Tùn-Scene And A-Futurism: Biomythography, Opacity, And Posthuman Imagination, Minglu Du

Masters Theses

Grounded in the author’s position as a Chinese feminist, this thesis examines how East Asian women, as well as East Asian-coded femininity more broadly, are objectified and othered within futurist visual culture in the age of artificial intelligence. Through an engagement with ornamentalism, techno-Orientalism, and posthumanism1 , it argues that the persistent figure of the feminized humanoid cyborg continues to reproduce colonial and patriarchal structures of desire, rendering marginalized bodies as fetishized and violable surfaces. In response, the thesis develops Tùn-Scene, a biomythographic artistic framework and the first experiment in what the author provisionally names A-Futurism. Drawing on Donna Haraway’s …

Body In Process: Assembly, Control And The Medical Gaze, Fangzhou Lu

Masters Theses

This project begins with the doll as a way to think through assemblage. It has a human form, but it is not born as a whole; it is assembled from parts. Its joints, holes, and modular structure make it more like a puzzle toy. I use it to examine the act of “assembly” itself, and to understand the body as something that can be taken apart, adjusted, and replaced.

This logic of assembly also runs through real-life practices surrounding living bodies. Medical repair and treatment, through suturing, fixation, replacement, and transplantation, maintain and extend the body’s reconfigurability. In the plant …

Finding The Estuary, Rhea Hu

Masters Theses

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Menstrual Muses: Art, Storytelling, And The Care-Based Communication Of Menstrual Justice, Burcu Koleli

Masters Theses

Menstrual Muses is an artistic research project comprising a written thesis and a body of work developed across soft sculpture, ceramics, illustration, graphic memoir, digital media, and participatory workshops. The written component operates alongside the studio practice, outlining the project’s theoretical framework, methodology, and context while engaging questions of communication, accessibility, embodiment, and stigma. It situates menstruation within feminist discourse, examining how it has been culturally silenced, regulated, and shaped through systems of power.

The artistic work functions as research materialized through practice, responding to the central question of how my art can facilitate conversations around menstrual justice. It explores …

Alternative, Ashlynn M. Stroud

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

A series of illustrations, sculptures and comic book issues designed to introduce a series of stories and characters that represent the history and members of a fictional mythology depicting the cultural social group often referred to as the “alternative” community. Alternative takes place in a world that combines high fantasy and science fiction with elements of pop culture and music. This world uses iconography of the various genres of the alternative subculture and music, metal, post-punk, and the evolving scene of the underground with varying visuals from both gothic and industrial time periods. Viewers are encouraged to read and follow …

Weighted, I Drown Peacefully, Clarke P. Hamilton, Masaru Suzuki

Honors Thesis

weighted, i drown peacefully is a call-and-response to my ancestral history and heritage as African American, and my physical experience at the door of no return on Goree Island off the coast of Dakar, Senegal.

Through ceramic face pots invoking the face jugs recovered from Edgefield, South Carolina, visual metaphors of the calla lily and cowrie shell, wood iris petals holding water, and a watercolor painting with Adinkra symbols Adwo & Sankofa, I mark the Atlantic Ocean as a resting place of my ancestors.

This piece is for those who have transitioned from this plane to the next. I carry …

Sparks Under Ashes, Ani Sargsyan

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

Rooted in hope, reflections on longing, family history, and the contemporary Armenian experience take precedence in Sparks Under Ashes. The title of the show itself derives from my great-grandfather’s notebook, which details his unjust exile during the Great Purge of the Soviet era and other life experiences. His handwriting becomes ingrained in my work as both our marks collide through painting, drawing, and transfer processes to bridge the time between us and celebrate generations of resilience.

Acts of endurance are crucial for Armenia’s survival because attempts of erasure have always been prominent, with the 1915 genocide being the darkest …

So There I Was, Jesse Marie Baggett

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This written thesis provides a description and analysis of my thesis exhibition, So There I Was, which presents a body of ceramic sculptures and paintings that explore themes of adventure, travel, and shared experiences. The work reimagines personal experiences through a cast of animal characters, with a rabbit acting as a stand-in for myself. These narratives are inspired by events from my own life and are transformed into imaginative scenes that emphasize playfulness, wonder, and storytelling.

