Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Birthdays Without You, Natasha Ng, Special Collections, Fleet Library

11th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest 2025

Entry for the 11th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest. Opening reception and award ceremony Wednesday, February 19, 2025 at 6:30pm, Fleet Library, Main Reading Room. Juror: Roger S. Williams.

V.1 Fall 2024, Center For Arts & Language, Students Of Risd, Risd Archives

All Student Newspapers

v.1 is a publishing platform for the ongoing work, ideas, discussions, debates, and aspirations of students at the Rhode Island School of Design. The Fall 2024 issue contains articles on RISD Alumni Graciela Batista's Commencement speech on friendship and community, Britain's Royal Festival Hall, birds crashing into glass buildings, an Ojibwe student's reflecting on his native identity, RISD student interviews, an abandoned Bed Bath and Beyond store, Ai Weiwei's Kui Hua Zi, life in Banaras, a student's Yankee Swap experience, the 2024 RISD Grad Show, and indentations, along with student creative writing and a feature on images students saw out …

I Dreamed Of A Future, Manuela Guzmán, Special Collections, Fleet Library

11th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest 2025

Entry for the 11th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest. Opening reception and award ceremony Wednesday, February 19, 2025 at 6:30pm, Fleet Library, Main Reading Room. Juror: Roger S. Williams.

Exploratory Laparotomy, Maya Lakshmi Srinivasan, Special Collections, Fleet Library

11th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest 2025

Entry for the 11th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest. Opening reception and award ceremony Wednesday, February 19, 2025 at 6:30pm, Fleet Library, Main Reading Room. Juror: Roger S. Williams.

Zombies Don’T Fall In Love, Marie You, Special Collections, Fleet Library

11th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest 2025

Entry for the 11th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest. Opening reception and award ceremony Wednesday, February 19, 2025 at 6:30pm, Fleet Library, Main Reading Room. Juror: Roger S. Williams.

Settling Dust, Unsettling Ground, Olivia Newroz

Masters Theses

Understanding dust as a material system that blurs the line between ground and atmosphere, I developed a dust machine as a tool for making dust legible at the human scale. While the blurriness of ground is visualized at both particle and planetary scales, at the human scale, it becomes less evident. Drawing from Lisa’s Moffitt’s discussion of “environmental models”–that is, models that don’t merely simulate phenomena, in this case dust, but rather produce the underlying force itself––I produced visualizations of how dust, as both a grounded and atmospheric element, intertwines ground and weather across scales, through a cyclical process of …

Codex Occultus, Aya Abdallah

Masters Theses

The occult reveals itself in ruins, ruptures, and rituals, evoking a melancholic sense of loss that invites revelation and reenactment. CODEX OCCULTUS is an investigation into divinatory practices, namely coffee reading, as a methodology of speculating fictions and realities embedded in contested time-spaces. The method relies on a ‘failure to capture’ geopolitical sites using traditional technologies of seeing. Codex Occultus operates in different mediums and takes shape as a video, a sculpture, a machine, a talisman, and an archive emphasizing that an excess of imagery in both physical and digital spaces is necessary.

Umbrella And Jellyfish, Yanran Bi

Masters Theses

Rainy season arrives as soon as the summer begins in Shanghai. For some reason, I rarely remember to bring an umbrella with me. I have a lot of umbrellas, most of them are transparent ones bought at subway stations. When it suddenly starts pouring rain, umbrella vendors in Shanghai gather at each crowded exit of the subway sta- tions to sell umbrellas to people like me. The cheapest umbrellas they have are always the transparent ones. The whole city is turned upside down by the rain with its reflections on every street. Then a transparent umbrella opens up, then another, …

Half Dawn, Catherine Ashley

Masters Theses

By presenting these words on paper, I have given entry into a microcosm of recent research, questions, and creative explorations. There is potential for disconnection when trying to turn your head inside out and present it in a way that feels beautiful for other people. I’m trusting the moments of authenticity I’ve found in my wandering. Segue. Relationship. Gesture. Illusion. My musings all stem from notions of temporality. Time dances on the farthest ends of both immensity and desolation. I’ve spent stretches of time asking the people, texts, and experiments around me to define time in a way that I …

