Fine Arts Commons^™

Out In Thin Air, Daiqing Zhang

Masters Theses

My work often takes form in experience-charged installations underscored by phenomenology. The whys and hows behind the work mostly remain unspoken, since I would rather my work speak for itself. This writing project offered me the opportunity to comb through and tell the stories and thoughts that informed the work.

I have built a collection of documentation about the experience of having a sensitivity to moments of wonder in everyday life. These archives recorded sensuous imprints in life composed of mundane phenomena. In the collection there are images/footage of a glimpse of light leaking through cloud crevices; a brush of …

Coast To Coast, Zeyuan Ren

Masters Theses

This essay contains four bodies of work created during my graduate studies, all of which take place on either the West or East coasts, incorporating performance, photography, and video. In the first half of the paper, I examine how the theme of “displacement” is established in my initial works, and highlight the significance of the state of “being displaced” in my process of imaging and (re)understanding the ocean.

At the core of the thesis, I investigate the wave-piloting of Marshall Islanders and a particular cartographic model, the “stick chart,” which is a mnemonic device embedded with the voyager's somatic memories, …

Postindustrial Playbook++, Maxwell Fertik

Masters Theses

There is no such thing as an undisrupted ecosystem. Every inch of the planet is impacted by industrial development and its chemical legacy has mutated the soil and water. As a response, this thesis is designed to promote abundant over extractive resources and visualize a post-industrial reality. It consists of a series of objects, writing and design research on the relationship of industry and ecosystem.

In many ways it is a playbook++, laying out possible strategies or “plays’’ for making do with what exists around us amid collapse.

Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica)(ي'ڑ*), a plant that grows in the most degraded …

Cultivar, Scott Vander Veen

Masters Theses

A memory palace is a mnemonic device that facilitates recollection by putting memory, that slippery substance, into a strictly structured mental geography. It is advisable to use a real place with which you are intimately familiar (perhaps your childhood home) as the scaffolding for the compartmentalization of whatever mental objects require organizing. Other objects, sensations, or atmospheric conditions are used to heighten the efficacy of the system—memory #1 may be found in the junk drawer in the kitchen, at dusk, nestled between a box of safety pins and a bundle of rubber bands. I am interested in the way this …

Home. Objects. Transitions., Fei Gao

Masters Theses

As migratory life challenges traditional understandings of "home," can domestic objects, materials, or substitutes transformed into portable art forms soothe migratory anxiety, navigate connections to home, and become alternatives to the ideal home?

This thesis is an investigation of the value of domestic objects as transitional markers of "home" and their ability to foster positive emotional connection among those whose lives are in flux migrating people. Based on British psychiatrist Donald W. Winnicott's research on "Transitional Objects" or "Transitional Phenomena" such objects not only represent "comfort objects" for infants but also foreshadow the many roles assigned by individuals throughout their …

A Presence Of P____ And W__Th, Riley Wilson

Masters Theses

This body of work examines the involvement of association as it relates to our cultural interpretations of natural phenomena. Flowers and animals, both real and imagined, have been used as symbols for human morality since the beginning of human history. Two sources with which I drew inspiration from are medieval bestiaries and the Victorian practice of flower language. By combining elements from these references, I aim to pair this idea about the human need for classification with my own considerations about my identity. In combination, I also aim to highlight the responsibility that is intrinsic to curiosity. When faced with …

Soul Furnace / فرن الأرواح, Isa Ghanayem

Masters Theses

“This is the good washing, this is (the washing) which separates the dirty body from the pure body. This is like silver mixed with lead, it is separated from it by this (process): one makes for it a cupel of bones, which is what is called the “head of the dog” and of which the common name is kūja-which is the crucible—and this must be made of burnt bones. One melts the silver in it, one gives it a strong fire: the cupel will absorb and receive the lead, the fire will make its subtle (part) fly away and extirpate …

Algorithmic Mirage: The Enigma Of Black Box Algorithm, Brenda Li

Masters Theses

In Algorithmic Mirage, I delve into the intricate connections between black-box algorithms, perception, and control. This artist book presents a series of thought-provoking projects that expose the ways in which algorithmic distortions shape our understanding of value, relationships, and social norms. By materializing the intangible and using jewelry as a metaphor, I reveal the power dynamics that drive our interactions with technology and each other. The book unfolds through three interconnected projects, each focusing on different aspects of the relationship between black-box algorithms and human perception. The first project, Boxed Rings - Algorithmic Distortion, uses diamond rings as an entry …

Rooted In Topsoil, Jiaying Wang

Masters Theses

Disillusioned by my transnational identity, I have come to realize that my sense of belonging is no longer attached to any physical location, but instead to a state of mind, to an intimacy with the world. My notion of home is an obscure and unsettled—at times utopian—idea, which can be infinitely decoded, re-positioned and re-established psychologically. This thesis is an investigation of that liminal state, questioning the paradoxical place at the intersection of longing and belonging, interior and exterior, rootedness and uprootedness. Through a collection of short essays that accompany projects, I seek to unpack the precarious emotional complexities that …

Moretheless, Abdelghani Alnahawi

Masters Theses

material investigations becoming questions with interjections

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 …

Step 10, Jinhong Cai

Masters Theses

Step 10 is an experiment on provoking empathy through

abstracted elements within my studio practice. I am

proposing to craft an emotional piece without leaning

on my identity. This written thesis consists of two parts:

narrative prose and an explanation of my studio practice.

