Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Insulin Is My Fuel, Jean Paul Vivas

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The assertion that moments of play empower individuals to find balance amidst the tension of creation and destruction is a central tenet of my artistic philosophy. Through the expressive medium of painting, I have discovered that playfulness can serve as a responsive process that facilitates a flexible approach to coping with the complexities of identity, ideology, and morality. This fertile ground for creativity has become a means of defining a sense of life that is informed by my ongoing struggles with a diabetic medical condition. As my body's dependency on insulin necessitates a constant movement between the frustrations of daily …

Swimming Lessons: Exploring And Embracing The Graphic Memoir, Sophia Donati

Honors Theses

My thesis is both creative and analytical, delving into the graphic memoir genre and its components. My own graphic memoir is at the heart of this piece: Swimming Lessons, which I wrote and drew over the past four years. The first and main piece of my thesis is the 122-page completed draft of Swimming Lessons which details three significant parts of my life centering on my relationship with swimming. Following my graphic memoir is the analytical reflective essay which details the graphic memoir by situating Swimming Lessons in conversation with other prevalent texts in the genre. This piece centers on …

Unexpected Wins: Curating Comics And Teaching Manga From The Dark Horse Comics Collection, Elsa Loftis, Jon Holt

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

A familiar staple of entertainment for a wide variety of readers, the comic book has not always held a regular place in the academic library. Concerning themselves with collecting more traditional expressions of scholarship, libraries have not historically dedicated much of their acquisitions budgets to this area. Therefore, the comic book or graphic novel was largely relegated to someone’s personal collection and would more likely be found on the shelves of a comic book store than the shelves of a university library.

Fast-forward to the present day, where library collections more commonly provide access to comic books, either in regular …

New Frontiers In Technology: Can Traditional Intellectual Property Rights Laws Be Adapted And Applied To Nfts?, Mariyah S. Wakhariya

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

A decade ago, ‘NFTs’ were rarely heard of or known to anyone, unless they worked in or kept up with the tech world. However, they are not new - they have been around for almost two decades. Their popularity has grown over the past few years. ‘NFT’ stands for ‘non-fungible token’. An NFT is a digital file with a unique identity that is verified on a blockchain and is therefore not interchangeable - i.e., a kind of crypto asset, like an authentication certificate for digital artifacts. In theory, NFTs can represent almost any real or intangible property. These days, it …

Site, Sight, Swipe, Prada Marfa: A Case Study In Public Art, Cultural Tourism, And Image-Based Social Media Engagement, Ha'ani Joy Hogan

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Through a case study of Prada Marfa, a site-specific public art sculpture located in West Texas, this dissertation examines the connection of public art, cultural tourism, and image-based social media engagement. Little scholarship that combines all three areas of study exists. To fill this gap, this study incorporates five methods of research to determine how one public art sculpture's existence can contribute to its surrounding community by prompting economic activity and influencing the way that community is seen through a public lens. The five methods encompass a historical analysis of news articles about The City of Marfa and Prada …

Activist-Casual Game Design: Iterating Serious Games Through Research-Creation, Daniel J. King

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

How can activists and scholars design serious game projects that attract and engage people, that are inviting for many types of players, and that empower players to create positive change? My hypothesis was that the Activist-Casual Game Design Framework I published in 2021 could facilitate this work. I took a design-based research approach to answer my research question by way of demonstration and self-reflection through a creative case study of the production of an activist-casual game called Climate Somnia. Chapter 1 explains the literature review and synthesis behind the creation of the original framework, and Chapter 2 reviews the …

Arts 3103 Painting I, Marc Mitchell

All Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Uncoverings: The Research Papers Of The American Quilt Study Group - Volume 44 (2023), Joanna E. Evans, Lenna Demarco, Kathy Metelica Cray, Susan Price Miller, Katy Williams-O'Donnell, Marsha Macdowell, Berkley Sorrells, Marsha Music, Terry Tickhill Terrell

Uncoverings Journal

Preface by Joanna E. Evans

Cherry Tree and Birds Quilt Tracing the Roots of a Pattern by Lenna DeMarco

"Playthings by the Yard" Cut and Sew Doll and Toy Panels of the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries by Kathleen Metelica Cray

Amana Calico and Amana Quilts by Susan Price Miller

The 1697 Coverlet Tracing the Origin of an Early Patchwork Coverlet by Katy Williams-O'Donnell

The History and Meaning of an Inscribed Quilt from an African American Community in Detroit, Michigan by Marsha MacDowell, Berkley Sorrells, and Marsha Music

Peacock among the Ruins: The Evolution of a Textile Design by …

Warmth Of The Sun, Drake M. Gerber

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Warmth of the Sun, is a reflection on personal experiences I’ve had in the landscape while living in the Northwest. This curated experience is an attempt to capture my sincerity towards a place and hold onto that feeling. I intend to share faded memories of personal experiences through enigmatic sculptures to make the viewer look a bit closer at these objects and see the landscape in a new way. This paper explores thoughts on the idea of place, material, process, contemporary influences, and the experiences that inspired this body of work.