The sculptures combine toy-like animal figures, pull carts, and miniature architectural structures to create playful environments that resemble playsets or staged scenes where …

How To Walk On Water: Living Through The Absurd, Esther Du

Masters Theses

Set in a speculative world submerged by water, this thesis constructs a fragmented, nonlinear narrative that reflects on survival, memory, and displacement in the aftermath of catastrophe. Through three interwoven chapters—The Outcast, The Researcher, and The World—the project explores the emotional and psychological landscapes of individuals navigating a post-apocalyptic existence where the past is irretrievable and the future uncertain. Using an interdisciplinary form of visual storytelling, writing, and sound, the work draws from personal experience and collective trauma to examine how people reconstruct identity and meaning after loss. Rather than offering a definitive answer to existential …

Cuentos De Barro, Daniel Anthony Vasquez

Theses and Dissertations

Cuentos de Barros addresses the complexities of creating art and processing indigenous heritage and personal history as a Salvadoran immigrant within a neo-colonial society. Centering ritual, care, and healing, the artist imbues sculptures with tenderness using abstract forms and the tactile manipulation of unfired clay and graphite.

For The Birds, Charlotte L. Middleton

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

For the Birds is a homogenous material exhibition of porcelain pottery that explores the relationships between, expectations of, and roles placed upon women and pottery. Using traditional craft processes, still life imagery, and the language and limits of porcelain, I create arrangements that expose the viewers assumptions of both subjects. Pottery- pitchers, cups, and vases—is a product of anthropocentrism and anthropomorphism and can be entirely taken for granted- their role is assumed and unquestionable—to serve. The language and expectations of these objects are the medium I build with.

The title of the show, For the Birds, is both a …

Syncretic Spirits / Espíritus Sincréticos, Angelica Tapia - Estrada

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

Syncretic Spirits / Espíritus Sincréticos is a multimedia exhibition that invites viewers into a fantastical space where cultural identity and perception intertwine. Colorful shaped panels, sculptural installations, prints, and drawings bridge physical and metaphysical realms. Personal archetypes intuitively inspired by natural forms drive the work.

Influenced by the dualities of my upbringing as a first-generation Mexican American, I was immersed in Mexican culture through my family traditions while finding a home in the nurturing embrace of the heartland. The work has become a means of reclaiming a new layered sense of self, disentangling from my Catholic upbringing, embracing indigenous healing …

Blackness And Nineteenth-Century Art In The Atlantic World, Rachel Hooper

Curatorial Publications

No abstract provided.

Saints And Syncretism In Global Christian Art, Alexandra Lewis, Andie Near, Charles Mason, Gracie Allen, Signe Bieganski, Shannon Smith, Emma Waldvogel, Lauren Carpenter, Ashley Keltsch, Sophia Funston, Mariam Tiews, Emma Brenny, Anne Heath

Kruizenga Art Museum Exhibition Catalogs

Kruizenga Art Museum, Hope College Catalog for the exhibition: Saints and Syncretism in Global Christian Art. Exhibition dates: January 14 – May 17, 2025. Alexandra Lewis, photographer, designer. Andie Near, photographer.

Kruizenga Art Museum Online Collection - Exhibition Gallery

A New Perspective

DePaul Magazine

The DePaul Art Museum foregrounds inclusiveness, partnership and social justice to reframe the role of cultural institutions.

