Art and Design Commons^™

Fauxtopia, Raymond William Kampf

Theses and Dissertations

To all who come to this fictitious place:Welcome.Fauxtopia is your land. Here, age relives distorted memories of the past, and here, youth may savor the challenge of trying to understand the present. Fauxtopia is made up of the ideals, the dreams and the fuzzy facts which have re-created reality... with the hope that it will be a source of edutainment for all the world.Ray KampfFauxtopia DedicationApril 1st, 2004

Landescape, Dragana Crnjak

Theses and Dissertations

Shape, color and line are three basic elements I use to explore the possibilities of visual language. The process in itself is important since what is left on the paper are simply records of moments from which a work is constructed. These moments are mixtures of my memory, my everyday observation, my struggles and hopes. The starting point is always in between known and unknown, and it is always a new attempt for clarity. Rather than expressing what I already understand and know, I have a need to change my working methods quite often in order to expand my own …

The Spiritual Spa, Pongpop Narapanich

Theses and Dissertations

It began with the desire to create a SPA that emanates perfect harmonic balance through architecture. What architectural solutions would synchronize the spiritual, mental, and physical elements of the SPA? The answers lie in the meaning of the term 'SPA'.SPA popularity has increased due to the population's craving for healthier lifestyles. Heightened awareness of the afflictions caused by poor health has led people to seek out the benefits of a positive physical and mental environment.Many commercial spas are designed to meet only physical needs and disregard important spiritual and mental factors that contribute to wellness of mind, body and spirit.The …

Soul Hunting, Guido Esteban Alvarez

Theses and Dissertations

According to the Webster's unabridged dictionary, a mania is an excessively intense enthusiasm, interest, or desire; a craze. I experience a mania on a daily basis: I take photographs. I trap photographs inside flat, airless fish tanks where time stands still. The creatures captured inside the tanks resurrect every time I see them to remind me of a sound, an odor, a flavor, and, ultimately, a feeling I once experienced and now cherish. This project will attempt to show the energy captured in my photographic archives as a journey through my memories using an experimental interactive method.

Narrating Friendship: The Reciprocal Relationship Between J.B. Childers And Myself, James Thomas Engelmann

Theses and Dissertations

For the past ten months I have explored the life of a deceased artist named Joseph Barley "J.B." Childers. In the graduate catalog Gregory Volk summarizes Childers as, "an alienated Korean War Veteran, who took up painting as a refuge from his troubles, and who also doesn't exist. Childers who is naturally right-handed, painted everything left-handed because of a war wound, and so Engelmann, who is left-handed, painted with his right hand, which is quite a limitation." Of course, there's more to the story than that and the writings that follow will explain many of my reasons for pursuing this …

The Transformation Of Electricity In My Brain, Claire Watkins

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an exciting and enthralling story about the history of the world as seen through the eyes of Claire Watkins. The story takes place in the dusty corners of her art studio in the old confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia. Ms. Watkins leads her audience through such unsuspecting places as her brain, the life of an African Dung Beetle, the center of an atom and the dark reaches of outer space. The story is inspirational and thought provoking. It will force you to see the world as an interconnected web that weaves your life together with the cosmos. A …

The History Of The World, Ruby Wescoat

Theses and Dissertations

This Thesis is my effort to understand what subjects I find interesting and why. In the processes of writing and making sculpture, I discovered that my underlying fascination is in history. I am interested in places and objects for their individual qualities, but I also want to know how they relate to the world. If I am drawn to an ancient place or object, I want to examine how it fits into the contemporary world, and visa versa. The complexity of these relationships is increased by the vast number of histories (or stories) that are intertwined in the world. Over …

Perpetual Novelty, Brian Caverly

Theses and Dissertations

Within this thesis is a mapping out of the processes, concepts, and influences, behind the sculptural practice of Brian Caverly. From Complex Adaptive Systems to the world of order of Michel Foucault to the reexamination of the Modernist movement by Yve Alain Bois and Rosalind Krauss, a rhizomatic path of connections and lines form and cross over, weaving together into a swarming mayhem of over population. Out of this chaos and order grow complex installations and constructions that are inherently bound by the system of their making, yet attempt at every turn to escape conformity.

Sheep Hill Community Tree, Kimberly Ann Fleischman

Theses and Dissertations

An urban community is a fusion of new and old that is constantly changing. We understand better the plight of a community through raising awareness of its unique history and visual character. Linking individual and community experiences offers an opportunity for dialogue, especially as long-time residents and their new neighbors learn about their different pasts and explore their common future. Community building happens from within, when many individuals sharing common values create positive change.

John B. Fairbanks: The Man Behind The Canvas, Rachel Cope

Theses and Dissertations

A biographical sketch of artist John B. Fairbanks, this thesis primarily probes Fairbanks' evolution as an artist. From amateur, to art missionary, to professional artist, Fairbanks influenced his cultural surroundings in Utah and in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His commitment to his career and his impact on others significantly affected Utah and Mormon art. Thus it is important to understand and recognize the full portrait of John B. Fairbanks.