While the installation is entirely devoid of cultural or

personal references, this text-based thesis is full of them

because it is intended to inform whoever is interested in

learning more about the motive behind this creation.

The questions I bought into the thought and creation

process are: Can a piece of art still successfully bring

out …

Material Encounters: Making Memory Beyond The Mind, Ariel Wills

Masters Theses

Can acts of making carry the memories of our embeddedness within the world? This thesis explores how making things can nurture a sense of kinship that cuts across the organic and inorganic, erasing the distinction between living and dead, material and spiritual. Through handwork such as art-making, sewing, knitting, cooking, woodworking, and beyond, the burden of remembering and of archiving is shared across human and non-human bodies, cultivated through practices of making, and through the materials themselves. By recounting the stories of my family’s experience as Jewish immigrants in the United States, I aim to reveal how their domestic practices …

Risd Cabaret 1987-2000 Retrospective Program, Agnieszka Taborska, Bill Newkirk, Risd Archives

RISD Cabaret 1987-2000 Retrospective

No abstract provided.

Risd Cabaret 1987-2000 Retrospective Poster, Agnieszka Taborska, Bill Newkirk, Risd Archives

RISD Cabaret 1987-2000 Retrospective

No abstract provided.

Risd Cabaret 1987-2000 Retrospective Poster, Agnieszka Taborska, Bill Newkirk, Risd Archives

RISD Cabaret 1987-2000 Retrospective

No abstract provided.

Risd Cabaret 1987-2000 Retrospective Program, Agnieszka Taborska, Bill Newkirk, Risd Archives

RISD Cabaret 1987-2000 Retrospective

No abstract provided.

Materials Education And Research In Art And Design: A New Role For Libraries (Survey Stats), Mark Pompelia

Materials Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries

No abstract provided.

Materials Education And Research In Art And Design: A New Role For Libraries (Program Sheet), Mark Pompelia

Materials Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries

No abstract provided.

Materials Education And Research In Art And Design: A New Role For Libraries (Program Booklet), Mark Pompelia

Materials Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries

No abstract provided.

Materials Education And Research In Art And Design: A New Role For Libraries (Website), Mark Pompelia

Materials Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries

No abstract provided.

Materials Collection Creation And Administration: A New Role For Libraries (White Paper), Mark Pompelia

Materials Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries

The Problem/Opportunity: To define, identify, and guide design-based materials collections in academic settings and foster community among those with existing collections and/or those considering creating and supporting one.

Contents and topics:

1. What is a materials collection?
2. Why have a materials collection?
3. Acquisition strategies
4. Organizational approaches
5. Programming possibilities
6. Symposium summary
7. Resources

The Brilliant Line, Emily Peters, Evelyn Lincoln, Andrew S. Raftery

Books

Renaissance engravings are objects of exquisite beauty and incomparable intricacy that are composed entirely of lines. Artists began using this intaglio process in Europe as early as 1430. This captivating catalogue focuses on the height of the medium, from 1480 to 1650, when engravers made dramatic and rapid visual changes to engraving technique as they responded to the demands of reproducing artworks in other media. The Brilliant Line follows these visual transformations and offers new insight into the special inventiveness and technical virtuosity of Renaissance and Baroque (Early Modern) engravers. The three essays discuss how engraving’s restrictive materials and the …

Aha! Vivat Homo Sapiens, Agnieszka Taborska, James Bewley, Szymon Bojko, Conrad Armstrong, Vincent Balistrieri, Heidi Bochain, Sarah Brown, Vale Bruck, Lily Burickson, Marin De Charette, Sarah Dungan, Edie Faig, Matthew Fairbank, Amy Feldman, Jon Fernandez, Hal Forsstrom, Andrea Hackman, Leon Imas, Sherman Kew, Lara Kurtaman, Bri Mcdonnell, Lauren Nassef, Jesse M. Ragan, Allen Spetnagel, Adam Stanforth, Jenny Vovolvski, Ariana White, Chris Yates

Programs

Program for the twelfth and final annual RISD Cabaret held in the Cellar at the top of the Waterman Building. View the Performance Recording.