Fragmented Bodies, Lauren Careese Alexander

Art Theses and Dissertations

Through Memory Webs and fragmented ceramic vessels, I express what it feels like to grow up living in a biracial body. I utilize mixed media to emulate a mixed-race experience. My Memory Webs are fashioned by painting on scraps of canvas and attaching them with crocheted wire and ribbon to speak to how my memory has impacted my identity. My fragmented ceramic vessels are cut up and stitched back together to represent disjointedness and un-belonging. All of my work is contextualized through the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and what the Monster may represent for people of color. I also …

Hacking The Library Exhibition Panels, Sally Brown, Jackie Andrews, Matthew Conboy, Ruth Yang, Trudy Trudy Borenstein- Sugiura, Shan Cawley, Chantel Foretich, Xue'er Gao, Ryan Lewis, Robin Miller, Imari Nacht, Chris Revelle, Erin Tapley

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The hacker ethos in the positive sense is about the ability to deconstruct and reconstruct information systems. Hacking starts with reconceptualizing libraries. Libraries are now beyond the book. As libraries evolve into a new sort of space --still a space for research, learning and study-- but also for community engagement and collaboration, library exhibits present a unique opportunity for both collaborating exhibitors and library users. Artists engage with libraries creatively through artist residencies, installations, using discarded library materials in their work, collaborative workshops, digital collections remixing, performances and more. Hacking the Library will present artwork that highlights the intersecting values …

Hacking The Library Exhibition Pdfs, Sally Brown, Christine Hoffmann, Lois Ann Raimondo, Karen Diaz, Sarah Pahlfrey

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The hacker ethos in the positive sense is about the ability to deconstruct and reconstruct information systems. Hacking starts with reconceptualizing libraries. L Hacking the Library presents artwork that highlights the intersecting values that shape our libraries through an artistic lens, reflecting on challenges and definitions of libraries past and as we move into the future. To provide personal context, "Community Connections" complement the art from librarians across the nation who responded to the artwork.

Artists included: Jackie Andrews (Maryland, mixed media), Trudy Borenstein- Sugiura (New Jersey, book arts), Sally Jane Brown (West Virginia, drawing), Shan Cawley (West Virginia, painting), …

Making Then Meaning, Ben Denzer

Masters Theses

This is an artist talk contained within a book. It is 816 pages and 49 minutes long. Closed captions run across the spreads. A video of this talk can be watched on bendenzer.com/making-then-meaning

At RISD, I’ve been prompted to expand the scope and tools of my practice and to reflect on questions of meaning in my work.

I spend my days making things, but I’ve never really had good answers to questions of why I make the things I make, or what their meaning is. I don’t think there are simple answers to these questions.

I think meaning comes from …

The Hospitality Of Doubt, Ian Grieve

Art Theses and Dissertations

This paper discusses the last two years of research toward a Master of Fine Art in Studio Art. I mainly address my painting practice, but while in the program, I have worked in collage, ceramics, intaglio printmaking, and sculpture. My paintings are thick, multilayered, and often contain ambiguous narratives. The pictures develop through engagement, openness, and response within the work. I seek and embrace connection with viewers of the work. The spectator ‘completes’ the art and enhances or alters the artworks meaning by observing it and applying their individual perspectives. I seek to incorporate a sense of nostalgia and familiarity. …

Dulce Sueños De Tierra, Sweet Dreams Of Earth, Jordany Genao

Theses and Dissertations

Jordany's paper congregates their archival research into an art practice that examines the decolonial impulse to excavate the self and produce autonomy. Using ceramics to reference and re-animate Taino ritual objects found in museums, resulting in alternative museology, their work seeks to honor Caribbean ancestors by subverting colonial history.

