Fine Arts Commons^™

Bloom: A Microbial Self-Portrait, Emily Lauren Mulvaney

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Standing On The Edge Of A Dream, Parto Ahmadpour Mobarake

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Standing On the Edge of a Dream delves into the intricate tapestry of lived experiences shaped by relocation, emphasizing the nuanced space that exists between reality and imagination. As an individual who has undergone the transformative journey of immigration, I recognize that the concept of relocation is like standing on the edge of a dream. This notion becomes a living structure, intricately woven with threads from our past, present, and future. My artistic exploration extends beyond my artworks, yet it remains deeply rooted in my personal narratives. The artworks in the exhibition continue to draw inspiration from personal memories and …

Art Of Aging – A Portraiture Study, Alaina Mann

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The process of aging can be viewed through different lenses within our society. In the past, scientists and medical professionals performed various studies to better understand and analyze different facets of aging, medicine, and health in general. Historically the arts have reflected multiple aspects of medicine and treatments while more recently, the arts have been used in a research capacity to provide different ways to represent illness, suffering, and care. This study used art-based research methods and portraiture to gather qualitative observations on the older populations within our community. Data collected included drawings, a field journal, and interviews. This study …

Ways To Endure, Skyler J. Maggiore

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ways to Endure is an installation of photographic-based inquiry through light, steel, emulsion, glass and, healing welted skins. Topographic satellite imagery of flood-prone peaks and valleys within my rural home county are abstracted by a Google Earth glitch. Acupuncture needles are a reminder of sorrow and relief and an indicator of boundary and location. The Fresnel lens has a historical responsibility as a beacon, a tool of survival and navigation, originally used to concentrate and project light in lighthouses, and fire starters in survival kits. The Fresnels are fixed in front of intimate portraits to magnify and abstract. This installation …

Evanescent: Animating Space, Kyle Servando

City and Regional Planning

A redesign of the open space of The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA into an plein air gallery for the public to be their own artists.

Both Human And Holy: A Veneration Of Personhood Through Mythic Means, Abigail Porter

MFA in Visual Arts Theses

Mythology acts as a reflection of humanity, a connection of personhood and storytelling that spans through history. This essay covers how the ideas of myth, personhood, archetype, and portraiture remain central to my work. The nature of mythology is innately human in all aspects, centering on ideas being both fictitious and truthful - which allows the ideas of the dualistic aspects between the personhood and mythos with the figures worked with. My work is about people; I elevate the figure into mythic while using those myths to discuss the aspects of identity. My work leans heavily upon my own fixation …

The Artistry Of Mediation: A Look At Mediation’S Effectiveness For Resolving Cross-Cultural Disputes Through The Leonardo Da Vinci Conflict Between France’S Louvre Museum And Italy’S Uffizi Gallery, Sophia D. Casetta

Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research

Art is powerful, as it symbolizes the history and identity of the country that claims it. However, through timely transitions, such as trade and wars, the ownership of meaningful artworks blurs, with museums fighting to claim their heritage to put on honorable display for their people. Mediation can be a peaceful means to resolve art ownership disputes, as it accounts for respecting the individual cultures of the countries represented in the dispute. Using the key medication traits described within this essay, a prepared mediator involved in such a cross-cultural conflict should be able to help resolve the issue at hand. …

Melting, Dripping, Becoming: The Operations Of Memory From The Perspective Of Wax, Naomi Yu

Bachelor of Fine Arts Senior Papers

In my thesis, I explore how different compositional and material techniques are used to re-create a memory. Looking at artists such as Kiki Smith, Guadalupe Maravilla, and Anselm Keifer, I investigate the ways in which they utilize 2D and 3D materials to re-create feelings of memory.

I argue that the art object can conserve and portray memory through metaphorical acts of preservation. I will be specifically studying the acts of encasing and layering as a means to simulate the feelings of memory. I argue that these metaphorical actions create an artificial sense of time that imbues these objects with created …

A Meditation On Loneliness And The Mind's Limits: Combining Buddhism And Art To Better Understand Our Relationship To The Unknown, William Masters

Bachelor of Fine Arts Senior Papers

In this essay, I explain how my art practice instigates inquiry into uncomfortable subjects such as loneliness and how our limits of perception and cognition prevent us from understanding and connecting fully with our environments. I begin by illustrating how I make such subjects more approachable by exploiting the inherent capacity of art to be both pleasurable and painful: a work's pleasing aesthetic can make one more receptive to its disquieting content. I then describe how eastern philosophy and western art have influenced my practice. I highlight how Buddhist insights into the relationship between calmness, security and clarity have informed …

