Theory and Criticism Commons^™

Conservation Through Art: Saving Alabama Hemlocks, Kelly A. Wacker

Art Inquiries

No abstract provided.

Napoleon’S Corpse And The Subversion Of Historical And Political Authority, Alissa Rachel Adams

Art Inquiries

This article examines printed depictions of Napoleon Bonaparte’s exhumed corpse in conjunction with Romantic historical practice in nineteenth-century France. Current studies on history in the Romantic age emphasize Romantic historicism’s link to a widespread and frustrated yearning for direct access to the past that will settle the upheavals of the revolutionary period. This study considers how the corpse and its representations fulfill the desire for direct access to the past but, in doing so, also contributes to a proliferation of individual understandings of the past—and future. Through an analysis of representations of the corpse, their sources, and their connection to …

The Inner Form Of Style: On Heinrich Wölfflin’S “Tactical” Formalism, Rémi Mermet

Artl@s Bulletin

In this article, I examine the enduring relevance of Heinrich Wölfflin’s approach to style, in light of the renewed interest in it among “postformalist” art historians. By delving into the theoretical foundations of the Principles of Art History, I explore Wölfflin’s Goethean interpretation of Kantian epistemology, revealing a conception of style characterized by its dynamic and symbolic “inner form” rather than mere static formalism. This analysis not only highlights affinities with Max Weber’s thought but also uncovers a previously overlooked connection to Wilhelm von Humboldt, offering valuable insights for current discussions on style.

Dans cet article, j’étudie la pertinence …

Speculum Feminarum: Feminine Representation And Identity In Fifteenth-Century France, Karli R. Snyder

Art & Art History ETDs

Late medieval views of women in Western European culture, specifically in fifteenth-century France, were predicated on the ideologies of "other." According to normative sociocultural attitudes of this period, women were immoral, lascivious, and indulged in frivolity. Their culturally acceptable and, therefore, natural roles were delineated solely as that of wife and mother. Although the origin of these views is obscured by time, there are scores of textual and visual examples of this cultural labeling. This thesis focuses on how the ideologies of feminine sociocultural roles developed and matured during the late Middle Ages. By comparatively analyzing copies of the visual …

A Home For Literature, Elizabeth Kapsch

SPARK Symposium Presentations

1813 was a big year for Chatsworth, although no one living there knew it. In theory, it was a year like any other. William George Spencer Cavendish, the 6th Duke of Devonshire, had inherited the estate from his father two years prior, and just a year ago had made an impressive purchase of the entirety of the Bishop of Ely’s library–his book-adoring mother, of course, would be proud. William had no marital prospects, nor would he ever. In thirteen years, he would begin work with famous architect Joseph Paxton. Unbeknownst to twenty-three-year-old William, this partnership would result in some of …

Shadow Of Death: Mortality In The Mythological Art Of Nicolas Poussin, William Whitledge

Theses and Dissertations

For this thesis I look at six works by Nicolas Poussin, Venus and Adonis (c. 1627-1630), Narcissus and Echo (c. 1630), Landscape with Man Pursued by Snake (c. 1637), Landscape with Man Killed by Snake (c. 1648), Landscape with Orpheus and Eurydice (c. 1648-1650), and Landscape during a Thunderstorm with Pyramus and Thisbe (c. 1651). I explore the themes of mortality and the concept of inevitable death as it is emphasized by the choices of subject matter, the composition of the works, and the use of light in the works. Through extensive visual analysis and research of the current body …

Shifting Forms: Queer Placemaking Amidst Neoliberalism In New York City Through Art, Colin J. Donnelly

Geography Undergraduate Senior Theses

This project explicates how queer people produce space for themselves through art in New York City amidst the prevalent neoliberal frameworks that have existed since the 1980s. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with queer artists and nonprofit workers, participant observation in art spaces, and close reading of art compiled through archival work, I explore sites of presentation (places in which art is displayed) and modes of presentation (how specific artists decide to present their art). I analyze museums and nonprofit spaces, and engage with queer artists that create what I consider to be site-specific art. I zoom in on spatial art …