Creative Connections: Building Empathy To Foster Ecoliteracy Through Art Education, Jocelyn Salim

Masters Theses

This thesis investigates the potential positive impact of fostering empathy and understanding for the natural world through art education. Through action research, this study examines various teaching approaches, such as incorporating scientific knowledge, employing literature to discuss ecological themes, and engaging in participatory storytelling activities to cultivate empathy among elementary school children. The objective of this thesis is to explore empathy as a potential pathway to encourage children to foster connections with the natural world and develop compassionate traits, attitudes, and behaviors towards nature as they grow. The findings of this study reveal that children exhibit high levels of enthusiasm …

Rejected Manuscripts, Yangqi Deng

Masters Theses

Rejected Manuscripts is a series of visual metaphors reconstructed from hyperlink research. It explores the representation, perception, and processing of information as fact across three projects, highlighting the pervasive influence of fiction throughout each stage. It investigates forms of fact versus fiction to bring awareness to multi-perspective and from that explores the intricate interplay between reality and imagination.

This thesis consists of three chapters. Chapter 1 falls into an abyss of fictional imagery intertwined with factual information. From there, the second chapter explores how we observe the world and how technology affects our vision. Chapter 3 discusses how this information …

Wild Joy: An Exploration In Queer Spatial Dynamics, Kipper Thomas Reinsmith

Masters Theses

What does it mean to feel represented in a space?

What does a trans space look like?

How can we queer our interior spaces?

Our world is crafted by the many designers that have come before us. These systems, products, and spaces are built upon assumptions of the bodies that will use and occupy them—namely cisgender, able-bodied, straight folks.

Designing and creating objects as a trans person is an act of radical nature. To take up space, to design for trans luxury, for the sake of beauty, for joy itself, feels counterintuitive to the narratives we’ve been served: that of …

America, Dreaming., Sarah Meftah

Masters Theses

There is a version

of America

that exists

only in dreams,

a kind of folklore,

shrouded in images,

technicolor interiors,

wrapped in plastic,

ghosts of recent past

to haunt and guide;

a constant reminder.

Wishful thinking

a constructed imaginary,

one I can hold in my hand.

Popular culture and spectacle, America and the domestic ideal, capitalism and the collective unconscious of a national identity. As an artist, I am interested in the myriad images that manifest for a viewer when they think of the spectacle of American pop culture, its domestic archetypes, and the material worship it revolves around. My …

Unfurling Blue Carpet Memories, Sara Ahli

Masters Theses

Glass is an amorphous solid, existing in a liminal space, embodying indeterminacy. Its states of transformation from viscous flow to structural solidity carry the imprints of bodily influence. With the direct intention of using glass as a conduit to explore materiality, memory, and self-awareness, I construct a language of embodiment that arises through a series of performative encounters between my physicality and glass in the hot shop.

The mediating process I employ to create and arrive at the glass artwork I make is as necessary as its final form. Motivated by the desire to claim agency over my personal narrative, …

Emotional Factory, Yukun Cui

Masters Theses

该项目设想将上海一个历史悠久的仓库改造成一个创新的、以情感为主题的联合办公空间，超越传统的办公环境。在工作环境质量深刻影响生产力和幸福感的时代，该项目旨在创造一个协调身体、心理和情绪健康的空间。该设计融合了促进健康的元素，例如健身设施、美食和丰富的绿色植物，确保居住者在整个工作日中保持动力和灵感。该项目涉及个人与其环境之间的动态互动。认识到传统的办公室布局往往会限制移动和空间感知，我们的设计引入了一个固有的动态工作空间。灵活的布局，可调节的家具和可移动的隔板使空间能够适应各种活动和需求。互动元素和视觉刺激全天变化，鼓励探索和互动，而不需要持续的身体运动。使用不同的纹理、颜色和照明方案创造了一种多感官体验，使空间充满活力和不断变化的感觉。通过结合这些元素，该项目旨在重新定义现代工作空间，创造一个不仅能提高生产力，而且能丰富人类工作体验的环境。这种创新方法旨在为全球联合办公空间设定新标准，培养社区意识、创造力和幸福感。最终，该项目旨在创造一个开创性的环境，增强人类的工作体验，展示工作空间设计在广泛影响和改善情绪和心理健康方面的潜力。