Read Like A Dyslexic Sort Of..., Margaret Prost

Honors Thesis

READ is an interactive art exhibition created by artist and designer, Margaret Prost. Prompted by the neon sign, the audience is encouraged to pick up READ Like a Dyslexic Sort of… and enjoy the lighthearted presentation of a beginner’s guide to dyslexia. With its simple yet selective choice of words, READ Like a Dyslexic Sort of… is reminiscent of a children’s book — something you would have read when first learning the “dos and don’ts” of society. It is a manual for understanding dyslexia and is meant to evoke a sense of curious kinship with dyslexic people rather than an …

Designing And Creating A Prototype Board Game, Kurtis Woodward

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

The goal of this project was to create a fantasy style board game prototype that is playable and enjoyable for people new to fantasy tabletop gaming. I assembled a group of 4-5 regular tabletop board game players to play test the game as well as a second group of 4-5 family members and friends to play test who aren't regular board game players. We began with a general base game that evolved with each playtest from feedback given by the playtesters. After about 18-20 play tests, I settled on game mechanics and moved on to creating the assets of …

When I Grow Up, Maria Trinidad

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Ever since I was a kid, I have had this fear that still lingers today: the fear of being an adult. It’s my ongoing fear.

I look back to my childhood. I find comfort. I was happy and stress-free. In my childhood, I was unrestrained and enjoyed my innocence. It was my “happier times”. I did not have the worries of responsibilities and burdens. That mindset changed when I realized my father had two full time jobs. I stopped acting my age and became more independent. I didn't want to trouble my parents with school or personal issues. Now I …

Ideation And Iteration For Creatives, Sandee M. Chamberlain

KSU Distinguished Course Repository

This course addresses the development of visual literacy including concepting, initial approaches of creating an encompassing aesthetic, creating timelines for production, and exploring the refining aspects of creative production. Students will devise an advanced creative problem and provide a documented account of their creative journey to present as a process journal at the end of the course.

Mettle, Chelsey Augustine

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

While many see Graphic Design as a separation from art, for me, it has always been a happy blend between my fine art and technological skills. In both areas, I think about what I want the audience to think of feel when the pieces in question. Form, color, anatomy, and concept are all part of my creative process, regardless of whether I am creating digitally with a Wacom or building a wax form in the foundry.

During my graduate studies, I started to get into a flow of building narratives to hone in on conceptual branding ideas. Being able to …

Expanses, Austin J. Buchanan

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This document will explain the nature of Austin Buchanan. This will go over the ideas, process, the executions, and the theories of my artwork. Explaining the ideas of space within, on, and around (outside), the picture plane.

The work included focuses on how a manipulated 2D surface evokes an experiential reaction. This manipulation enhances the actual experiences of real space that happens once someone becomes an observer of a 2D artwork and the conceptual idea of window space. This work challenges the ideas of the traditional picture plane illusion and the Flatbed surface or “Flatness” by expanding the picture plane …

Cultural Formation Of Place: Making Yourself At Home, Olivia Arratia

Art Theses and Dissertations

The environment you grow up in can become a pivotal part of your existence. The sights, smells, people, and places you experience every day can transform the way you see the world. Growing up in a Mexican-American household has brought its own set of experiences that have made me the artist I am today. I am one of many contemporary artists building on the foundations of their heritage and the Chicano movement. I am also a Mexican-American artist expanding the identity and extending the legacy in the 21st century. This paper will investigate how Mexican-American heritage has influenced my artistic …

2d Character Design And Sculpting For Concept Development, Sidney Moore

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The focus of this thesis is on the transition from 2D character design to 3D model design, and how this transition affects the appeal, fluidity, and clarity of the 2D design. The source material for this project was an original screenplay entitled The Birds Work for Bea. Three characters from the material were selected for a process including ideation, research, 2D character and style exploration, 3D sculpting, and 3D printing and finishing. This project serves as a study in all aspects of the character concept development pipeline.

It's All Fun And—: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Space In The Pandemic., Erica Von Proctor Lewis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This exhibition and document explore spatial rhetoric during the pandemic, utilizing materiality and relational aesthetics to reflect on the different ways in which the public and private are made distinct from one another. In doing so, Lewis addresses new cultural navigations of shared spaces, both digital and corporeal, public and private. In addition, the artist also examines the faulty social and institutional systems that the pandemic brought to light, such as socioeconomic dynamics and voter suppression, while utilizing Kenneth Burke’s concept of the terministic screen. Games are a central theme throughout the exhibition, as they are often coded as “home” …