Art Practice Commons^™

My Flesh Is Your Pasture, Dakota Noot

CGU MFA Theses

Painting my body frees it from the limits of reality. My body exists in a collaged state between man and woman, human and animal, abstract and figurative. By embracing my body’s power as an object, it isn’t limited to being a representation of myself. My painted body can be owned or identified with. It can be feared, hated, and lusted after. I submit my body, blasting it with horror, humor, and a sheer sense of enjoyment.

Ghost Water Exhibition, Michael G. Sharp

Theses and Dissertations

The Ghost Water exhibition of artworks by Michael Sharp was comprised of four main works titled: 30 x 60 Minute Grid Series, Suspension, History/Prehistory, and Lake Bonneville Remnants. The artwork was created as a reaction to the land that once held the prehistoric Lake Bonneville and to its current remnant Great Salt Lake. The work explores the dialogue between absence and presence.

Restoration, Shannon M. Slaight-Brown

Theses and Dissertations

The marks I make in clay have different characteristics, and the physical mark of one’s fingertips or visual record of the hand is personal and intimate. This visible activity is the evidence of my constant presence and control within each object. Its repetitive meditation produces a private relief from my persistent anxieties. This exploration for me is not only visual, but also physical. This is the start of my infatuation with the idea of pattern. It has its own discrete visual language and modes of communication; and through my research I am developing a method of intercommunication.

Interface: Fringe Landscapes And Identity, Elizabeth T. Lewin

Theses and Dissertations

An MFA thesis that weaves together: virtual landscapes, escapism, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, utopia, family, and identity.

(Im)Possible Identity: Autoethnographic (Re)Presentations, Seungho Moon, Christopher Strople

The Qualitative Report

In this paper, we examine experience, identity, and their intersections. Working from an autoethnographic positionality, we investigate the insufficiencies of language and the limitations of any given researcher with an intent to address multiple realities and their respective interpretations of meaning. Autoethnographic narratives with the use of visual, written, and multimedia representations further acknowledge the dilemmas of qualitative researchers when they cannot fully describe subjectivities in research. What is deemed to be valid research is often indicative of a theoretical framework that aggressively seeks to invalidate other perspectives and ways of knowing. Thus, we create research spaces by employing counter-narratives …

Ghosts In The Garden: Cultural Critique Through The Lens Of The Absurd, Andrew T. Catanese

Undergraduate Theses—Unrestricted

The primary lens by which I deconstruct my work is the absurd and “lucidity” of the absurd as developed by Camus in The Myth of Sisyphus. Camus’ absurd grows out of the tension between human desire for establishing order with the impossibility of doing so in a universe that continually resists our abstractions. The absurd then becomes a means to understanding the criticisms in my work of consumerism, behavior, and spaces which attempt to control or constrict people. I approach my art as an “other” or “outsider” from the system of Protestant moral dichotomy in which I grew up. …

"To Deal", Kyle Peterson

Art and Art History Honors Papers

My objective in beginning this series was to, quite simply, deal with personal issues. I wanted to begin to dissect and make sense of my experiences through critical understanding of the different internal and external social pressures I was feeling. I did so by creating a series of life-size objects referencing and conflicting with both my own and other’s bodies in space. These objects in their scene have taken on a life of their own that places them in a dialogue beyond just my own experience, furthering to allow for other’s experiences to be reflected as well. The result was …

.(In|Out)Sider$, Jarel M. Harwood

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the insider/outsider dynamic experienced by individuals as they enter diverse social situations. The shift from insider to outsider is evoked through an art installation of 18 sculptures drawing influence from "goth" subculture, as the viewer enters and interacts with the art space. The subjects of culture and identity are discussed as they pertain to insider/outsider status.

