Art Practice Commons^™

Metaphorical Cities, Elana Melissa Hill

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

This is a reflection on how cities function like organisms. An artist's interpretation of the spaces surrounding them.

Petit Répertoire Méthodologique Pour Une Approche Multidimensionnelle Des Arts Visuels Contemporains, Clotilde Wuthrich

Artl@s Bulletin

Quels pourraient être les outils contenus dans un petit répertoire méthodologique disponible à la fois pour l’anthropologie et l’histoire de l’art à même d’appréhender et décrire les pratiques multiples des arts visuels contemporains, jusqu’aux plus hétérogènes et hybrides, et de façon rigoureusement symétrique ? J’en évoquerai ici quatre en insistant sur le contexte historique de leur émergence: les approches contraires ; l’art comme technologie sociale et les artistes comme interfaces ; l’art-ethnographie ; et la bricologie.

Healing The Encounter Between People And Place In Southern Appalachia, Caroline Merritt

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

In southern Appalachia, we fail to make visible the roots. Existing not as a geographical location but as a socially constructed culture and a concentrated source of exploited energy, the region reflects a necessary element of the postcolonial American imagination. For nationally lucrative resources such as coal, oil, lumber, and natural gas to be extracted without consideration or consciousness for the people and the place of its origin, the otherized Appalachian stereotype must prevail. Further crystalizing this false construction, white Appalachian scholars traditionally address current health disparities via the victimization of poor white Appalachia. The capitalist initiative to concentrate power …

Economic Provenance: The Financial Analysis Of Art Historical Records, Amy C. Whitaker

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

The Leo Castelli Gallery launched pivotal mid-twentieth-century artistic careers, including those of Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg. Although well-studied for its artistic impact, the Castelli archives—as well as those of other gallery artists such as Frank Stella and early collectors such as Burton and Emily Hall Tremaine—include a curious trove of artists’ financial records and related correspondence. This paper argues that these records form an “economic provenance” that is important both to both art market analysis and art history. This economic context is sometimes overlooked because of the contested relationship between art and markets. In this context, the archive can …

It’S Not Trash, It’S Art, Kathleen Kile

EnviroLab Asia

Stepping off the plane in Hue, Vietnam took my breath away. I was slammed with heat and extreme humidity that is common for mid-May. I stood at the bottom of the jetway, trying to adjust not only to my new environment, but to the fact I took this leap of faith and traveled half way around the world to teach children with intellectual disabilities about art made from trash. Little did I know that that step would have such a huge impact on my life and further strengthen my core values.

Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things, Sarah Adcock

Graduate School of Art Theses

I view my creative process as alchemy, the transformation of materials through experimentation. I use wax as a material that transcends its historical use as a sculptural process for casting and instead, use it for its transmutable qualities to inform content. Because of its plasticity and duality as fragile and resilient, wax is symbolically submissive and assertive. By applying heat, wax can be molded and formed into new shapes. Once it cools, wax reverts back to its natural state; solid and impermeable. I use objects to explore desires of origin and life. Transitional objects, the first “me not me” possession …

Art Therapy As A Tool For Enhancing Adolescent Identity Formation, Self-Knowing, And Empowerment., Victoria Force

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Adolescence is a pivotally important developmental stage for individuals. During this time, adolescents begin the journey of discovering the many facets of their identities. This capstone thesis explores how the discipline of art therapy can aid adolescents in the formation of their understanding of specific parts of their identities. Workshops offered at a community mental health organization collected data via surveys, observable experiences, and art. These workshops offered clients a safe space to artistically express their identity. Results of the exercise provide indications that art therapy could be used as a positive aid in adolescent identity formation.

Art Therapy And Art Education: A Conversation - A Critical Review Of The Literature, Shannon Rogers

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Art therapists and art educators are continuing to define the boundaries of their professions while finding opportunities for collaboration. While there are limited studies focusing on art therapy with students, the existing research suggests that the interventions that have been done are associated with an increase of self-esteem, ability to communicate thoughts and feelings, and healthy self-expression for students. The topic question investigated in this paper is what are the emotional benefits of implementing art therapy for elementary students within art education? This literature review will explore what few have focused on, the overlap between art therapy and art education. …

The Psychos, Paula N. Stevenson

Graduate School of Art Theses

My current body of work is a series of drawings that juxtapose characters of fiction and reality in an attempt to explore the relationship between horror film and contemporary social issues. I strive to render an accurate portrayal of the face to draw the viewer into questioning the troubling narrative these characters illuminate. I focus on retelling stories of fear and horror, and crime and infamy. I want my work to convey ethical dilemmas as they are present within the relationship between horror movie antagonists and the audience (all of us). It is these concerns I attempt to visualize in, …

Enmesh: The Art Of Trauma And Recovery, Joanna Pottle

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Liminal Space is an artistic installation within the ongoing, interdisciplinary creative/research project "Enmesh: The Art of Trauma and Recovery.” Utilizing a combination of research methods, creative processes, and cultural inspirations, this project asks the following questions: how can the artistic process (this project serving as a preliminary case study) parallel various modes of recovery and healing? How can this objective be visually communicated through a mixed media approach of drawing, painting, and printmaking and how can this approach be an effective tool of communication? What can we conclude from both modes of work (solitarily or collectively)? How do they accomplish …