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. …

Eco-Interoception: What Plants, Fungi And Protista Have Taught My Body, Sara Riley Dotterer

Art Theses and Dissertations

To me, ecology is the relational, full-body awareness that I am made up of and deeply connected to everything around me; and for better or worse, this is reciprocal. I form ecotones, an ecological transitional zone between two ecosystems, with the world around me. I use this ecotonal lens to blur binaries and dissolve boundaries between me and the world “outside my body.” During my Masters of Fine Arts at Southern Methodist University, I have continuously explored and represented the lives of various more-than-human species outside of my body, including plants, fungi and protista through an ecotonal lens. Although these …

The Great Unlearning, Catherine Mccrory Pears

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Great Unlearning is a conceptual exploration: sifting through experiences and objects to overcome psychological pain, expectations of society, individual upbringing, and outside influences in an ongoing quest for authenticity. To both embrace personal history and honor loved ones while letting go of lingering negativity is challenging. Using objects culled from my life, examining the past, and incorporating items gathered along my path through nature, the work seeks personal healing while promoting the power of all people to break from indoctrination, group think, and mob mentality to make better choices to live a satisfying and peaceful existence…hopefully in a democratic …

The Invisible Box, Rafael Yaluff

Theses and Dissertations

A work of art is something so simple that it puts you in front of it. And through its simplicity it makes you aware of yourself in front of it, it gives you yourself. This paper explores the creative process from a structural perspective

A Pastor's Fine Art Collection: From Down-To-Earth To World-Renowned, Lily Hampton

Undergraduate Theses

Art collecting and the methods of acquiring art are constantly changing with the times. While some world-class collections are filled with a wide range of art types-- paintings, sculptures, ceramics, photographs--the public has little knowledge of how these pieces are chosen and accumulated. Competition in the art scene is undoubtedly a factor, but an argument can be made about whether some collectors choose works for highly personal reasons. The subject of this thesis is a local fine art collection, the Mary and Al Shands Collection of the Great Meadows estate based in Crestwood, Kentucky. This stunning in-home art gallery is …

Fragmented Relationships, Drew M. Dzurko

Student Projects

Relationships are often viewed through a binary lens. This greatly oversimplifies their intricacy, yet they can be one of the most challenging human experiences to navigate. Drawing on the symbolisms of memories Drew created digital images that embody these memories related to lost relationships. Using a binary image converter Drew created a visually simple image made up of only two colors down to each pixel. He then brought these images into a text editor on a computer which would display the raw code of an image. This revealed long strings of machine learning code that are indecipherable to the human …

Death Like Dreaming, Junli Song

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This written dissertation accompanies my thesis exhibition, Death Like Dreaming, which took place in Sculpture Gallery in the spring of 2023. This show was the culmination of my MFA at the University of Arkansas and centered around my most recent zhenmushou sculpture. I began making these mythical beings from my mythology in the summer of 2022. This essay will provide theoretical, historical, and personal context to the work, expanding upon my artistic journey and exploration during my degree. I will focus on my conceptual and formal decision making, areas of research, and discuss the world building and personal mythology that …

Cezzartt: Building Community Through The Arts, Cesar Aguiar

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

In this project, I propose Building Community through the Arts in San Bernardino California. In the recent decade, the city of San Bernardino has lost so much of its motivation and dedication to care for the art community. The local art community has always been present, however, overseen by the lack of resources and efforts in bringing the art community back to life through events, art shows, gatherings, or awareness within the city. The purpose of this project was to educate and bring awareness to the city and its people regarding the forgotten art community in the city of San …

Extended Substance, Danielle Brensinger

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Artist Statement:

“One of the most successful devices for easily creating uncanny effects is to leave the [viewer] in uncertainty.”

