Art Practice Commons^™

Morpho: Expectations & Mutations, Lynda Bostrom

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Morpho: Expectations & Mutations is a written document accompanying the culmination of my three years painting at a graduate level. The result of which is an autobiographical body of work navigating the tension of being a human with an invisible disease, while straining to understand Western societal constructs of women. I simultaneously reject these fairy tales as a standard recipe for happiness, yet identify with its visual language that is rooted in the vernacular of my generation. Redefining the elements I reject or embrace helps me to look beyond the boundaries of these constructs, and adopt an attitude of curiosity …

Art Interventions And Disruptions In Financial Systems: An Interview With Paolo Cirio, Marisa Lerer, Conor Mcgarrigle

Articles

Prior to the release of the 2016 Panama Papers and 2017 Paradise Papers – leaked documents that uncovered the movement of funds through offshore tax havens – conceptual artist Paolo Cirio’s (b. 1979) project Loophole for All (2013) revealed and documented the mechanics behind offshore financial centers. In this interview, Cirio expounds upon his investigations of offshore banking practices, describes his projects for instituting alternative financial models, and explains his hacktivist (i.e. Internet activist) strategies that engage with legal and economic systems. Defining the foundational movements that inform his work, Cirio in turn illuminates his methods of direct provocation and …

Representations Of Mainstream And Marginalized Subjects In The Work Of Diane Arbus, Grace Short

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

This thesis considers the photographs of the twentieth-century photographer, Diane Arbus. In America during the 1950s and 60s, Arbus photographed both marginalized and mainstream subjects including dwarfs, giants, transvestites, nudists, debutants, socialites, and celebrities. At one point in her career, she expressed an interest in family portraiture and, indeed, a number of her images depict families.

Scholars who have written about Arbus, such as Susan Sontag, Carol Armstrong, Anthony W. Lee, and John Pultz, have formulated theories about Arbus’s motivations, although their findings focus on individual features of her work. Sontag argued that Arbus exploited her unorthodox sitters whereas Armstrong …

Experience Bobo Experience, Sara Smith

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Experience Bobo Experience -by Sara Marie Smith (Artist Statements and Images of work)

Spring 2018-CSUMB Undergraduate Capstone Project/ Visual Public Arts Department

My Senior Capstone is about using inspirational wisdom from acknowledged sources to address the quandaries of our human experiences. I have chosen a cognitive clown, named Bobo, to investigate Henry David Thoreau, Jack Kerouac, and Allen Watts. Bobo, my character, goes on a journey of learning. Bobo is a line drawing, rendered in marker, with a circular head, two dot eyes, three puffs of hair with a clown smile and clown clothing. Experience Bobo Experience speaks to …

Title., Douglas Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Title is a series of drawings that explores the aspects of failed projects and the complications of representation within literary and visual practices. This series is informed by preliminary drawings, marginalia, and written notations that are inherent in the formulation processes of both visual and literary compositions. Through an investigation of the 19th Century Russian author Nikolai Gogol’s unfinished novel Dead Souls, I situate this series of drawings as a means to conflate literary theories with visual representation. In this way, the Title series presents fragmentary images, texts, and digressive narratives that demonstrate intermediaries between propositional states and reconciled …

Paradise Entertainment's Feature Of The Week: Splint, Brittney Callahan

MFA in Photography and Integrated Media Theses

Watching television has been part of my daily ritual since childhood. Every time it was turned on, I was able to enter into new worlds that were exotic compared to my house. Each story on the screen filled me with hope, inspired me with passion, and took me to a place where everything, no matter how terrible, seemed to have a purpose, an arc, and an end. These visual narratives birthed the idea of an equational life, one that seemed simple and mathematical. After I realized that life couldn’t be firmly calculated, I decided to invent my own alternative realities …

Lumumba’S Iconography As Interstice Between Art And History, Matthias De Groof

Artl@s Bulletin

How does Congolese art and artistic representations of Lumumba “mediate past, present and future”? How do they relate to historical narratives and to the dialogues within the Global South? This contribution proposes Lumumba’s iconography as a case in point of the interstice between art and history. It positions the image of Lumumba as mediating between past, present and future for both the Congo and the Global South more broadly.