Over Certain Undecidedness These Heartstring Intimations, Martha Hemingway

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

over certain undecidedness these heartstring intimations is the culmination of a two-year-long abstracted cycle of textured conversation, internal eye contact, and endless playlist-making. Hemingway’s work is based in process-oriented reflections on habitual behavior, manifestation of sentiment, and sense of self. Her paintings draw inspiration from the ways in which we approach and avoid our internal and external routines – how degrees of our subconscious considerations affect how we extend ourselves to others. Individual auditory preferences of different colliding souls have carved a space for her in a language of empathetic abstraction – attempting to elaborate the curious beauty and pain …

Brown, Chloe Jo, B. 1991 (Fa 1289), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1289. Student collection titled “Dale Cross: The Art of Flintknapping” in which Chloe Brown examines the commercial, historical, and cultural factors that have influenced the production of arrowheads. Brown interviews Dale Cross, a flintknapper from Burkesville, Kentucky who is renowned for his artistic skills. The paper addresses Cross’ personal aesthetics, flintknapping processes, and his business-related endeavors. The collection includes an academic paper, a transcription, CDs containing the recorded audio interview and photographs, and one of Cross’ arrowheads.

Jameson, Jennifer Michelle, B. 1987 (Fa 1288), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1288. Student paper titled “Finding the Folkways of a Forensic Anthropomorphologist: The Kentucky Yard Art Of Cecil and Bet Ison” in which Jennifer Jameson explores the creative endeavors and identities of two folk artists in Rowan County, Kentucky. Jameson, who conducted her fieldwork over a period of two weeks, examines flower sculptures, upholstered trees, bottle cap murals, beadwork, and other vernacular expressions pieced together by the Isons in their built environment. The paper also discusses the relationships between the Isons and their community, personal aesthetics, educational backgrounds, and connections to broader cultural issues. …

Beyond Words: Expressive Arts Therapy In Individual And Group Process In Recovery From Trauma, Agnes Carbrey

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

This paper describes expressive arts therapies that are interventions for the treatment of trauma. A literature review of this broad topic is narrowed to define art therapy used in conjunction with talk therapy, and provides brief examples from dance movement therapy, visual arts therapy, poetry-journaling-storytelling therapy, and sound-music therapy. Recent innovations in the field include the use of body-oriented interventions and group processes. When thinking about trauma, the body is a positive and negative reservoir of memory, and trauma may be trapped in the body. The author reviews the overlap between contemporary art, contemporary dance movement analysis, and forms of …

Liable To Change, Jody Travis Thompson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Liable to Change is a body of paintings in which I explore diverse approaches to the representation of visual space. Depictions of space and movement change throughout the pictures by combining various artistic conventions, such as trompe l’oeil realism and non-objective, geometric abstraction. Oil paint, resin, beeswax, and other materials create built-up surfaces which contain the history of their making. Interaction between various finishes and light on these surfaces changes based on the viewers' proximity to the painting. Images of monkey bars, lattice, golden ratio and flower of life patterns provide a structure through which line, form, and space are …

Ethical Art Waste: Examining Resource Management In The Art Studio, Amanda Peavey

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This paper highlights the lack of education about production and disposal of art materials within the field of art therapy. Failure to educate clinicians creates ethical problems when hazardous materials are used in sessions unknowingly. This paper is grounded in environmental studies and chemical management to supplement the art therapy field’s lack of research and commentary. The literature is dedicated to educating the reader about the hazardous nature of materials, issues surrounding regulations of chemicals involved in production, and consumerism in relation to waste processing. The research data was collected from a community engagement project: an educational presentation was offered …

Cultural Heritage Preservation In The Context Of Climate Change Adaptation Or Relocation: Barbuda As A Case Study, Martha B. Lerski

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This case study introduces an arts camp methodology of engaging communities in identifying their key cultural heritage features, thus serving as a meta study. It presents original research based on field studies on the climate-vulnerable Caribbean island of Barbuda during 2017 and 2018. Its Valued Cultural Elements survey, enabling precise identification of key tangible and intangible art forms and biocultural practices, may serve as a basis for further studies. Such approaches may facilitate future research or planning as climate-vulnerable communities harness Local or Indigenous Knowledge for purposes of biocultural heritage preservation, or towards adaptation or relocation. I report on findings …

Development Of An Art Therapy Method For The Prevention And Treatment Of Vicarious Trauma, Leanna Pai

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Modern developments in the field of mental health care have greatly increased understanding of vicarious trauma and its impacts on the helping professions. However, the prevalence of vicarious trauma symptoms highlights the need for additional research into prevention and treatment. First responders, critical healthcare workers, and mental health professionals are at particularly high risk for compassion fatigue, burn out, and other symptoms of vicarious trauma as they work closely with traumatized populations. The high incidence of vicarious trauma in individual helping professionals can have immense consequences that ultimately limit quality systems of care available to the general public. This thesis …

Autopathography, Aurora Berger

CGU MFA Theses

For centuries the stories of disabled people were not our own to tell. We were silenced by politics and power dynamics beyond our control, and when we succeeded it was “in spite of” our disabilities. I am interested in the reframing of this narrative and discovering my place in this historic trajectory.

