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Theses and Dissertations

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Ancient West Mexican Sculpture: A Formal And Stylistic Analysis Of Eleven Figures In The Virginia Museum Of Fine Arts, Crista Anne Pack Jan 2006

Ancient West Mexican Sculpture: A Formal And Stylistic Analysis Of Eleven Figures In The Virginia Museum Of Fine Arts, Crista Anne Pack

Theses and Dissertations

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) has in its collection eleven ancient West Mexican ceramic sculptures. Given that the VMFA's West Mexican Ceramic figure collection has not been included in any extensive study, this thesis serves to provide a critical analysis of these figures through a formal and stylistic approach. These analyses are preceded by a brief history of the West Mexican cultures and highlight the artistic similarities and differences between each region. The primary regions under discussion are Colima, Nayarit, and Jalisco which correspond to modern geopolitical boundaries. Primary sources for these discussions are the figures themselves, while …


From Below Table Mesa, Cynthia Grier Lotze Jan 2006

From Below Table Mesa, Cynthia Grier Lotze

Theses and Dissertations

I lived in Boulder, Colorado longenough, and I dreamed low-resolutiondreams, sharp only at eyes and slow movinghands.Kate's hair was a cloud of insurrectionon the tarmac, then I would watch the hoursmelt off the wings of her plane as eachstate became not-Tennessee, not-Kansas.I wanted to meet her in the air; Icould will this without a plane, with sadness,with need, I would enter the plane in flightand I would say, "Kate, take me home," and shewould turn the plane around. Everythingwould become not-Colorado, not thisstaticky dream, hard breath miles up from the sea.


A Shift In Perspective, Andrew Patrick Ilnicki Jan 2006

A Shift In Perspective, Andrew Patrick Ilnicki

Theses and Dissertations

Responsible design practice should include environmental advocacy and a focus on community — subjects often lacking in design education. My creative project is the result of investigations into how designers integrate nature into their design process. By increasing their awareness for communal and environmental advocacy at the undergraduate level, students can develop responsible design practices at the beginning of their career. The result is the student's accumulation of integrity.


Dirty Laundry, Mona Mullins Williams Jan 2006

Dirty Laundry, Mona Mullins Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Making art is cathartic for me. Working in a visual medium allows me to communicate ideas and feelings that I would find difficult to express in words. I use a wide variety of traditional and non-traditional materials as symbolic elements in my work. While the pieces are not always pretty, my goal is that they contain an element of irony and humor which helps us laugh at ourselves.


Ross Caudill Mfa Sculpture 2006, Ross Steven Caudill Jan 2006

Ross Caudill Mfa Sculpture 2006, Ross Steven Caudill

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis overviews my experience during graduate school making tangible,object oriented sculpture. I have been working formally to compose space in a way that develops a narrative between parts. The work is also a bridge between the fields of painting and sculpture, in terms of drawing with form and both painted and local, material color. My palette has mostly consisted of bronze casting, steel fabrication, fiberglass and epoxy resin, paint, the found object, woodworking, and mold making. This work is also conceptually based in showing the hand worked qualities of the materials, the transfer of meaning through casting, and my …


Raubeaux Scientician, Joe W. Grant Iii Jan 2006

Raubeaux Scientician, Joe W. Grant Iii

Theses and Dissertations

The works contained in "Raubeaux Scientician" are about a triadic relationship between people, science, and art. The obsessions, of individuals and the apparent change brought about by their physical presence guide my artistic research. I am awestruck at the capabilities of the individual to overcome conventional thought and through creative action yield a new vision. Some of the people I am fascinated by put forth theories and inventions that continue to affect myriad aspects of our world today. Among those at the forefront are, Robert Oppenheimer, and Edward Teller. Their contributions to science and mathematics remain almost unmatched. These and …


The Theatre That Will Be: 'Devised Theatre' Methodologies And Aesthetics In Training And Practice, Lisa Kathleen Jackson Jan 2006

The Theatre That Will Be: 'Devised Theatre' Methodologies And Aesthetics In Training And Practice, Lisa Kathleen Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis details my process of teaching Devising Theatre, a course of my own design, in Spring of 2005 and Fall of 2005. I address my curricular development from semester to semester (readings, assignments, assessments) as well as the students' responses to the material. Additionally, I discuss my reasons for teaching the course and the place that alternative theatre can and should have in theatre training programs and in the realization of feminist pedagogy.