Sweet Relief, Aaron Feltman

Masters Theses

Relief holds both an emotional and a physical connotation; both the lifting of a burden or emotional baggage and the description of an object with forms that protrude from a planar surface. This thesis explores the ways in which these connotations can co-mingle and inform each other through the creation of hand-carved wooden reliefs. The relief becomes a vessel through which an emotional connection can be formed between viewer and maker by way of a shared sense of labor.

Wood, a material grown from the earth, is transformed into an entirely human-created form, the car; embodying the just-as-human desire for …

Making Room, Rachel Strompf

Masters Theses

Massachusetts is the only state in the United States with a right-to-shelter law which guarantees shelter for families with children and pregnant women.¹ As of February 2024, 3,500 homeless families with children are being sheltered in a motel or hotel with an average length of stay of 14 months, because traditional family shelters have reached capacity.^2,3 While these families are provided temporary shelter, these shelters do not allow for the development of a true sense of “home.” While a motel meets the needs of rudimentary shelter, motels were never designed as long-term accommodations and certainly not with a …

The Researcher, Esther Du, Special Collections, Fleet Library

11th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest 2025

Entry for the 11th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest. Opening reception and award ceremony Wednesday, February 19, 2025 at 6:30pm, Fleet Library, Main Reading Room. Juror: Roger S. Williams.

Jugaatronics, Monica Bhyrappa

Masters Theses

Jugaatronics is a body of work that aims to address the current e-waste issues by designing consumer electronics that are repurposable, creating new electronics and objects. This project is born from the cultural practice of 'Jugaad' - the practice of repurposing everyday objects to extend their usability, a form of frugal innovation deeply embedded in my upbringing in India.

Most electronic devices are often discarded at the first sign of malfunction—deemed unnecessary. My thesis highlights this throwaway culture by integrating the concept of Jugaad(repurpose) into the lifecycle of electronic products, demonstrated as a hairdryer.

By showcasing potential repurposing opportunities at …

A Living Storyscape, Vivian Combariza

Masters Theses

Advocating for a transformative shift, the following proposes a new cultural setting that fosters diverse voices and dialogue, moving away from the singular narratives imposed by traditional curator-visitor dynamics. By drawing inspiration from nature's complexity and mirroring museums with ecosystems, the aim of this thesis is to emulate the adaptability and interconnectedness of natural ecosystems to develop flexible and inclusive environments, encouraging community engagement and shared learning experiences. This new design paradigm fosters a deeper connection with nature and other beings despite the physical separation. Embracing the collaboration and flexibility of nature, cultural institutions can regain relevance as vibrant centers …

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 …

Waste Illuminates Worlds: Printed Modular Lamp Design Based On Brick And Clay Tile, Yechen Zhu

Masters Theses

The building industry in the New England area is often in a state of entropy, with abandoned brick buildings contributing to urban decay. The recycling rate of brick and clay tile wastes generated by construction and demolition is only 12.2%, meaning the majority is sent to landfills. The expansion of landfills can lead to significant environmental and community challenges, including increased traffic from waste transport, habitat destruction, ecosystem degradation, and contributions to climate change. Specifically, the Bethlehem landfill in New Hampshire, which is planned to undergo a 5.71-acre lateral expansion through 2026, has already encountered issues such as leachate spills …

Outside_In, Zixuan Zhang

Masters Theses

In the post-COVID era, the importance of maintaining a connection with the external environment has become even more prominent. Outside_in is a series of ongoing installations located at the openings of modern buildings (spaces in between the interior and exterior) that can connect with or receive climatic resources such as wind, rainwater, sunlight, and more. Its purpose is to rethink and challenge how we can enhance the relationship with and awareness of climate and nature in our future indoor spaces through innovative experiential methods. This approach prioritizes the use of natural materials, supplemented by modern materials, and emphasizes the empathic …