Crafting Community: A Ceramics Center, Nadia Mechboukh

Theses and Dissertations

For artisans, being part of a community can facilitate engaging with the public. Networking and collaborating with peers are vital for building meaningful relationships that can lead to mutual inspiration and learning opportunities. By strengthening the connection between society and various forms of craft, we can weave invisible threads that link the stories that craft tells with the time and place in which they were created. Pottery is a craft that has existed for thousands of years. Ceramics and clay have carried the history of communities and their ways of living through centuries and have been used as identifiers of …

Life Landmarks, Brian S. Morgenlander

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The research pertaining to my thesis shares the exploration of my identity that is manifested through the process of making ceramic sculptures. These sculptures are informed from the better part of a decade I spent traveling around the world which coincided with dealing with family issues. In both, my travels and time at home I continuously relied on others and in turn became stressed about things that I had no influence over. I highlight certain aspects of these experiences through my artwork as a way for me to channel the frustrations and ambiguities from these memories that are etched in …

Found And Fabricated, Molly S. Davis

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

My MFA written thesis addresses work completed and shown in a thesis exhibition at West Virginia University as well as significant influences to my studio process. While my stated focus is sculpture, the work presented in the exhibition consisted of three sculptural pieces and two sets of prints. This thesis, along with the supporting exhibition, addresses my investigations into the physical properties and tendencies of materials and how that information can guide and inform a work of art. Physical characteristics of the materials such as color, texture, shape, and weight are emphasized and guide the creation of the works in …

Expanses, Austin J. Buchanan

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This document will explain the nature of Austin Buchanan. This will go over the ideas, process, the executions, and the theories of my artwork. Explaining the ideas of space within, on, and around (outside), the picture plane.

The work included focuses on how a manipulated 2D surface evokes an experiential reaction. This manipulation enhances the actual experiences of real space that happens once someone becomes an observer of a 2D artwork and the conceptual idea of window space. This work challenges the ideas of the traditional picture plane illusion and the Flatbed surface or “Flatness” by expanding the picture plane …

Lights And Shadows - 2023, University Of North Alabama

Lights and Shadows

Art and Literature Magazine

Library Instruction Lesson Plan For Faf101 And Haf90, Ian Mcdermott

Open Educational Resources

This lesson plan is used for library instruction sessions for two First Year Seminar courses: HAF90 and FAF101. Both sources are for students studying fine and performing arts. This lesson plan focuses on two topics relevant to fine and performing arts students. One, closely looking at and interpreting a work of art. Two, finding information about that work of art using the Library and the Web. Additionally, students will explore information about careers in the arts.

Dance In Art, Michaela S. Lantrip

Visual Studies | Senior Theses

Dance in art can be seen in paintings created by artists such as Edgar Degas (1834-1917), Pierre Auguste-Renoir (1841-1919), Henri Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901), William Blake (1757-1827), John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), and Henri Matisse (1869-1954). Edgar Degas was a French Impressionist artist who was known for his work of arts featuring ballerinas. Pierre Auguste-Renoir was also a French Impressionist artist like Degas, but he was more so known for his real-life scenario paintings. Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, a French artist was known for his Art Nouveau and Post-Impressionist style. Toulouse-Lautrec illustrated some posters and paintings on Moulin Rouge. William Blake was an English poet, …

Waiting To Exhale, Abigail H. Ogle

Theses and Dissertations

We breathe as a measure of time, it keeps us alive, and fabricates the pattern of our lives. We are punctuated by “snarls,” “glitches,” or moments of irregularity – of trying to catch one's breath, having it taken away, or gasping for it. It is the punctuation of sighs, huffs, sniffs, scoffs, screams, and deep intakes that appear as glitches in the breathing system.

In our daily rhythm of breathing, the presence of the glitch, defined as potentiality, can create space for something unexpected or new to arise. Using the wind from fans and approximately 1,260 square feet of silk, …

Nuff Love: From Me To You, Katherine S. Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

The thesis exhibition, Nuff Love: From Me to You, explores the profound impact of diasporic memory on identity within the family structure, particularly for those who were born after immigration. This unpacking of memories is achieved through photographs, collages, and installations that reveal the distant and absent attributes that reside within the home. As a second-generation American of Afro-Jamaican descent, this thesis navigates how the dual identity becomes too complex and is never allowed to exist in a binary state. The constant state of in-betweenness between both cultures led to further questioning of selfhood beyond the Caribbean identity maintained by …

One In Every Twenty-Six, Rey'na Riggans

Capstone Showcase

There is a disorder that is rather common within the world and yet is not well known. It is a something that affects one in every twenty-six individuals. It is called epilepsy. Epilepsy is a neurological disorder in which a person to experience bursts of random electrical activity within their brains, these bursts being called "seizures." This article discusses this disorder and goes into detail about the forms of it, procedures that are done to try and help those living with epilepsy, and artwork that is inspired by this disorder.