Foliage And Fabrication, Carrie Rosicky Garvey Jan 2006

Foliage And Fabrication, Carrie Rosicky Garvey

Theses and Dissertations

In my photographic work, I contrast natural and man-made objects abstracted by manipulation of scale. Details of the objects are blown up to proportions larger than life. By distorting the scale, I aim to allow the audience to view the image out of context, enabling the viewer to see it for its aesthetic value rather than the object's functional purpose.


Reviving His Work: Social Isolation, Religious Fervor And Reform In The Burned Over District Of Western New York, 1790-1860, Patricia Lewis Noel Jan 2006

Reviving His Work: Social Isolation, Religious Fervor And Reform In The Burned Over District Of Western New York, 1790-1860, Patricia Lewis Noel

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines revivalism and reform movements in rural areas of western New York. The bulk of literature on this region in the Second Great Awakening concentrates on middle class, urban people. This thesis argues that revivalism and evangelical fervor was carried to rural portions of the region by migrants from western New England. Evangelical Christianity and revivalism provided emotion succor for rural people grappling with negative social conditions, such as isolation, poverty, crop failure and alcoholism, in the New York frontier. Religious adherence became especially important for women, who were more isolated than men. Religious adherence and revivalism allowed …


R. Walton Moore And Virginia Politics, 1933-1941, Daniel Gregory Tulli Jan 2006

R. Walton Moore And Virginia Politics, 1933-1941, Daniel Gregory Tulli

Theses and Dissertations

This study is a chronicle of the efforts of R. Walton Moore and the Roosevelt Administration to liberalize the conservative Virginia Democratic Party during the 1930's. Moore was an elderly politician and amateur historian who had been in and out politics in the state for over forty years. He was opposed at every turn in his efforts by state Democratic Party organization leader Senator Harry F. Byrd, and his conservative colleague Senator Carter Glass. Both Glass and Byrd opposed most New Deal legislation throughout the decade. Moore served officially as Assistant Secretary of State and Counselor to the State Department, …


Kick Me, Jennifer Stackpole Jan 2006

Kick Me, Jennifer Stackpole

Theses and Dissertations

Human experience, particularly the trials and tribulations of growing up, is the foundation on which I build. In this body of work, I represent these somewhat unsettling times. I use flattened space, strong diagonals, and vibrant color to add energy to the compositions. An underlying structure of fragmented shapes suggests the incomplete nature of adolescence.


21st Century Zen Garden, Allison Parker Andrews Jan 2006

21st Century Zen Garden, Allison Parker Andrews

Theses and Dissertations

This paper is a discussion of certain philosophical issues that have informed the progression of my work to date.


Out Of Body, Alessandra Lee Michelle Torres Jan 2006

Out Of Body, Alessandra Lee Michelle Torres

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the evolution of Alessandra Torres's work, from her early performances and installations, to her latest work with surrogate bodies, as she challenges the relationship between artist and their creation, body and object, and audience and art. Examining the work of artists such as Cindy Sherman, Rebecca Horn and Marina Abramovic, Torres explores the transformative capabilities of interactive sculpture and live performance. Join Ms. Torres as she transforms herself into everything from a paintbrush to a serpent, in her ongoing exploration of the body's ability to adapt and evolve.


Pietro Perugino (1450-1523) And The Practice Of Reuse: Redefining Imitazione In The Italian Renaissance, Kelly A. Goodman Jan 2006

Pietro Perugino (1450-1523) And The Practice Of Reuse: Redefining Imitazione In The Italian Renaissance, Kelly A. Goodman

Theses and Dissertations

Pietro Perugino's oeuvre is characterized by the reappearance of figures and motifs replicated through the reuse of cartoons. Perugino's deliberate self-plagiarism, despite being rooted in quattrocento compositional methods, exhibits an exploitation of the reproductive nature of the cartoon. While this practice allowed him to develop an efficient design process, the results of this imitation endowed Perugino's work with a formulaic quality, as was first noted by Giorgio Vasari in his Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors and Architects (1568). Significantly, in the sixteenth century, theorists revised the concept of imitation to incorporate not only the notion of replication, but …


Investigations Into Social Game Theory, Stephen Bryce Harper Jan 2006

Investigations Into Social Game Theory, Stephen Bryce Harper

Theses and Dissertations

Investigations into Social Game Theory is a document that describes my two-year exploration of the ritual encapsulated in our societal framework. It discusses the thoughts and processes that accompanied the three bodies of work that led to the creation of my final thesis exhibition.