Lucid Dream: Embracing Uncertainty, Zhiyun Zhang

Masters Theses

Glass is a tool, a projection surface, a medium for optical phenomena. It creates a tangible link between physical space and perception, transcending the physical realm to reshape our sensory perceptions and resonate within our psyche, deepening our understanding. Inspired by cosmic and natural phenomena, my installations narrate the contemplation of the moon and the appreciation of rainbows. They reference historic optical technologies, incorporating glass, mirrors, light, darkness, and space to produce an encounter that extends beyond personal experience, resonating with our collective unconscious, uniting us in profound ways. The blurred boundaries between observer and observed, reality and illusion, sensory …

Function Follows Material, Pablo Ejarque González

Masters Theses

Dear Designer,

How often do we find ourselves lost in the design process, unsure of the next steps? It’s tempting to view every aspect of design as a problem needing a solution. However, function is not a problem. For a long time, I approached design from a problem-solving perspective, treating material as a secondary consideration after the idea had already formed. This approach needed to change.

This book is a journey—a map of material exploration. It is an embrace of experimentation and innate curiosity. Many of the experiments conducted did not culminate in finished furniture pieces, yet this does not …

Recomposing Museums: Designing Rhythmic Experiences For Short Attention Spans In The Digital Age, Yujiang Wu

Masters Theses

Learning, being the primary aspiration of museums, “is a byproduct of attention.”¹ A visitor’s ability to focus and sustain attention on the objects, narratives, and messages within the exhibition environment profoundly influences their overall experience and the educational impact of their visit.

In an era of rapid digital evolution, changes in how information is consumed and communicated have led to shorter attention spans. Traditional museums, which are rooted in continuous, linear storytelling, now face a need for adaptation. This thesis advocates for an innovative exhibition design approach tailored to the realities of shorter attention spans, proposing curatorial and design …

An Abundance Of Caution, Gonçalo Preto Jorge

Masters Theses

Abstract

An Abundance of Caution

3 puffs and breathing stabilizes...

Must have been the pollen last night.

Quiça

An eerie sense of emptiness takes over

And incidentally

The inability to express and verbalize any articulated thought.

Quiça

I seek sensations...experiences. To indulge.

The fascination with dreamscapes hails from the daunting lack of them.

Poooooxa

I listen, imagine, and process scenarios around me

In a precarious attempt to interpret and translate instances into something meaningful.

Oxalá, Matéria pictórica.

Oxalá.

I see my shadow but only an elusive silhouette

I observe the way it follows the wall and fades into the sidewalk, …

Lost Stories, Yuxuan Huang

Masters Theses

The owner of the laundromat by the corner of my temporarily sublet room in New York once told me his life story randomly on the last day I went to dry my bedding. We had never spoken before because we both weren't sure if the other spoke Mandarin.

It’s a long and intricate one, so long and intricate that he could write his own book and become the protagonist of a realist novel. If one word could describe this world and the life we all live, it should be “Wuchang.” According to various authoritative Chinese-to-English dictionaries, it could mean unpredictable, …

One Of One Of A Kind, Dominic Rishe

Masters Theses

This thesis probes the discourse around the increasing use of advanced digital tools in art and design, and articulates a paradoxical stance that these tools are re-illuminating a set of old ideas - ideas that have been preserved in a lineage of craft movements, historically perceived as anti-technological, nostalgic, or backwards-looking.

Over the last two decades, the use of generative and computational tools in art and design has evolved from a niche, experimental activity to a fully-fledged epochal movement, rising across all disciplines from architecture and graphic design to film and illustration.

Craft, which has always found its definition unstable …

Repair Rolodex: Exchanges, Changes, And Patchwork Parables, Ethan Howard

Masters Theses

This book is an index of nine exchanges with strangers whom I met online through email Listservs or by word of mouth. In these transactions, I offered to repair broken things for a trade-in-kind payment. Through the brief relationship between owner and designer, each interaction suggests that an object is almost never entirely obsolete despite its perceived obsolescence.

At the core of these trades is a grassroots protest of the landfill and a critique of our global capitalist commerce system. The apparent desire for and nature of these trades demonstrates that stories make our objects meaningful. Each interplay studies peoples’ …