vow in the life of Catholic priests, requiring thorough preparation and ongoing commitment. While celibacy enables priests to devote themselves fully to ministry, it also presents challenges that can influence their fidelity to priesthood. This study aimed to explore how Catholic priests experience, sustain, and interpret their vow of celibacy within their ministry. Using a transcendental phenomenological design, ten diocesan priests from Pagadian, representing junior, middle, and senior clergy, were purposively selected and interviewed. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, validated with participant feedback, and analyzed thematically while bracketing researcher biases. The findings reveal that priests …

Studio Museum Harlem Excursion: A Study Of How Resources Are Utilized For Expressing A Message, Sarah Neiman

Occasional Essays

Museums have a unique ability to situate themselves in the present moment while also commemorating the past and imagining the future. Studio Museum Harlem (SMH) does this, especially on the day of its reopening. The museum originally opened in 1968, amongst many Civil Rights and Black Power demonstrations occurring across the country. This innovative spirit is still visible today despite the museum closing and reopening again. The museum made its grand reopening on November 15th, 2025, after seven years of having its doors closed for construction. The Bronx African American History Project team had the special opportunity to visit SMH …

New Music And New Instruments: The Development Of The Electric Bass Guitar, Braxton Algood

Student Scholar Symposium

The sound of the modern electric bass has become ubiquitous in music across multiple genres. With the emergence of jazz music in the 1930s, upright bassists like Jimmy Blanton sought to create a sonic space that exploited the resonance in the low register of the traditional double bass, but was more rhythmic and percussive than the instrument’s traditional role. This desire for a percussive string instrument that had the sound of the upright bass—and might also be more portable—led to the creation of Leo Fender’s first electric bass guitar in 1951. By the end of the 1950s, the electric bass …

"Let Your Body Do The Talkin'": An Investigation Of Aesthetic Experience Through Phenomenological Psychology, Tone Roald, Anders Essom-Stenz

Duquesne Studies in Phenomenology

How does the experience of one’s own body contribute to aesthetic experience? This article answers the question from the point of view of phenomenological psychology by portraying how the body is lived from within in intense experiences with works of visual art. Based on descriptions of aesthetic experiences juxtaposed with phenomenological insights about the body and, in particular, Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s thoughts on concrete and abstract movement, it is shown how the lived body gives form to the experience. The experience of one’s own body reflects the expressions of the works of art and comprises not only movement, and with it …

Emotions As Work Material: On Dancers' Refined Use Of Affectivity, Camille S. Buttingsrud

Duquesne Studies in Phenomenology

As part of their professional practice, dancers allow their affectivity to enhance their kinesthetic work. Their intentional and disciplined use of personal, emotional resources ensures both creativity, interpretation, absorption, and connections in ways that extend beyond the traditional phenomenological understanding of affectivity as pre-reflectively based. The affective regulations dancers employ can be seen as an “artistic epoché,” and their layered performance awareness corresponds with Edmund Husserl’s descriptions of “image-consciousness.” Through qualitative interviews with three professional dancers, phenomenological theory, and additional supportive literature, this article shows how affectivity can be experienced through high-order levels of Leib, constituting states of “bodily …

Participatory Presence In Aesthetic Experiences Of Performance, Sophie Morrissey, Shaun Gallagher

Duquesne Studies in Phenomenology

In the context of the performing arts, presence can generally be thought of as an experienced connection between performer and audience that heightens the affective impact of the performance. Explorations of how presence is experienced during live performance contribute to our understanding of the relation of presence to participants’ overall aesthetic experience and participation in the performance. However, they also reveal the complex phenomenology of presence and the challenge of offering a unified framework that can account for its various phenomenal manifestations. In this article, we conceive of presence as a recursive dynamical feedback loop that emerges through and modulates …

With Images In Time. Atmosphere And Art: Mediation And Dialogue, Pauline Von Bonsdorff

Duquesne Studies in Phenomenology

The article challenges the idea that atmospheres are always sensed immediately. Instead, atmospheres in art are mediated and arise in a dialogue between work and audience. To understand how, we should pay attention to temporal structures in and around the work, such as the dynamics and duration of aesthetic experience and the historicity of both work and perceiver, including pasts and present. Mikel Dufrenne’s phenomenological aesthetics, complemented with insights from Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s analyses of perception, offer resources for this. Writing on expression, Dufrenne distinguishes “presence,” in which sense is felt immediately and firmly connected to embodiment, and “sentiment,” which arises …

Rapture "At A Distance": Searching For Pathic-Atmospheric Aesthetics, Tonino Griffero

Duquesne Studies in Phenomenology

The paper proposes a rethinking of the role of aesthetics as a theory of sensory experience as it is encountered in the lifeworld (and only secondarily in relation to art). Accordingly, pathic and atmospheric (bottom-up) aesthetics, which centers on the ability to expose oneself to intense experiences without attempting to control them and conceives feelings as atmospheric powers that permeate a particular space without being reduced to projections of the perceiver’s moods, should replace the idealistic (top-down) approach.