Virginia's Pupil Placement Board And The Massive Resistance Movement, 1956-1966, Sara Kathryn Eskridge Jan 2006

Virginia's Pupil Placement Board And The Massive Resistance Movement, 1956-1966, Sara Kathryn Eskridge

Theses and Dissertations

Virginia's Pupil Placement Board was the most enduring vestige of the state's "massive resistance" movement in the 1950s. Following the example of other Southern states, the state's General Assembly passed the Pupil Placement Act in 1956 as part of a package of legislation designed to counteract the Supreme Court desegregation ruling. The Act, and the Pupil Placement Board that enforced it, lasted a decade, much longer than any of the other legislative initiatives born during that session, longer than the massive resistance movement itself.Whites, including many of Virginia's leaders, considered the Board to be ineffective at stemming the onslaught of …


Forging Space, Chance Burdick Liscomb Jan 2006

Forging Space, Chance Burdick Liscomb

Theses and Dissertations

I naturally like sculpture. My artistic medium of choice is sculpture because it occupies physical space commands attention and thought. The expressive qualities found in steel are numerous as they are in manipulation of found materials. Both materials involve a process of discovery on an evolving road towards any sculpture's ultimate conclusion. My primary goal is that my sculpture should be personal and capture the viewer's eye, stir his or her subconscious, and serve as a form of communication.


The Enduring Image, Michelle Lieb Jan 2006

The Enduring Image, Michelle Lieb

Theses and Dissertations

In my work, I have chosen to pursue the antiquated, experimental, and alternative processes of photography. A digital image, a web page, an e-book all point to the current pace of a society concerned with the beauty it can access in a moment of instant gratification. It often has no regard for a process that requires personal discipline to capture a moment, a place, or an idea. I find little enjoyment in the immediate, when I can instead experience what happens when the combination of chemicals, glass, wood, and the environment turn a potential photograph into an inimitable encounter. It …


The Other Side Of The Fence, Benjamin S. Jones Jan 2006

The Other Side Of The Fence, Benjamin S. Jones

Theses and Dissertations

I pull from what I see in my urban surroundings. There is always a sense of dread fused with optimism that prevails. Is it beautiful? Fragments of low-riders and tricked-out cars become symbols of desire and the glowing red lens of a stop light becomes a Cyclops poised to defend his garden. Candy-coated, blooming, dripping and seductively slick confronts you with the obvious warning: STOP! You could be next… …The grass really is greener on The Other Side of the Fence. At least until winter comes.


The Barbershop: A Photographic Documentation And Exhibition, Justin K. Howard Jan 2006

The Barbershop: A Photographic Documentation And Exhibition, Justin K. Howard

Theses and Dissertations

In this project I explore the environment that surrounds and frames my life experiences. Interests in form, architecture, vernacular typographyand community blend into a photographic documentation—communicating my perceptual experience of Richmond barbershops through public exhibition.


Welcome To The Branch, Turia R. Pope Jan 2006

Welcome To The Branch, Turia R. Pope

Theses and Dissertations

Welcome to the Branch is a two-act play that investigates issues of cultural differences in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (or LDS church), more commonly known as the Mormon Church. Set in modern-day, downtown Richmond, Welcome to the Branch follows two very different members of the LDS church as they examine and try to understand both their religion, in the context of its cultural and social history, and their place in it. One is Molly, a Caucasian, middle-class young woman from Utah, in Richmond temporarily for her husband's graduate school; the other is Aina, an African …


Jimmy Hit His First Home Run, Eileen N. Rafferty Jan 2006

Jimmy Hit His First Home Run, Eileen N. Rafferty

Theses and Dissertations

This document begins with the end of a life and ends with the beginning of hope. It is a brief description of the artist's history, artistic and literary influences, and subsequent works produced during graduate school, specifically Dichotomy, Swan Dive, and Jimmy Hit His First Home Run. Topics discussed include Human Physiology, Transference, Buddhism, and Bubbles. This document was created in Microsoft Word 2004 for Mac, Version 11.2.


The Assistant Director, Stephanie R. Hanna Jan 2006

The Assistant Director, Stephanie R. Hanna

Theses and Dissertations

My thesis addresses the role of the assistant director within the realm of today's American theatre. I determine who the assistant director is in today's theatre, what qualities they need to possess, and how a director can use an assistant director most effectively. To come to these conclusions, I analyze my experiences as an assistant director and a director over the last four years, as well as conduct interviews with directors and assistant directors currently working in professional and academic.


Rich, Attractive People In Attractive Places Doing Attractive Things, Tonya Walker Jan 2006

Rich, Attractive People In Attractive Places Doing Attractive Things, Tonya Walker

Theses and Dissertations

Rich, Attractive People in Attractive Places Doing Attractive Things is a fictional memoir of a dead Manhattan socialite from the 1950's named Sunny Marcus. The novel is Sunny's monologue from Hell and features many well-known figures from American pop culture including Truman Capote, Ernest Hemingway, Clark Gable, William Powell and Babe Paley. It traces the upward trajectory of Sunny's life from a modest childhood in 1920's Los Angeles to the heights of social success in the unforgiving world of Café Society to her murder.


