Art and Design Commons^™

Reimagining The Costume: The Role Of Fashion In Adaptations Of Euripides’ "Bacchae", Clementine Farnum

Scripps Senior Theses

Euripides’ Bacchae and its reception embody the subversion of identity that codifies my 21st-century understanding of fashion. This project is interested in this subversion and examines how characters’ identities have been portrayed through the costume choices for Dionysus in ’69, The Bacchantes, and The Backanterna. Specifically, I scrutinize the transition of compliance as a physical representation of how this play is a constant struggle of excess vs. modesty, gender binaries vs. gender fluidity, and worship vs. condemnation.

My interpretations of the costumes for Dionysus, Pentheus, and the Maenads demonstrate the vital role costumes play. The costumes I …

Narratives In Ink: A Journey Through Lineage And Land, Natasha Sethia

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis explores the convergence of personal heritage and artistic expression through a series of pen-and-ink portraits, deeply rooted in the familial stories and cultural tapestry of Rajasthan. The project, initially envisioned as a broader exploration of underrepresented narratives, evolves into a more intimate journey of self-discovery and cultural reclamation, guided by ethical considerations and feedback from peers and professors. Drawing theoretical inspiration from figures like Richard Meyer and Edward Said the work delves into themes of cultural representation, appropriation, and the power dynamics of artistic creation. The shift towards personal narratives allows for a respectful, authentic portrayal of my …

Costuming The Californian Apocalypse: Sartorial Speculations Of Los Angeles's Future, Isabel Kramer

Scripps Senior Theses

With this project, I use fashion design as a medium to visually speculate a range of futures that exist in relation to different temporal apocalypses and dystopian world endings under the current capitalist structure. Three questions guided my thinking and creation of this project: What will people be wearing in 100 years in Los Angeles if we continue down our current path of late capitalism-induced climate change? How will this look differently for people who exist alongside different axes of oppression and who are affected by environmental racisms that manifest in the built environment of Los Angeles? How do dystopian …

Her Monstrous Body: The Creation And Reclamation Of Female Monsters In Visual Culture, Sarah Teske

Scripps Senior Theses

Voracious, wicked, all-consuming. The image of the female monster has captivated audiences with its unique brand of horror. She brings chaos to her surroundings while we watch from behind the safety of a screen or the pages of a book. However terrifying, viewers can take comfort in the fact that by the time the credits roll, she will be defeated.

This trope has been used time and time again to center feminine bodies and female sexuality as monstrous, while justifying the existing patriarchal order. And this is no surprise being that her features are imbued with the threat of power …

Views Around The Ring, Patrick Wilson

CMC Senior Theses

My thesis shows the visuals and sound aesthetics of the video game series Halo. For my thesis, I created a 7-and-a-half-minute abstract video containing cutscenes in-game visuals over music from the different games, with an accompanying essay talking about the game and my video. I created this thesis because Halo was and still is a game that has been with me most of my life and I wanted to capture what I thought was important to the game. I achieved this through mixing soundtracks and editing in-game footage and cutscenes together. I learned that creating an abstract video takes a …

Creativity, Craftsmanship, And Connection: Large-Format Sculpture Design, Jacqueline L. Puga, Gordon Hoople

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

Artistry is a concept that is not usually explored in engineering yet is an invaluable skill that touches everything from product design to systems thinking. This past summer I developed conceptual designs for a large format sculpture that required connecting engineering knowledge with artistic vision. The initial phase required constant inspiration and creativity. The first step was to look at previous sculptures showcased throughout the world, such as at venues like “Burning Man,” to understand the possibilities or limitations of the space provided. Sketching varied and numerous ideas was essential in our design process. Next, we took our favorite ideas …

The Patterns Of Yarning, Adam Manning, Sara Motta

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

The Patterns of Yarning is a 3-minute digital visualisation that's based on the accompanying sunrise themed sonic yarning audio.

Gömböc The Great, Indigo M. Strickert, Lori E. Bradford

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

A sonnet written about the mathematics behind the self-righting shape of some tortoise shells.

Black Feminist Poiesis: Locating “The Uses Of The Erotic” Within Black Domesticity, Kiandra S. Jimenez

CGU Theses & Dissertations

What does being human mean for women who were artists denied the ability to live life on their own standards? What did it mean to live a creative life when your body was captured and held within a system that surveilled and penalized you for things like writing, reading, or the idea of creating was impossible? In Alice Walker’s “In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens,” she asks us to consider what it meant to be a Black woman artist when you are considered “the mule of the world,” and are stuck toiling away—as a launderer, a maid, a cook, a …

This Is How I Heal: Reclaiming Pleasure And Safety In The Body After Trauma, Rosalie Weber

Scripps Senior Theses

I’ve used this project as an opportunity to continue my personal healing journey in the wake of a sexual assault a number of years ago, using the guiding question: how do I reclaim pleasure and safety in my body after trauma? My work explores the process of healing through experiences of joy, playfulness, and connection, asserting that pleasurable experiences are possible in the same body that has experienced trauma. My work involves and celebrates the relationships that have supported me in my healing journey.