The Us’S Economic Promises Are Over: An Interview With Miguel Luciano, Marisa Lerer, Conor Mcgarrigle

Articles

Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico in September 2017. The island was left without electricity and clean water for months. However, the natural disaster was not the only cause of this lasting devastation. The financial fall-out from predatory loans, which led to Puerto Rico’s inability to invest funds in its own infrastructure, caused an enduring humanitarian disaster. Artist Miguel Luciano (b. 1972) in this interview discusses his work in relation to the 2017 Puerto Rican debt crisis and the legacy of the over 100-year span of Puerto Rico’s colonial status as a US territory, which gives the US disproportionate control over …

Insurgent Finances: An Interview With Gabriela Ceja And Fran Ilich, Marisa Lerer, Conor Mcgarrigle

Articles

When the financial crisis of 2008 exposed the opaque workings of global financial markets, it led to calls for alternate economic models to replace the excesses of contemporary capitalism. A decade on, it can seem that those calls went unheeded. However, in the collaborative social practice of Fran Ilich and Gabriela Ceja, sustainable alternatives modeled on ancient modes of exchange are being developed with projects that are deeply embedded in economic practice; whether that is running a functioning microbank complete with complex financial instruments in Spacebank or serving Zapatista coffee from Chiapas, Mexico in the Diego de la Vega Coffee …

How To Be The Perfect Asian Wife!, Sophia Hill

Art and Art History Honors Projects

“How to be the Perfect Asian Wife” critiques exploitative power systems that assault female bodies of color in intersectional ways. This work explores strategies of healing and resistance through inserting one’s own narrative of flourishing rather than surviving, while reflecting violent realities. Three large drawings mimic pervasive advertisement language and presentation reflecting the oppressive strategies used to contain women of color. Created with charcoal, watercolor, and ink, these 'advertisements' contrast with an interactive rice bag filled with comics of my everyday experiences. These documentations compel viewers to reflect on their own participation in systems of power.

A Sumitography: A Listing Of Postage Stamps Celebrating Contributions To Civil And Human Rights By Martin Luther King Jr. And Associates, Lillie R. Jenkins

Perkins Faculty Research and Special Events

This "sumitography" (from Latin "sumit" means postage stamp) is a listing of postage stamps celebrating contributions to civil right and human rights by Martin Luther King Jr. and associates. In addition to USA postage stamps, this listing includes stamps from other nations, including Cuba, Ghana, Sweden, Turks & Caicos Islands, and others. Also included are postage stamps honoring King associates--in the struggle for civil and human rights, Mohandas K. Gandi, Rosa Partks, A. Philp Randolph, and Malcolm X.

A Woman's Power & Place Vs. A Man's Power & Place, Christine Stoddard

The Crambo

Digital writing and photography.

Blanket Statements, Issue 133, Spring 2018

Blanket Statements: News Publication of the American Quilt Study Group

Blanket Statements, Issue 133, Spring 2018

Time And Lines, Richard Pecos Pryor

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

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” -Annie Dillard

I want to make art that is worthwhile, that shares something important. This desire often overwhelms and hinders me from starting projects. I find myself questioning the purpose of art altogether. Yet, once I relinquish control into action—just simply start and keep going—the unforeseen meaning eventually presents itself.

Drawings begin with lines. Partnered with curiosity, I began this series by exploring the potential of drawing materials. How far and for how long can a single sharpened pencil last? What does a mile of lines look …

Making Visible: More Of The Picture, Sarah Slavick

Lesley University Community of Scholars Day

In Linda Nochlin’s essay “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?, “ she demonstrates how, for centuries, institutional and societal structures had made it “impossible for women to achieve artistic excellence, or success, on the same footing as men, no matter what the potency of their so-called talent, or genius.” As the Guerilla Girls noted, only 1 woman had a solo museum show in NY in 1985, and, in 2015, 30 years later, it wasn’t much better with 1 at the Guggenheim, Met and Whitney, and 2 at MOMA. On International Women’s Day, March 1, 2017, I began a …

Hall Of Heroes, Corey Hinds

Forces

Collin College Spring Creek Library. Size: 19 x 25 in Type: Charcoal and Graphite on paper. A detailed illustration of the main entrance of the Spring Creek Library. The original photograph was taken on my phone. Art piece took roughly 8 hours.