I am a disabled artist. I have claimed this identity. It is critical that this identity remains tied to my work as I navigate the worlds of fine art, academia, and critical theory. My art is intrinsically tied to my academic work. They are inseparably bonded through my …

Socio-Political Criticism In Contemporary Indonesian Art, Isabel Betsill

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The objective of this paper is to understand the connections between contemporary art and politics in Indonesia both in terms of how politics has shaped art practices, and in terms of how art influences politics. Questions I was interested in exploring include how contemporary art practices have changed considering the political changes over the past 30 years; if and how contemporary art is being used to facilitate political dialogues in the country; if and how contemporary art is being used to criticize and invoke change regarding social issues; and what the role of art spaces, collectives and foundations is in …

Z4, A Slow Puncture: An Autoethnographic Exploration Of Language, Embodiment, And Meaning-Making, Charlotte Rose Samuels

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In my ISP, I explored language as it relates to the ways in which people living in Cato Manor make sense of HIV/AIDS in their community. With 7.1-7.2 million people living with HIV (PLWHIV) in South Africa, individuals across the country are either infected or affected by illness. KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), the province with the highest rate of HIV, is also the province that was surveyed with the disproportionately highest internal stigma rates for PLWHIV. High prevalence of HIV, particularly in KZN, calls for a constant contextualization of life in the presence of illness.

Throughout the world, metaphor and symbolism is …

Echo: Home, Spring 2019, Columbia College Chicago

Echo

Student-produced magazine formerly published as Chicago Arts and Communication, changed to Echo magazine in 1997. Articles: Not Your Dumping Ground; Behind Closed Doors; Disconnecting in the Digital Age; Hashing It Out and others separated into Utility, Beauty, and Durability categories. 100 pages.

Do Christian Artists Feel Limited By Their Beliefs?, Natalia Perez

Blog

No abstract provided.

Recipe For Disaster, Zac Travis

MFA Thesis Exhibit Catalogs

Today’s rapid advances in algorithmic processes are creating and generating predictions through common applications, including speech recognition, natural language (text) generation, search engine prediction, social media personalization, and product recommendations. These algorithmic processes rapidly sort through streams of computational calculations and personal digital footprints to predict, make decisions, translate, and attempt to mimic human cognitive function as closely as possible. This is known as machine learning.

The project Recipe for Disaster was developed by exploring automation in technology, specifically through the use of machine learning and recurrent neural networks. These algorithmic models feed on large amounts of data as a …

Painting Intimacy: Art-Based Research Of Intimacy, Michal Lev

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This art-based research explores whether — and, if so, how — the process of painting, together with witnessing and reflection on the process and imagery, further an understanding of intimacy. The research also examines the conditions that favor intimacy, the obstacles to intimacy, and the particular features of artistic media, processes and reflection, through the editing of video footage, that can further the intimate experience. The participants in the study were five adults (including the researcher) between the ages of thirty and eighty who were familiar with the creation of visual art. Among them were three women and two men …

Constraint And Control, Patricia Ayres

Theses and Dissertations

I have long considered themes of the body. Drawing on my knowledge as a fashion designer, I bring materials and hardware from the fashion industry into my artwork transforming and rendering them non-functional. My sculptures relate to stories of isolation, separation, and confinement. The following pages will analyze how the United States penal system controls, constrains and restricts the body through physical and psychological wounds. Furthermore, they will examine how the Catholic Church controls people’s minds and behavior through a ritualistic belief system.

The Alchemical Vessel, River Soma

MFA Statements

My work comes from a place of deep feeling on a bodily level. Amidst the decorative play, there is a sense of the primitive and primordial, and also a certain humanity and clumsiness through struggle. Through the hermetic tradition I relate the alchemical vessel and its symbolic process of interior development to my artistic practice. Focusing in mixed media sculpture, I discovered a concentrated accumulation of symbolism specific to my practice, but also the full recognition of my practice as a ritualized psychological undertaking.

Janja Majstorovic, Marija Maracic, Josipa Karaca

SICANJE

No abstract provided.

The Unity Mural: Bridging Communities Through Artmaking, Margaret A. Walker

International Journal of Lifelong Learning in Art Education

A visual essay of a community based art education mural between two universities and a local community, following a tragic hate crime.

Older Artists And Acknowledging Ageism, Liz Langdon

International Journal of Lifelong Learning in Art Education

Intergenerational (IG) learning has the potential to reinforce ageist ideas, through the culturally produced binary of old and young which often describes IG learning. This research with older artists revealed implicit age bias associated with a modernist tradition in art education which minimized the value of art production viewed as feminine. Language associated with ageism shares the descriptors of the feminine and seep into our perceptions. Cooperative action research with multi-age participants facilitated personal growth and through critical reflection, implicit ageism revealed in the researcher’s prior perspective is revealed.