-Sigmeund Freud, “The ‘Uncanny’”

I’m interested in making people uncomfortable. Through the exploration of the uncanny, I exploit the unexpected and the psychological to embrace personal reactions. Like conversations we have with ourselves in the mirror, there’s an uncomfortable nature in looking beyond surface value. Utilizing beauty as a strategy and the laws of attraction, my work intends to entice a visual response only to be met with ambivalence. I try to establish a state of uncertain worlds, partial …

Lars Gustaf Sellstedt: Art In Buffalo And The Buffalo Fine Art Academy, Shannon N. Gilmartin

History Theses

This Master’s Thesis Project researches the life of a forgotten Buffalo artist, Lars Gustaf Sellstedt. He was born in Sundsvall, Sweden and started his life as a sailor when he became a cabin boy as an early teenager. For most of his young life until his mid-twenties, Sellstedt was a sailor traveling to all corners of the world. He started his journey as an artist while in between sailing jobs. Over many decades he portraits locally and abroad mainly in the Caribbean Islands. Sellstedt was one of the few artists in 19th century Buffalo, sharing the profession with William J. …

Artificial: A Study On The Use Of Artificial Intelligence In Art, Hayden Ernst

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

In the past three to five years there have been significant improvements made in AI due to improvements in computing capacity, the collection and use of big data, and an increase in public interest and funding for research. Programs such as ChatGPT, DALL•E, and Midjourney have also gained tremendous popularity in a relatively short amount of time. This led me to this project in which I aimed to gain a deeper understanding of these art generator AI and where they fit into art as a whole. My goal was to give recommendations to museums and exhibits in Omaha on what …

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 …

Autoethnography As Self-Portrait: An Autoethnographic Analysis Of Trauma-Sensemaking Through Art, Kally Werning

All Theses

This project thesis is centered around coping with early onset childhood trauma through an autoethnography of narrative and art creation. The goal of this project is to understand more deeply how the art making process synthesizes or disrupts trauma sense-making through the introspective lens of the artist as scholar. The project consists of an interactive art exhibit and this written scholarly analysis of the creation and display of this exhibit. This includes an introduction to my life as a trauma survivor and Greek-American woman, informed by communication scholarship and other relevant fields regarding narrative theory, Greek history, religious and trauma …

Catherine Grant & Kate Random Love. Fandom As Methodology, Widya Citra Nastiti

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

No abstract provided.

Artistic Representation And Self Esteem, Brianna Davis

Honors College Theses

Dependent upon the constructs of the perception of self and the viewpoint of others, humans base the value of their self esteem on outer perspectives rather than internal ones. For this thesis in particular, the outer perspective to be examined is representation in the field of the arts. This thesis project explores the process of self esteem, artistic representation in the arts, how one affects the other, a history of the correlation between the two, and ways to inform and educate the masses with the tools necessary to advance representation in the arts thus raising the self esteem of its …

Tradiciones, Selena Medellin

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

In the organic ceramic forms I create, I provide a look into memories of growing up with my late grandfather, a first generation Mexican-American. Our house was adorned with Mexican paintings, an altar for those that had passed, and traditional textiles such as sarapes, rugs, and blankets. I learned stories of our ancestors, the myths and legends of our native land, and that you must celebrate both life and death. I use the combination of ceramics and mixed media to convey both the vibrancy and solemnity of Mexican tradition. In my work, I reference Aztec Gods and Goddesses, Mexican textiles, …

Lights And Shadows - 2023, University Of North Alabama

Lights and Shadows

Art and Literature Magazine

Graphic Design & Painting, Emily Zepp

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Starting with the desire to explore the connection between GD and painting, I realized the only difference between the two is the context in which the work is created. Both graphic design and painting seek to impart messages upon the viewer and explore a certain perspective. Success can be measured in both disciplines by the effectiveness of the communicated message.

The Old One And La Mer, Karter Tod Bernhardt

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

No abstract provided.

Return, Leilani Bascom

Theses and Dissertations

Return is a video-based installation which includes sound, performance, and textile elements. Leilani Bascom is the lone actor navigating the water and where the water meets the land in this personal project exploring concepts of the life cycle from birth to death and rebirth. Life's paradox of struggle and release unfolds with imagery of battling through waves to swim deep underwater, fighting a river current and then surrendering to the flow, and carving a hole in the sand to climb into and be held. Viewers are immersed in the movement and sounds of water to witness the power and meaning …

The School Of The One: A Mystery On Canvas, Noah Salomon

Regards

In late 20th century Sudan, a new school of visual art emerged that sought to bridge what it saw as a gulf between contemporary Islamic renewal and the arts. Lamenting that the latter had gone in the direction of secular life, while the former had taken on a deeply anti-aesthetic bent, the school looked to Sufism’s aesthetic archive to revitalize Islamic artistic practice for the 21st century. Calling itself “The School of the One” (Madrasat al-Wāhid), its artists sought to harness the power of beauty inherent in Islamic theological and ritual traditions while suturing it to new ends …