Zooairyland- Xinjie Yin Mfa Thesis Show, Xinjie Yin

CGU MFA Theses

During the process of discovering myself in my art world, I have determined to use cuteness as a way to express my worldview, values, and experiences. Cuteness is my own philosophy and language in the interpersonal communication. I intend to make cuteness meaningful to me as well as to the rest of the world. I believe cuteness contains a power to bring people back to their original simplicity regardless of their age, it is the idea of innocence. Cuteness is like a shield for me to protect myself from the tough, scary and crazy reality; and it is a positive …

Nicks, Sarah Elizabeth (Fa 1132), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1132. Student paper titled “Quilting: Past and Present” in which Sarah Nicks details the components of traditional quilt making. Nicks discusses piecing together patterns and the various motivations behind quilting. Information was collected by Nicks from family and friends. The collection contains color photographs of handmade quilts, a questionnaire related to quilting practices, and a sample piece of a quilt patch.

Alternative Futures: The Creative Reconsideration Of Fashion Objects, Kathryn Roberts

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project is the beginning of what I intend to be a larger, evolving work that seeks to marry the theoretical with the practical when considering fashion objects that have “served their purpose”. The object at the project’s focal point: a worn out pair of blue jeans. My particular focus on jeans is based on the fact that they, alongside the t-shirt, are one of the most ubiquitous and commonly owned pieces of clothing for people all over the world. This wardrobe staple transcends age, race, and class, as it occupies an iconic status that has made them invulnerable to …

Xu Zhen & Madein Company: The Phenomenon Of Artist-Company, Qianfan Gu

Theses and Dissertations

The thesis is about the phenomenon of "artist-company" -- commercial methodologies employed by contemporary artists are determining their artworks. Taking XuZhen as a case study, it attempts to understand the phenomenon through aspects including art autonomy and institutional theories. It argues that "artist-company" is a continuation of institutional critique.

The Tragic Notion Of Painting, Yang Yu

Theses and Dissertations

The tragic notion in my painting is to remind the viewers of the preciousness of their lives. My paintings convey the same feeling as Rothko achieved with his dark paintings. I express my personal experience on the canvas by employing colors and cinematic Atmosphere.

Catastrophe Bonds: An Interview With Oliver Ressler, Brandon Bauer, Oliver P. Ressler

Faculty Creative and Scholarly Works

An Interview with Brandon Bauer and Oliver Ressler on the occasion of his exhibition at St. Norbert College and the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay: "Catastrophe Bonds", the first survey of Oliver Ressler‘s work in the United States. The exhibition focuses on forms of grassroots democracy as well as economic and political alternatives to the existing state of global affairs. This interview was published in the book that accompanied the exhibition.

The Future Of Textiles: Disruption And Collaboration, Susan Brown, Matilda Mcquaid, David Breslauer, Suzanne Lee, Anais Missakian, Abby-George Erikson, Salem Van Der Swaagh

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

The textile field, while not “local” in the geographic sense, is a community: a group of people with a shared language, history, and practices that date back thousands of years. As deeply-rooted as those materials and practices are, textiles is also an area that has historically experienced enormous disruptions due to changing technology and globalization. In the 21^st century, we are undergoing something like a second Industrial Revolution. Advances in digital and robotic technologies and shifting labor markets are driving a revolution in where and how things are made. Global climate change, lack of food security for much of …

Timberline Textiles: Creating A Sense Of Place, Annin Barrett

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Timberline Village holds an iconic place in popular culture, serving as a symbol of Western U.S. mountain tradition. Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining was filmed there, dozens of ski-wear advertisements feature it as background, and it has even been used for an immersive horror game setting. During the early 20^th century, other great mountain lodges were built in the West, but what makes Timberline unique is its textiles. It receives almost two million visitors a year who come from around the world to admire this handcrafted building perched at 6000 fee elevation on Mt. Hood in Oregon. The Lodge was …