Consuming Brazil: Afro Brazilian Religion As A Base For Actor Training, Corey Justin Roberts Jan 2006

Consuming Brazil: Afro Brazilian Religion As A Base For Actor Training, Corey Justin Roberts

Theses and Dissertations

Actor training, like the theatre in Brazil, has historically been a middle and upper class pursuit that followed European models, namely Stanislavski's system. Yet within Brazil there is a wealth of diverse cultures that are inherently theatrical and well suited for application in actor training. In this study I explore one such culture, the Afro Brazilian religion Umbanda. First, I examine its formation to illuminate how the religion itself performed (or served as a site for cultural interaction) throughout history. Then, I explore the practice of the religion both apart from and in relation to the theatre and Stanislavski's system. …


From The Seat Of Authority: A Case Study In Exhibition Development, Chasity Janet Miller Jan 2006

From The Seat Of Authority: A Case Study In Exhibition Development, Chasity Janet Miller

Theses and Dissertations

During the Spring 2006 semester, Virginia Commonwealth University students enrolled in the graduate Museum Studies course on exhibition development collaboratively curated an exhibition entitled From the Seat of Authority, which opened at the Anderson Gallery in June 2006. This thesis project documents the exhibition and offers an account of the deliberative and creative development process in which student-curators engaged. It is different from other case studies that focus on the technical aspects of curating an exhibition.Major components of the development process include articulating a theme, selecting artworks, writing interpretive text, and designing display techniques. This thesis project aims to characterize …


Little Paintings, Robert William Land Jan 2006

Little Paintings, Robert William Land

Theses and Dissertations

Little Paintings is a document that describes the creation, influences and process of two films, "Betty Creek" and "New Berlin". The films are personal responses to my experiences growing-up and living in the Southern United States. The Thesis illustrates the influences of painters such as Jimmie Lee Sudduth and Willie Jinks and how their raw painting methods inspire the development of my films using a tactile approach to filmmaking.


Lessons Of Vocal Coaching Shakespeare In Hollywood: A Production Analysis, Deborah Thomas Jan 2006

Lessons Of Vocal Coaching Shakespeare In Hollywood: A Production Analysis, Deborah Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a personal narrative of my experience as vocal coach on a production of Ken Ludwig's Shakespeare in Hollywood directed by BT McNicholl and performed in the Raymond Hodges Theatre of Virginia Commonwealth University in November 2005. Chapter one covers my identification of the play's vocal and aural challenges; what I did to prepare for those challenges; the research I gathered on 1930s Hollywood prototypes for the play; an examination of Shakespearean verse, especially that in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and how Ludwig synthesized Shakespeare's verse with that of his own.Chapter two is divided into an account of …


Intimate Encounters; Staging Intimacy And Sensuality, Tonia Sina Campanella Jan 2006

Intimate Encounters; Staging Intimacy And Sensuality, Tonia Sina Campanella

Theses and Dissertations

This text is a partial record of the conception and development of Reflections of Red in a Mirror of Desire that opened on February 20th 2006 for a three day run ending on February 22nd. The majority of the text is focused on the events and research that provided the concept for the show. Some of the research includes influential choreographers and companies such as Pina Bausch, Graziela Daniele, Moses Pendleton, Pilobolus, Momix, Julie Tayrnor, and Merce Cunningham. Included in the analysis of this event are the experiences and lessons that came about during the process of directing Reflections of …


Politics And Personal Life In The Era Of Revolution: The Treatment And Reintigration Of Elite Loyalists In Post-Revolutionary Virginia, Gregory Harkcom Stoner Jan 2006

Politics And Personal Life In The Era Of Revolution: The Treatment And Reintigration Of Elite Loyalists In Post-Revolutionary Virginia, Gregory Harkcom Stoner

Theses and Dissertations

Historians of loyalism in Virginia during the American Revolution typically characterize supporters of the Crown as a small and unorganized group that had little bearing on the outcome of the war. However, these historians greatly underestimate the extent and nature of Virginia loyalists. Patriots throughout the state feared and loathed outright demonstrations of loyalty to the Crown, sought to identify and remove Tories in their communities, and worked to prevent the reentry of these Loyalists into postwar Virginia. Those loyalists who attempted to return to Virginia realized that continual attention was required to shape and present an image that would …