Threading With Hair // Intertwined Stories, Cloris Ding

Masters Theses

“Threading with Hair // Intertwined Stories” is a poignant exploration that navigates the nuanced landscape of women's growth and identity recognition amidst biased societal influences, tracing the trajectory from the artist’s mother's generation to her own. Through a deeply personal lens, the thesis transcends individual narratives to articulate some shared female experiences. Employing reflective works in the form of jewelry, objects and writings, the study delves into female-centric topics, including the fluidity of identity, the transformative journey through various life stages, and the profound impact of societal expectations and family heritage. At the heart of this exploration is the metaphorical …

Frontier: Land, Architecture, And Abstraction, Jacob Boatman

Masters Theses

The abstraction of land is a colonial process by which physical land is transformed into a conceptual or symbolic entity. This transformation occurs through various economic, architectural, and cultural practices that imbue land with abstract values, meanings, and functions beyond its physicality. This includes the division of land into parcels for economic transactions, the design and construction of built environments that shape human interactions with the land, and the cultural narratives and representations that ascribe significance to particular landscapes. Through abstraction, colonial powers devalue indigenous perspectives and relationships to the land, reducing them to mere obstacles in the path of …

Industrial Tenderness, Elbert Girón

Masters Theses

Industrial Tenderness surveys the relationship between visual language, cultural expression, and diasporic practices through the design of functional sculptures. These designed objects seek to communicate cultural legibility, or intuitive cultural belonging, to Mexican-American peoples by challenging legacy notions of design language. Through a proposed design language framework and designed objects, Industrial Tenderness seeks to affirm a pluriversal practice of industrial design.

Legacy industrial design confines design language to a heavily prescriptive canon, resulting in a stark monocultural language that is unrepresentative of perspectives outside of a legacy dominant white eurocentricity founded in thinking from the Bauhaus and Ulm schools. Through …

Knowledge Production And The Unthinkable: Weaving Stories Of Art, Gender, And Land, Christin Huntsman

Master's Theses

Colonialism is deeply and violently embedded in Western knowledge formation—dominant power structures produce epistemes that uphold and perpetuate colonial narratives. This kind of knowledge production forecloses other possibilities. Western discourse of truth becomes universalized to the point that other worldviews, other knowledges that do not conform to hegemonic norms, are suppressed or silenced. This thesis examines three areas of hegemony and erasure: art, gender, and land. First, the history of art clearly marks a delineation between Western elitist artistic masterpieces and non-Western ethnographic artifacts. Eurocentrism of art in the academy determines what counts as art and how art is categorized. …

Queerform/Ing, Matthew Solon-Lee Weimer

Art Theses and Dissertations

My artwork is situated within and around vessels and the Queer Homoerotic World and explores sexuality as a Demisexual within them. This is accomplished through the two processes of my creation, Minivague and Queerform/ing: balancing sexual tension and explicit expression, while subverting traditional norms and stereotypes with queerness to distance oneself from stereotypical Gay Art. Altering/emphasizing makes the artwork more romantic, lighter, whimsical, softer, and tender than the figure/s and the situations actually are. The process is also emphasizing what one sees or wants to be seen. The Pink Boy becomes a celebration of intimacy of any form. I discuss …

Texas Gothic, Taryn Uribe Turner

Art Theses and Dissertations

The emotional and the ecological combine to create my body of work titled, “Texas Gothic.” My thesis tells the stories of my oil paintings created through personal connections to a variety of landscapes, animals and experiences that share the setting of Texas.

Desire and regret take shape as animals and figures not fully formed or real. Unreliable narratives of the past are entangled with present tensions to create a painting that haunts and stalks.

And yet, there is hope!