Wrapped In Wool: Coast Salish Wool Weaving, Vancouver’S Public Art, And Unceded Territory, Alison Ariss

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Coast Salish blankets, lovingly woven with hand dyed, home spun, and commercially produced yarns, adorn the walls of an international airport, museum, universities, and national broadcasting studio, and a mixed-use development project in Vancouver. All of these publicly accessible sites are located in unceded Coast Salish territory, upon which this city exists. These weavings present a conundrum. Simultaneously viewed as public art and symbols of cultural revitalization, their recognition as fine art has been limited, as most discourse about Coast Salish blankets has occurred outside of the discipline of art history. How then, have these weavings found their way into …

Schoolgirl Embroideries: Integrating Indigenous Motifs, Materials, And Text, Lynne Anderson

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Hand embroidery was an integral part of female education in Europe, America, and their colonized territories until the late 19^th century. All girls embroidered at least one sampler and many stitched more than one. Because needlework was part of the school’s curriculum; a sampler’s composition, technique, and text communicate a great deal about the teacher’s goals, as well as community and family expectations, including those of indigenous students. This presentation explores ways in which indigenous motifs, materials, and text were integrated into schoolgirl samplers and other girlhood embroideries, leaving visible evidence of cross-cultural accommodations. Motifs are recurring patterns or …

Eliza Calvert Hall, A Book Of Hand-Woven Coverlets, And Collecting Coverlet Patterns In Early Twentieth Century Appalachia, Philis Alvic

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

In her 1912 book, Eliza Calvert Hall describes looking out of her window and seeing coverlets thrown over tobacco wagons on way to market. She would run out and try to bargain with the owner for the coverlet. She collected coverlets, their design names, and their patterns. Since Hall supported herself with her writing, she counted on her coverlet book appealing to the wide audience of people interested in the Colonial Revival in home decoration. Although hall published the book, she was just the more visible of those interested in coverlets during the early twentieth century. Throughout Appalachia, there were …

Chilean Arpilleras: Writing A Visual Culture, R. Darden Bradshaw

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

This paper highlights a recent inquiry into the contemporary visual culture of the Chilean arpillera from a cross-global perspective. This art form derived from political, social, and economic conditions of the times yet contemporary manifestations do not address these origins. Arpilleras, historically created in the home and sewn by hand, are constructions in which bits of discarded cloth and burlap were used to compose pictorial narratives. The art form arose in Chile during a period of intense political oppression. This manifestation of women’s fiber art has and continues to serve as both seditious and reconstructive forms of visual culture. While …

The Embroidery Artisans Of The Kashmir Valley: Cultural Imports And Exports From Historical And Contemporary Perspectives., Deborah Emmett

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

On a visit to the Kashmir Valley in northern India during the winter months I was given a pheran to wear. This long woolen garment is the customary apparel worn by Kashmiri men and women in cold weather. While the men’s are plain, the women’s pherans are embroidered on the front and sleeves. The skills of those Kashmiri artisans who hand embroider clothing such as the pherans, shawls, and other textiles including rugs, curtains, and cushions are well recognized in India and beyond. Considering the Kashmir Valley’s geographic position surrounded by the Himalayan Mountains, I presumed that their embroidery crafts …

Fish In The Desert – North Africa’S Textile Tradition Between Indigenous Identity And Exogenous Shifts In Meaning, Silvia Dolz

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Among the oldest handcraft products of North Africa are woven, knotted, and embroidered textiles (flat woven fabrics, knotted carpets, clothing) primarily made of wool and hair from sheep, goats, or camels. Those products have great importance, beyond their practical purpose, as a communicative and artistic medium. Changes and re-evaluations of the textile from a utilitarian object with potent pre-Islamic and Islamic symbolism towards a modern abstract art object reveal centuries of cultural transfer between the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe on the one hand, and between North and West Africa on the other. At the same time, this has …