Astonish Me! Recalling The Cabaret Spirit, Agnieszka Taborska, Dawn Danby, Ian Freeman, Eric Urban, Hyun Hee Cho, Marin De Charette, Matthew Cottam, Carolyn Gehrig, Matthew Heitel, Aimee Estilow, Sarah Rundlett, Robert Van Varick, Issak Tobin, Antoine Revoy, Lee Savage, Erica Wolf, Kevin Lang, Allison Brabee, Hyun-Suk Kim, Helen Lee, Marco Cimatti, Nicholas Fuhrer

Programs

Program for the 1999 RISD Wintersessoin Cabaret intiated by the "Image and Word" class in collaboration with students of RISD Cabaret 1998 and held at AS220. The presentation was conceived and performed in homage and celebration of past RISD Cabaret shows 1987-1998. Graphic Design: Ron Winter, Ji-Ho Sohn and Eric Urban.

The Cabaret Of Dead Souls: Harvesting Russian History, Agnieszka Taborska, Jake Mahaffy, Szymon Bojko, Gella Alhassid, So-Hee Cheong, Matthew Cottam, Dawn Danby, Lorreine Fedor, Andrew Gardner, Carl Henschel, Michael Hoard, Kevin Lang, Eric Leichner, Michael Libby, April Lin, Pia Restina, Markus Reyes, James Sanders, Nicholas Scappaticci, Brett Shagen, Michael Shih, Aika Tong, Araby Williams

Programs

Program for the eleventh annual RISD Cabaret held in the Cellar at the top of the Waterman Building. Graphic design: Mia Moran, Matt Murphy, James Wynn and Katia Popova.View the Performance Recording.

The Beat Generation, Agnieszka Taborska, Paula Hunter, Steven L. Jobe, James O. Barnhill, Helen Lee, Joshua Waldman, Nishira Fitzgerald, Brendan Meilman, Ismael Lawall, Zach Pitt-Smith, Kevin Walker, Tamara Carroll, Rhon Porter, Maleese Schick, Rhody Azcueta, Kevin Umbricht, Matthew Curry, Jee-Eun Kim, Michelle Lee, Marisa Nealon, Karelle Levi, Hilary Riley, Simon Potter, Antoinette Le Vaillant

Programs

Program for the tenth annual RISD Cabaret held in the Waterman Building, top floor coinciding "with the fiftieth anniversary of the year when Allen Ginsburg, William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac first met and started a movement which changed the face of postwar American and influenced the 1960s as well as the subculture of the '70s and '80s." Program, poster and tickets designed by Antoinette le Vaillant. View the Performance Recording.

Ubu Roi, Agnieszka Taborska, Sylvie Toux, Joseph Silva, Marisa Nealon, Jeremy Siew, Matt Desmith, Helen Lee, Roslyn Wiria, Janine L. Burt, Matt Moreau, Jessica Guarino, Kathy Leung, Jennifer Norton, Mutsuko Kasai, Raoul Kim, Simon Potter, Jenny Tu, Pei-Ju Chuang

Programs

Program for the nineth annual RISD Cabaret held in the Waterman Building commemorating the 100th anniversary of the premier of Alfred Jarry's 1896 play, "Ubu Roi". Graphic design: Matt DeSmith and Vivian Law.View the Performance Recording.

Hoppla! Here Comes Grosz, Agnieszka Taborska, Szymon Bojko, Marc Cannon, Denise Emerson, Aurora Gist-Yochum, Alex Hart, Arthur Jones, Laleh Khorramian, Scott King, Maki Koto, Sarah Kreiger, Ricahrd Lloyd, Luciana Mallozzi, Michael Mckenna, Pilar Newton, Heidi Sawyer, Jasmine Winkler, Sue Yoo, Heather Henson, David Medina, Doug Kim, Tara Markus, Hugh Watson, Yoon Cho, Yu-Kyung Chung, Arthur Jones, Polly Spencer

Programs

Program for the eighth annual RISD Cabaret held in Cellar at the top of the Waterman Building. Publicity, posters, cartoons and program designed by Yoon Cho, Yu-Kyung Chung,Arther Jones, Scott King, Richard Lloyd and Polly Spencer. View the Performance Recording.

The Life And Times Of Joseph Beuys, Agnieszka Taborska, Marcin Gizycki, Mark Snyder, Margaret Lewis, Julie Strandberg, Maki Koto, Yvonne Roe, Sven Armster, Ting-Ting Lee, Luciana Mallozzi, Lucinda Wolf, Christine Pellicano, James Bewley, Leah Smith, Matthew Saam, Dawn Marie Caulfield, Ellen Godena, Catherine Warner, Roy Fabian, Shirly Whong, Scott King, Megan Mclarney, Lucinda Wolfe, Andrew Feder

Programs

Program for the seventh annual RISD Cabaret held in the Waterman Building. Graphic design: Mark Snyder; program editor: Margaret Lewis; program photography: Marcin Gizycki. View the Performance Recording.