John B. Fairbanks, born on 27 December 1855, developed an interest in art while still young. Until reaching the age of thirty-four, he often worked as an …

The Generation Of Forms And Thai Typeface Design, Pornprapha Phatanateacha

Theses and Dissertations

Changes in culture, design, fashion and lifestyle are very common for a developing country such as Thailand. Losing the identity and significant quality of Thai culture is the biggest concern in this rapid movement in Thai society. The biggest challenge is to preserve the existing culture within the development in the society. These problems within the rapid change not only affect Thai lifestyle and fashion but also Thai graphic design. There is a trend in poster design, advertising, and packaging to follow Western design. That influence suggests that Thai design follow a Western model in order to be as successful. …

Self-Image, Tammy Jean Wymer

Theses and Dissertations

Many current media images of women have underlying messages that affect our psyche in a negative way, whether or not we are aware. These images convey an unrealistic, distorted view of ideals and perfection, which create an unattainable model to live up to. As women, we should be cherishing our uniqueness, but, rather than celebrating and accepting ourselves, we are taught to judge and conceal. This project seeks to address inner beauty as a reflection of our energy, vitality, wisdom and the mental, as well as emotional, engagement in our lives. The terms perfection and imperfection will be redefined and …

The Historical Ceramics Of Camp Floyd, Jennifer L. Elsken

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an historical archaeological project involving the classification and analysis of the ceramics found at Camp Floyd, a 19th century military site 40 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah. United States military troops were dispatched to the Utah Territory to establish a Pony Express Station and an Overland Stage Trail, to assert federal authority in the Territories, and to end the ongoing conflict between the federal government and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The primary research question concerned the ceramic usage patterns at Camp Floyd as compared to other military sites and non-residential …

The Integration Of Technology Into Home Space In The 2020s, Ying Li

Theses and Dissertations

Research on the current housing status in the United States, and the features of middle-class and high-end houses, revealed that home space consists of five spaces: living, work and study, resting, service and circulation. A meticulous look at the four-century American housing history disclosed that transformations in the five spaces were profoundly impacted by technology. To predict home space in the near future, research on future technology and lifestyle was performed. There will still be five home spaces, with new and improved components. Technology will bring greater comfort and flexibility to the home interior. Two design solutions for middle-class and …

Dorothea Lange In Utah, 1936-1938: A Portrait Of Utah's Great Depression, James R. Swensen

Theses and Dissertations

In his 1978 biography of Dorothea Lange, Milton Meltzer appraised Lange's 1936 photography in Utah as nothing more than mundane work done for the benefit of the Farm Security Administration (FSA) and not for her own benefit as a photographer. Yet, her work in Utah encapsulates the aspirations, goals, and styles of Lange, and gives insight into her vision as a photographer and representative of the New Deal. Through carefully composed photographs, Lange shows the hardships and hope of life in Utah during the Great Depression.

This thesis investigates Lange's photographs in order to gain a greater understanding of the …

From Writing To Sculpting, Orhan Tekin

Theses and Dissertations

I subscribe to the notion that art is the process of capturing a moment in life, by way of projection on to an artist's senses, and a subsequent filtering through his mind, and ultimately a materialization through his hands and instruments. However, that is just the beginning. To take a life of its own, the work of art should further find its way into the minds of its viewers or listeners again through a series of projections and filtering. The excitement of the moment that impinges upon the senses of the artist can be very powerful at times, so powerful …

Sense Of Duration, Lucie Noel Thune

Theses and Dissertations

The following writings contain different segments about the concept of time. To best describe certain feelings and thoughts concerning my ideas and work I have used poetry and short stories in a prosaic manner. I also felt it necessary to include some historic facts about the history of time and its measuring devices.

Searching For Green, Santiago Cal

Theses and Dissertations

A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University.

In Search Of The Meandering Absolute: The Prints Of Mitzi Humphrey, Mitzi Humphrey

Theses and Dissertations

Art is more than just a bridge to (or a reflection of) the natural world; it is a natural force in itself. The author is a strong advocate of "artist's prints," prints which are conceived and printed by the artist. She believes that there is a natural sequence of actions and thoughts which cannot be approximated by the substitution of an artist/printer collaboration unless the artist is truly involved with the printer or assistant in every step of the decision-making and mark-making processes.

The prints of this series are not about realistic pictorial space; they are about interior space--that of …

Toward The Universal, Jennifer Bracy

Theses and Dissertations

This creative project is concerned with archetypal forms expressed in art, design and communication, from Neolithic rock carvings and native American Indian petroglyphs to individual graphic languages that look to the 'primitives' like those of Joan Miro and Neville Brody. It is my belief that through the study of this diverse collection of graphic signs and archetypal forms, one can develop a system of signs that cross barriers of language and culture. A morphology, a collection of possibilities, derived from such archetypal forms, could provide designers with a foundation for the development and use of symbol signs and sign systems.

A Naturalistic Study Of The History Of Mormon Quilts And Their Influence On Today's Quilters, Helen-Louise Hancey

Theses and Dissertations

This interpretive study investigated the "quilt" and its significance to Latter-day Saint Women. Mormon master quilters were chosen because of their knowledge of fabrics, patterns, and symbolism, their skill levels, and their intense interest in quilting. The researcher conducted interviews with the master quilters from July 1995 to April 1996. Field notes were taken and data concerning both observed actions and verbal comments regarding the importance of the quilt were collected, charted, coded, and analyzed.