Not Just A Symbol But A Status Symbol, Summer D. Winston

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

I create art, not out of a deep understanding of the world around me, but out of a lack of one. Human psychology, motives, behaviors, stressors, intentions and identity are the themes that boggle me the most. Therefore, it is only natural that my work would be fueled by the questions these themes pose. In the past I sought to understand what pushes people to make certain choices and how can the world around us affect the formation of identity. Currently I wonder about identity in terms of what do people use to form and reinforce identity both real and …

Perry B Marks • Artist Statement, Perry B. Marks

CGU MFA Theses

My work cuts through the distractions and travesties of modern American life, revealing the nonsense that multinational corporations spew. Consumption as a way of life is now a familiar part of the global culture. Political and corporate icons have made their way into individual identity by means of branding, product placement and crossover promotion. They are ubiquitous, embedded in myriad experiences to attract, entertain and satisfy artificially stimulated appetites. Similar to placating drugs, they function like the bread and circuses of the Roman Empire.

My process breaks down elements and symbols from the past and present, remixing old and new …

Nuevas Narrativas: Translation Of Family History, Migel A. Delgado

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Family histories are hard to pass on when the native language of one's culture is no longer passed on to the next generation. Growing up between two cultures has created a void that is considerably complex. Nuevas Narrativas: Translation of Family History represents the dynamics involved with deciphering my grandfather's migration story. This investigation within family narratives illustrates the dynamics within reception, translation, and transcription of traditional narratives.

In this installation, I engage the reception of my grandfather's migration story as a way of addressing how foreign languages and historical narratives create displacement through time. The context for this work …

Assessing (Multi)Culturalism Through Public Art Practices, Anru Lee, Perng-Juh Peter Shyong

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Fabricating Womanhood, Emily Fox

Theses and Dissertations

The exhibit, Fabricating Womanhood, was an attempt to explore the construction of gender and identity. While the artwork addressed well researched and documented feminist themes the artwork also stemmed from personal experiences and my coming-of-age process. The resulting installation included video, prints, painting, ceramics and found objects arranged in a set-like house construction of life-size proportions.

Black, White, Brown, Aisha S. Harrison

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

BLACK, WHITE, BROWN Aisha Shani Harrison, M.F.A University of Nebraska, 2010

Adviser: Gail Kendall

I address emotions and perceptions that are complex and multifaceted. My goal is for the work to communicate these emotions in a way that makes them accessible to others. Most people have felt disconnected, longing, anticipation, relief, anger, frustration and have experienced internal conflict. While this work touches on these emotions, there is, because of who I am, a set of questions I am asking regarding racial identity.

This autobiographical work is a series of ceramic figures that are engaged with symbolic objects which together form …

Lilypond Identity, Branding, And Marketing, Elise Bartley

Art and Design

Lilypond USA is a Colorado-based company specializing in developing and selling specialty women’s bags, backpacks, and luggage. Their inaugural line was launched in July of 2009. This project discusses changes and refinements to their existing products through verbiage and visual edits, proposes marketing and development strategies with a product development plan developed, discusses and develops branding in the development of a new identity system as well as through branding copy and imagery. Focus Group strategies, outlines, and results are developed and discussed in detail as well. The final result is a printed deliverable proposal to Lilypond with all of the …

Terry Hoage Vineyard Re-Design, Sara Hamling

Art and Design

This document includes an introduction to the Terry Hoage Vineyard Re-Design project including the problem, the purpose and limitations of the study and a glossary of terms. It also includes an overview of the research found before the design process, a documentation of the design process and a summary with recommendations for students with similar projects. Images are referenced throughout the paper; these images can be found at the end of the paper.

Lantern's Diary, Wei Zhong Tan

Theses and Dissertations

My MFA project titled, “Lantern's Diary” is a synergy of colors, tactile experiences, and reflections on change. The artwork is based on cultural influences. The physical form of the lantern is a metaphor of culture identity—in Eastern culture, paper has been used in architecture, furniture, clothing, funerals, writing materials, and lanterns. Its function as a material is to fulfill the necessity of daily life and ceremonial rituals. Hence, paper plays an important role in the Eastern society. The color spectrum representing “Change” corresponds with the western system of color organization. The gallery space plays a spatial aesthetic role in …