Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Graff' And The City: Towards A Socially Conscious Aesthetic Theory Of Graffiti, Eric Chavez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Art is one of the most universal and oldest human activities; it is a human impulse rather than a skill. The invention of art and language occurred about 30,000 to 70,000 years ago. This “cognitive revolution”, going from homo sapiens to homo sapien sapiens, gave us the imaginative powers of language and art. No society as far as we know of thus far has been able to live without some form of art. Yet its exact definition is hard to jot down, much less explain. Art’s constant movement, transformations, its disappearances/reappearances, and even its proclaimed “death” throughout history has always …

Advances In Chemical Vapor Deposition Growth Of Molybdenum Disulfide For Photodetectors And Flexible Electronics, Carlos Francisco De Anda Orea

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The conversion of light into electrical signals is at the basis of technologies that affect our daily lives. Applications, including video imaging, optical communications, biomedical imaging, security, night-vision, gas sensing and motion detection have reached a high level of maturity due to the development of high-performance materials, large-scale production, and integration technologies. Currently conventional photodetectors made of Silicon (Si) or III-V compounds are about to reach their maximum efficiency, and every time it is harder to get a noticeable improvement in performance of sensors based on these materials, not to mention the complicated fabrication methods to achieve just a few …

Cultural Sovereignty And Cultural Violence: Native American Artists And The Dunn Studio, 1932-1962, Pamela Krch

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The early twentieth century engendered a period of profound change within the United States as industrialization, post-World War I miasma, and vigorous imperialism transformed the nation. The Southwest's Santa Fe provided a haven for the influx of White scientists, affluent socialites, and artists who sought authenticity through reinvention. Lighting upon the neighboring Indian communities, White elites soon appropriated Native culture, production, and imagery, seeing these as sources for nationalism, commodification, and as outlets for reformist aims. Art educator Dorothy Dunn stands as exemplary of the latter, as she fervently believed that the new genre of Native American easel art answered …

Art And Hyperreality, Alfredo Martin-Perez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

My Thesis pertains to philosophy of art. Its main purpose is a reconsideration of the notion of art as a response to claims stating the end of art, as in the case of the writings on hyperreality, stating that the transformation of reality, has resulted in a world that is permeated with a virtual reality that replaces traditional schemas for ways of living in the world, that valued the originality of art.

In the setting up of the subject, I will briefly mention descriptions of both reality and hyperreality, and the developments in art throughout the modern, and post modern …

Decollations, Joseph Mcbirnie

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The following presents the critical preface to the unpublished manuscript, Decollations. Through the tapestry metaphor, the author describes the process of creating the collection through the lenses of aesthetics, psychology and mythology.

Kandinsky's Nonrepresentational Art: Finding Meaning Through Aesthetic Experience, Kandice Nikkole Diaz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The art world is not one in which much scholarship has been conducted from a communication perspective. As such, this study attempts to add to the very little body of work that exists in the realms of both art and visual rhetoric. Abstract art, such as that of Wassily Kandinsky, is full of meaning despite the fact that it is nonobjective, and therefore considered meaningless. Using a rhetorical method, I argue that by examining the artwork of Wassily Kandinsky in certain contexts, it is possible to discover the meaning embedded in his abstract paintings, in particular his Compositions and Improvisations.

Preliminary Archaeological Investigations At The Sierra Diablo Cave Site: Paleoindian And Archaic Occupations In Hudspeth County, Texas, Jose Javier Vasquez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

It is generally rare to find archaeological sites in the Southwest that retain the type of contextual integrity that the Sierra Diablo Cave exhibits. Often times, cave sites such as the one currently studied offer excellent preservation of cultural materials due to the general lack of moisture and isolation from wind and water erosion. The research aimed to determine when the site was occupied as well as the types of activities that were occurring during those occupations. It exhibits an extensive stratigraphic sequence that contains a well pronounced Late Archaic Period assemblage (Strata A and B) and a Late Pleistocene/Early …

Art In A New Light: Design And Assessment Of Illuminants To Reduce Photochemical Degradation Of Works Of Art, Monica Fabiola Delgado

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to design the best lighting that will minimize long term photochemical degradation of Old Master Drawings and/or other works of art, while maintaining the patron's appreciation of the object's color and detail. The present approach is a technological refinement to the basic underlying earlier work on fluorescent lighting by W. A. Thornton, W.A. at General Electric1. Thin-film dielectric, multi-coating technology is used to create filters that eliminate ultraviolet light, near infrared light and significant unnecessary parts from the visible spectrum, thus maximizing the reduction in photochemical degradation, while maintaining optimal color rendering. Three interference …