Several dominant patterns and themes emerged from analyses of the data, including: quilting is an enjoyable and active art form among Mormon women, pattern selection …

Synthesis As A Method For Elaboration, Polly Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Before I began this thesis, I examined my previous work and a consistent quality emerged. l tended to assemble (synthesize) things (entities) that were seemingly unlike (disparate). I q u e s t i o n e d my approach and its validity as a design methodology.

I found, through investigation into the nature of my p r o c e s s and the process of other artists and designers that specific methods of synthesis could be defined. In this thesis I have outlined three synthesis methodologies. They are not the only methods that exist, but were the ones …

From Constructivism To Deconstructivism, Gladys Brenner

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis deals with four major design movements, beginning with Constructivism, and ending with Deconstructivism, including two other movements, as intermediate links, that developed in the period between International - Swiss Design and Postmodernism. The purpose of this thesis is to explain in a visual time-line, the interrelationships of these movements while at the same time visually represent their concepts. Also it leads to an analysis and discussion of the role of Deconstructivism in graphic design.

Minerva Teichert's Murals: The Motivation For Her Large-Scale Production, Marian Eastwood Wardle

Theses and Dissertations

It is my thesis that the impetus for Minerva Teichert's prolific mural production came from the lofty ideals of the Beaux Art mural tradition which she encountered and embraced during her studies at the Art Institute of Chicago from 1909 to 1912. Furthermore, it was the great interest in mural decoration during the 1930s, spurred by government patronage, that provided Teichert with the opportunity to apply these ideals to large-scale works.
Research into the Beaux Art mural tradition has been difficult, as recent scholarship on the subject is negligible. An understanding of this early mural movement however, yields a greater …

The Effect Of Man On The Landscape And The Effect Of Land On The Manscape: Or Contingent Plans For Knowing A Mountain, Taylor Scott Baldwin

Theses and Dissertations

In my artistic practice, I emphasize personal and pan-cultural anxieties regarding civilization and the environment as an impetus for work in sculpture, video, and drawing. By locating marginal microcosmic subject matter that tellingly exhibits macrocosmic global dread, I seek to capture and distill our overwhelming eco-socio-political anxiety into a portrait of a society at a point in its history when the specter of nameless impending disaster weighs pressingly on the collective psyche. This thesis is supplementary to my work of sculpture in the Graduate School of the Arts Thesis Exhibition at the Anderson Gallery opening on April 27th, 2007. The …

Chinese Cultural Center, Wei Dong

Theses and Dissertations

During this period of high technology, designers are eager to create environments that have strong emotional appeal to people's physiology and psychology. Our exploration of the natural living space has become all the more an elusive search as modern technology advances. Interior design, in its concern for environmental engineering, endeavors to exploit the spiritual aspect of human resources. Through this message, people are inspired to higher planes of existence.A. PROJECT To design a Chinese Cultural center. B. PURPOSE 1. To introduce the traditional and contemporary Chinese culture to western people. 2. To illustrate and describe the philosophies of Chinese life …

A Pale Reflection: American Indian Images In Mormon Arts, P. Jane Hafen

Theses and Dissertations

American Indians in Mormon arts suffer from the imposition of the white man's traditional ideas, images and stereotypes. An examination of Mormon literature since 1941, Mormon hymns and music, and Mormon visual arts reveals little consideration of Native American values: tribal affiliation, significance of place and community, myth and ritual. While the mainstream of American art has incorporated Native American values into Indian representations, and even found a place for Native American artists, Mormon arts adhere to historical misinterpretations, despite a number of fine Mormon Native American artists.

The Formulation Of An Adult Dramatic Program For The Division Of Recreation And Parks In Henrico County, Virginia, Sandra Bishop

Theses and Dissertations

It is hoped that the contents of this thesis will help to provide a course of action through which the dramatic arts program may move closer to the objectives established for it by the HDRP administration. The dramatic arts program for adults, as set forth in the thesis, should create specific goals so that the HDRP may provide a consistent direction for the development of a dramatic arts program for adults. The adult dramatic arts program as formulated in the thesis should, combined with the already established dramatic arts program for youth, form a major portion of the comprehensive cultural …

Twelve Representative Patterns Of The Period 1920 Through 1945, Henry Charles Swartz

Theses and Dissertations

The twelve patterns presented in this collection represent the period 1920 through 1945. It is in no way a complete study of the period, but a representation of garments throughout this period in sketch and pattern form. The patterns presented are complete working patterns in full scale with no seams allowed. The garments have been dated according to research into the period. In addition to the pattern, sketch, and description of each garment, construction notes are included to aid in the building of these garments. Hopefully this collection will be useful for theatre costuming or where ever there is a …

Dialogues In Light And Temperature, Stephen Althouse

Theses and Dissertations

The work illustrated and discussed in this paper was exhibited in the Anderson Gallery, Virginia Commonwealth University, November, 1974, as my graduate show. Presented here is a written explanation of the work contained in that show.