Rabbit Hole, Olivia Wiebe

Scripps Senior Theses

Rabbit Hole explores an alternate reality which erupts within moments of insomnia, and posits it as a place of self-discovery. Though this Rabbit Hole is a personal one, the work implies that these worlds can be found within any person when they are alone. Digital spaces have become tools of absolute availability and distraction, capitalized on by companies who profit when our eyeballs are stuck to our screens. However, cyberspace was once dreamed of as a place of self-discovery and experimentation. Rabbit Hole is an attempt to reclaim digital space, and turn towards ourselves within technology. These individual “Rabbit Holes” …

菠蘿包(Pineapple Bun): Exploring Memory And Language Through Animation, Elaine Yang

Scripps Senior Theses

菠蘿包(Pineapple Bun) explores the themes of reconstruction, evocation, and memory through my childhood in Taiwan. Inspired by other Asian American animators, I aim to tell a simple story of connection through my grandfather and I's daily swimming ritual. The film is a 3-minute animated short film following our language barrier and how we engage with each other's differing backgrounds.

2023-2024 Risd Course Catalog, Risd Registrar's Office, Risd Archives

RISD Course Catalogs / Announcements

No abstract provided.

Tradiciones, Selena Medellin

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

In the organic ceramic forms I create, I provide a look into memories of growing up with my late grandfather, a first generation Mexican-American. Our house was adorned with Mexican paintings, an altar for those that had passed, and traditional textiles such as sarapes, rugs, and blankets. I learned stories of our ancestors, the myths and legends of our native land, and that you must celebrate both life and death. I use the combination of ceramics and mixed media to convey both the vibrancy and solemnity of Mexican tradition. In my work, I reference Aztec Gods and Goddesses, Mexican textiles, …

Seeking Translation, Taryn Sakry

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

I am interested in how we navigate and understand the world around us. As we move through life, meeting different people and having new experiences, we develop a language of self-interpretation that allows us to communicate intangibles such as ideas, values, and emotions. Within this body of work, I explore this idea of translating self, highlighting the reinterpretation of memory and emotion through color and narrative. Seeking Translation includes woodcut, intaglio, silkscreen, and stone lithography prints. The multiplicity of printmaking allows me to experiment with the effects of different colors and juxtaposition of different materials and mediums. And while the …

An Exploration Into Public Art, Samantha Fazio

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project explores both the processes of designing and creating a mural and the community impact of public art. It aims to answer questions including: What goes into creating a mural? What is public art and why is it important? How does it socially and economically impact the community and its members? In doing this project, I aimed to gain a deeper understanding of how to create a mural and of the greater cultural context that public art projects exist in.

Graphic Design & Painting, Emily Zepp

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Starting with the desire to explore the connection between GD and painting, I realized the only difference between the two is the context in which the work is created. Both graphic design and painting seek to impart messages upon the viewer and explore a certain perspective. Success can be measured in both disciplines by the effectiveness of the communicated message.

Remembered Spaces: Navigating Memory Through Drawing, Leeann Rae

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This thesis reflects my research and studio practice into how memory is gathered, interpreted, and affects the present. I discuss my historical and contemporary artistic influences, my history, and my visual narratives. I construct layered drawings using charcoal and soft pastel to interpret how we understand our inherently flawed memory. Memory can be clear and easy to understand but simultaneously distorted and convoluted. When recalling a memory, I purposely keep my initial drawn gestures visible to show the pentimenti or shift in marks. The materials, processes, and subject matter in this body of work encourages viewers to navigate the drawn …

The Old One And La Mer, Karter Tod Bernhardt

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

No abstract provided.

Women's Hall Of Fame, Brianna Kean

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

No matter how you identify we can all take actions in support of gender equality. Women have come a long way in society since Sacagawea’s time, but that doesn’t mean we live in an equal world. I was inspired by these ten women, and I hope you are too. Take that inspiration and turn it into action, so that maybe one day people might honor you for supporting women’s rights. This project honors ten women throughout history that have made an impact on women's rights and societal values. I created a portrait, a bio, and a poem that aims at …

Symbols In Sketchbooks, Diana Rice

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

My installation is an expression of the sketchbook in the sense that it is an object bound by time. Specifically, it is the assemblage of time, cognition, and the materiality of the sketchbook. The installation consists of various sized papers interlinked by tied thread. On the papers are drawings and sketches arranged in proximity to other sketches that are the inspiration or iteration of one another. Thus, a web of evolution is created. This project is an exploration of how images are created and evolved, such as symbols, and how the material construction and physical presentation of the installation affects …