Introduction: Duquesne Studies In Phenomenology Volume 5, Jeffrey Mccurry

Duquesne Studies in Phenomenology

No abstract provided.

Enabling Constraints In Artmaking: Developing Creative Confidence Through Discarded Materials, Lydia Romney Stewart

Theses and Dissertations

This design-based research thesis explores the possibility of fostering creative confidence in students and examines how a project-based curriculum can help them rediscover their artistic abilities. It investigates two guiding questions: How does working with repurposed materials shape students' artmaking, creative confidence and sense of ownership in their artwork? And, in what ways do enabling constraints serve as a catalyst for student engagement? As a teacher-researcher, I designed and implemented a quarter-long curriculum in which 21 junior high students were challenged to create a collaborative public art installation using only discarded materials. The methodology blended qualitative and quantitative data, including …

The Fruit Of The Spirit Beyond Sunday: A Practical Implementation Of The Fruit Of The Spirit Through Visual And Experiential Learning, Amy English

Masters Theses

In today’s world, modern Christian women recognize the importance of the Fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, meekness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and temperance—but many Christian women find it difficult to consistently put these virtues into practice. A key reason for this struggle is the lack of practical methods and visual reminders that help women recall and apply these qualities in their daily lives. Without clear, accessible ways to nurture these spiritual fruits, believers may find that their growth in these areas is limited or inconsistent.

This thesis explores how combining intentional spiritual habits with creative visual tools can make …

The Ultra Dilemma: Understanding The Impact Of Ultra-Processed Food, Cassia Elizabeth Brenning

Masters Theses

Ultra-processed food dominates the market, making up an estimated 73% of the national food supply and costing 52% less than healthier, minimally- processed alternatives (Ravandi et al). With such a large supply, there is a great demand to sell these products to consumers. Major food corporations rely on misleading labels, heavy marketing, and industry-funded research to manipulate consumers into buying more of their products. While these products are cheap, quick, convenient, and delicious, they are not components of a healthy diet.

This thesis argues that the best way to tackle the issue of ultra-processed food is by redirecting focus from …

Midlife, Michael Sevcik

Poetry MFA Theses

Abstract

Midlife by Michael James Sevcik is a collection of poetry that explores issues of age, gender, sexuality, identity, desire, family, and loss within a predominantly domestic space while addressing broader social, cultural, and philosophical issues using a phenomenological poetics grounded in everyday experience. The collection is organized into three distinct yet interrelated “movements:” the first movement, “Anchored,” establishes an existential yearning amidst professional and amorous stasis and familial pressures. The second movement, “Liminal,” explores temporality and its relationship to place and memory. The third movement, “Renewal,” incorporates travel, family history, and art, transforming them into critical modes of aesthetic …

Subculture And Identity As An Escape From The Societal Norms Of Power Imbalance And Authoritative Abuse, Sarah Goldberg

Master's Theses

By definition, a “bolthole” is an animal’s escape or burrow; or, a person’s escape or place of refuge. It also connotes construction, building, even sculpture - relating proletarian materials to themes of working-class labor and the need for escape. Through sculpture, installation, drawing, and oil painting, Bolthole as a body of work examines power imbalance as a societal norm, and identity and subculture as a rejection of the influence of capitalist institutions. Animal symbolism is used in combination with figurative work and portraiture, directly comparing power imbalances between humans to those in nature; such as predator and prey, parent and …

La Bayadere: An Examination Of The Romantic Era In The Modern Day, Charlene Font, Autumn Eckman, Kristopher Pourzal

Symposium of Student Scholars

The Romantic Era of art saw a shift from male to female dancers on stage. The female dancer became associated with mysticism and fantasy for the benefit of the male audience. With the onset of mysticism, came the idealization of death which was a common theme in many Romantic Ballets. The ballet, La Bayadère, is a Romantic Era ballet that has been adapted multiple times within the past half-century. However, in an effort to preserve its relevance to the modern-day audience, three ballerinas - Marianela Nuñez, Natalia Osipova, and Tamara Rojo - have altered the original choreography to present the …