Through nostalgia and sweetness and burdens, my paintings confront a shrouded future. The contradictions of time passing are explored in my …

With Love, ; An Interdisciplinary And Intersectional Look At Why Creativity Is Essential, Theo Starr Gardner

Whittier Scholars Program

My Whittier Scholars Program self-designed major, Teaching Creativity, is a mixture of Art, Literature, and Education classes. My research and praxis classes have been focused on the ‘how?’s and 'why?’s of creativity, so it felt only right that my project should be a constructivist, generative project. The project I have been working on throughout my time at Whittier, and that has just fully come to fruition on April 11th, 2024, was a solo art gallery/open mic event entitled ‘With Love,’. With Love, was conceptually inspired by the research I’ve conducted on creativity and creative arts education over the past few …

The Question Of Design In The Context Of The First Australian Nations: Designing Reparations Through Decolonial Architecture, Eli Abamonte

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Forget about tourist postcards and picture-perfect landscapes. Australia's true heart beats in the ancient stories of the Indigenous communities that tell them, their vibrant cultural tapestry woven beneath the surface. My research dives into this tapestry, not as an Architect with blueprints imposing my own vision, but as a student with an open ear and collaborative spirit. Australia’s vastness holds countless stories, but my research led me deep into the heart of East Arnhem Land, where ancient legends whisper in the wind and the Yolngu people dwell. Anthropologists like Bruno Descola shattered my singular view of the world, revealing a …

A Biography And Case Study On Marthe Wéry Her Ceaseless Exploration Of The Components Of Painting: Tracing Journeys In The Artist’S Life And Work, Sarah Grace Jones

Theses and Dissertations

My thesis investigates Belgian artist Marthe Wéry’s oeuvre, determines art-historical contexts for her paintings, and examines the many milestones that exemplify her work. Her monochromatic paintings, radical experiments with paint, empirical way of thinking, and exploration of architecture defend her robust career and demand involvement in today’s art historical conversation.

A Taste For The Distasteful: The Aesthetics Of Gore In The Giallo And Horror Films Of Mario Bava, Thais Casado Bignardi-Engstrom

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the Italian experience with horror in cinema in both psychoanalytic feminist and cognitive Marxist critical film theories through a study of visual renderings of excessive violence and sex in gothic and thrillers known as giallo films created by the film director Mario Bava. This is an art historical study that looks at Bava’s work against the Italian cultural landscape in the post war period.

Aguaaaa!!!, Cory Villegas

Theses and Dissertations

“AGUA” is a call for new models of learning and sharing, celebrating the diasporic as a place of global revolution. Salsa, rooted in Latin American and Afro-Caribbean histories, is choreographer Cory Villegas’s expression of cultural legacy. As an Afro-diasporic dance, Salsa carries the wealth and variety of African and Indigenous roots. Villegas contextualizes her thesis event “Las Leyendas: An Afro Cuban Suite,” presenting herself and her troupe Soul Dance Co. as evidence that contradicts the erasure of Latin & Caribbean Culture in US dance history. The paper uses English and Spanish, written, visual, and oral materials with an accompanying webpage.

Mourning Before Death: Ferdinand Hodler And Valentine Godé-Darel, Nicolas Dowling

Theses and Dissertations

“Mourning Before Death” explores Ferdinand Hodler's (1853-1918) artistic relationship with death and grief culminating in an examination of his series of paintings and drawings depicting the slow death of his mistress, Valentine Godé-Darel. This thesis primarily utilizes the theories of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross as a framework for understanding Hodler’s work.

Southern And Caribbean Transnational Black Feminist Dialogues In Contemporary Art, Adria Gunter

Theses and Dissertations

“Southern and Caribbean Black Feminist Transnational Dialogues in Contemporary Art” presents a Black feminist reading of the transnational cultural forms, as well as the political and social histories between the Southern United States and the Caribbean through the works of Andrea Chung, Allison Janae Hamilton, and Tamika Galanis.