These tapestries were created in intimate events between myself and one other person, chosen for the …

La Floresta; An Appreciation And Reimagination Of My Barrio, Ana Rodríguez

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis is a love letter to my barrio, La Floresta in Quito, Ecuador. I have divided it into three different sections: a creative writing piece where I walk readers through my barrio and my life in it, a historical section where I analyze its history and the reasons for its uniqueness and current identity, and finally a project proposal for a community center called "Casa La Floresta".

Paul R. Williams At Work In Photographs: Tarrying With Cites/Sights/Sites Of Trouble, Denise M. Johnson

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Ariella Azoulay and W. J. T. Mitchell have called for a new users’ manual for photographs, urging that theory finally wrest itself from the authoritative singular gaze of the patriarchal imperial photographer so that the plurality inherent within the ontology of viewing photographs be engaged. Azoulay cogently argues that the photographer is not the only person to act when a photographic event takes place. By turning critical analysis to the photographic subject and advising viewers to both watch and listen to photographs rather than gaze, a space of appearance is activated in which the photographic subject engages in dialogue with …

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.

For Everyone's Eyes Only: Digital Art As Public Art (Agency, Accessibility, And Aura), Linda Dai

Pomona Senior Theses

Should digital art qualify as public art? This thesis aims to explore the significance of this question in a contemporary context by cross-examining the two genres in terms of creative agency, accessibility, and aura. Through various interviews and case studies with global artists, I examine similarities and differences in materiality and engagement in public and digital art and the implications of my findings under broader, theoretical frameworks. I further seek to understand how the relationship between technology, art, and society has shifted over time. Ultimately, I argue that the fluidity of digital art allows to exist in public and private …

Playing To Win: The Effects Of Implementing Gamification Strategies In Product Marketing, Sabrina Stone

CMC Senior Theses

Let’s play a game. What effect do you think video games have on twenty-first-century marketing? In this age defined by its nature of digitality, capturing the attention of consumers is an arduous competition. Through market segmentation, research, and the observable variables of consumer behavior, product marketing has turned to video games as a solution to appeal to younger demographics. Gamification is an increasingly applied product marketing strategy employed to increase favorable metrics. Of those key performance indicators (KPIs), boosted measures such as click-through rates, impressions, and engagement rates suggest that gamification is a strategic opportunity to persuade consumers to take …

Representing The Ali'i And Monarchy: Dress, Diplomacy, And Featherwork In Hawai'i, Tess Anderson

Scripps Senior Theses

When Native Hawaiians and haole (foreigners) first met, both participants belonged to fashion systems unknown to the other, composed of different materials, styles, tastes, standards, and construction techniques. As the outside world was introduced to the cultural heritage of Hawaiian hulu manu (featherwork), kūkaulani (chiefly fashion), and European skewed conceptions of Hawaiian indigeneity; the ali‘i (chiefs) and kama‘āina (commoners) received and adapted to incoming materials, technologies, and information. When these encounters transitioned into “prolonged contact” and settlement, dress and adornment proliferated in new ways. Analyzing the case studies of historic pā‘ū, holokū, ‘ahu'ula, and military uniforms shows the significance of …

Re-Imagining Design For Affordable Housing In Mexico, Kenza Fernandez Dominguez

Scripps Senior Theses

Since the presidency of Enrique Peña Nieto, affordable housing developments in Mexico have been produced in a massive, unsustainable scale. The speed at which these developments are produced equates to the carelessness that goes into their planning. At large, the developments’ monotonous design is aesthetically dehumanizing and fails to promote a sense of community. These developments lack basic infrastructure, and their residents have abandoned them, which has incentivized increased criminal activity.

In this paper, I will be looking at successful models of affordable housing globally, exploring the histories of communal living, and function of architectural collages. Based on my findings, …

Re-Imagining Design For Affordable Housing In Mexico, Kenza Fernandez Dominguez

Scripps Senior Theses

Since the presidency of Enrique Peña Nieto, affordable housing developments in Mexico have been produced in a massive, unsustainable scale. The speed at which these developments are produced equates to the carelessness that goes into their planning. At large, the developments’ monotonous design is aesthetically dehumanizing and fails to promote a sense of community. These developments lack basic infrastructure, and their residents have abandoned them, which has incentivized increased criminal activity.

In this paper, I will be looking at successful models of affordable housing globally, exploring the histories of communal living, and function of architectural collages. Based on my findings …

Infinity And The Egosphere: Reflections On Immersive Art, Amanda Owens

Scripps Senior Theses

This paper looks at immersive, viewer-centric art spaces, like Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms, in the context of the growing popularity of Pop Up museums or experiences that exist essentially as a backdrop for taking photos. By considering them together as one object of contemporary popular culture, we can more fully understand the deeper characteristics of late capitalist society.

The Self, My Self, And Female Portraiture, Kenza Fernandez

Scripps Senior Theses

Growing up in Mexico was a privilege for many reasons. I am most grateful for its history of preservation and storytelling through art, specifically portraiture. I learned about my country's history and its most influential figures primarily through visuals. From mesoamerican sculptures to Mexican modern mural art, one did not have to be literate or speak vernacular Spanish to understand the story of our culture through time. It is this visual way of recording history that I have decided to turn to for interpretation and self exploration. Throughout the course of this academic year, I will be creating a series …

Seaglass: An Animated Rejection Of Narrative Permanence, Alejandra Louise Blackmore

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis explores how popular narrative structures imply that our reality should be stagnant, thereby leaving us as viewers unprepared for the notion of change. I introduce the term “narrative permanence” as a story structure that assumes the foundations of a narrative are absolute. These stories therefore consider structural change as a threat or abnormal. I analyzed examples such as The Simpsons and news coverage of the BP oil spill to demonstrate how popular media frames change as an unnatural occurrence that must be neutralized. My thesis then culminated in an animated short about a person living in a seaside …

Transfor, Yumeng He

CGU MFA Theses

The dialogue is not idealistic or theoretical. It's a step-by-step modification. I think of it as a sequence or series of "small episodes." These "small episodes" are of great help to the self-growth of the work. They reveal that my idea at the beginning is different from the finished piece. And, most important, the process can neither be predicted nor copied. This makes the work unique and authentic.

Itafdaloo, Janan Abdelmuti

CGU MFA Theses

My works are autobiographical. In them I explore the unconscious and conscious aspects of my life as a heterosexual cis female. My works function as a form of journaling. The repetition of lines, stitches, and patterns stand in for the repetition of different tasks. I try to submerge the onlooker into my emotional experiences through the use of pop culture references and familiar materials and objects. The inadequacy of life and lack of fulfillment has led to the creation of chromatic spaces. Pieces are void and then filled with silent moments. The quiet restlessness of inner turmoils combined with the …

Color Compliments, Jennifer Hansen Rolli

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

A discussion of the range of use of complimentary colors

Embracing Imperfections, Raja Gopal Bhattar

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

A window into my meditation practice.

Popping (Post)Modernism: Joaquín Torres-Garcia & Latin America's Pop Art Movement, Alexandra Branscom

Scripps Senior Theses

Even though the canon of Western Art History has attributed the Pop movement to the US and the UK, artists from around the world have made significant contributions to pop art and formed their own Pop movements. This includes the Latin American pop artists Felipe Ehrenberg (Mexican), Antonio Henrique Amaral (Brazilian), and Juan Dávila (Chilean), who, between the years 1968 and 1974, fled right-wing political unrest of their respective home countries and gained artistic education in dominant, imperialistic countries. These artists subvert the capitalistic, adverting language of pop art to promote the localized political sensibilities of their home countries and …

Reimagining Abandoned Community Space In A Post-Pandemic Environment, Julia Drooff

Scripps Senior Theses

Earlier this year, the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the demise of the Great American Mall by forcing temporary and permanent closures across the country. The low-end malls that remain are dealing with crippling debt and the closing of key department stores like JC Penney and Neiman Marcus[1]. With only super-luxury malls thriving, many of the standard malls set up in the eighties are just abandoned parts of a community. So, what should happen to these abandoned malls? And what role does that space now play in the post-pandemic community? Since malls began to shut-down pre-Covid-19 did the need for …

Lost & Found Memories: An Examination And Critique Of My Past Through Art, Alice Chi

Scripps Senior Theses

Ever since I was young I depended on triggers to retrieve my deeper memories. It is because of this quality that I think I have developed a tendency to collect and assign sentimental value to various items that I associate with certain people and moments. Over the course of my life, I have kept many objects, trinkets, and documents because of this. To catalog these memories and confront my lost relationships, I have collected these found sentimental items around my home and compiled them into a documented history of the lingering relationships throughout my life. The resulting product is a …

Unlocking The Energy Within; A Journey Through Healing And Evolution, Juliana Favela

Scripps Senior Theses

Through a series of acrylic paintings and watercolors, I set out to document emotions, feelings, and experiences that I’ve had through my personal process of healing. By engaging in meditations for each piece, I was able to decide on a set of motifs, symbols, colors, and messages that I wanted to portray. This paper discusses in more detail how I went about this process and what the significance of each piece is, in addition to my inspiration, my identity and its impacts on the work, as well as what I learned from this process. I argue that as we unravel …