Fine Arts Commons^™

Now And Then, Scottt Arthur

LSU Master's Theses

I am interested in painting that begins in observation and manifests itself as a meeting ground of the subject and myself. My paintings explore color and spatial relationships as well as a surface that is manipulated over time. I often paint from nature on site as well as from small sketches and drawings that are later brought back to the studio and painted on a larger scale.

The Collaged Practice : (Un)Familiar, Raina Beth Wirta

LSU Master's Theses

My thesis exhibition is an installation of works including sculpture, video, paintings, a hand made book, sound, and drawings that emanated from a series of two-dimensional collages: self-contained forms that evoke the surreal, (un)familiar, and/or grotesque. Infused with a sort of mysterious being-hood and intended to inspire curiosity (at the least), they are unfamiliar in relation to a particular biological thing, but (mostly) recognizable in the autonomous bits and pieces. I seek to question where our physicality ends and the next form of biological life begins, and our responses to that physicality. With childlike inquisitiveness and wonder, and a healthy …

Color Journal, Meichi Lee

LSU Master's Theses

Color Journal consists of a collection of works, which depict landscapes and cityscapes with an underlining consciousness of the interrelationship between humans and their environment. Over the ages, the relationship changes through the history of human civilization. In the current age, nature seems to suffer a losing battle. Therefore, there is a personal nostalgic sentiment to emphasize the beauty of our natural environment and the importance of the balance of the relationship. The image of houses is chosen to represent human activities because of the inherent symbols embedded in houses. All the paintings in the collection rely heavily on memory …

Interiors Imagined And Remembered, Andrew Brown

LSU Master's Theses

My paintings are about the concept of home and how this notion constantly evolves with each successive experience, changing how I perceive and experience interior spaces. The imagery in my work is limited to common forms such as cardboard boxes and shelving, as these are elements that are easily related to, and that speak to everyday experiences. Color, space and form are manipulated to work within and at times subvert the implied narrative of each painting. Although memory remains an active part of my process, imagination and the exploration of paint’s physical and expressive possibilities have risen to the fore. …

Intimate Distance: Negotiating The Urban/Suburban Divide, Whitney L. Sage

Mid-America College Art Association Conference 2012 Digital Publications

As a native of Farmington Hills, a suburb thirty minutes outside of Detroit, I have always had a peculiar relationship with the city. As a child I visited Detroit often for family outings to the DIA and Tiger Stadium. Hours later we would be driving on I-96 returning west. All of my early memories of Detroit are happy and warm, however they are seen through the rose-colored glass of wide cultural and geographic separation from the city. In this way, my artwork, which discusses Detroit’s past and present through literal representation, radiates nostalgia and expresses both a sense of intimacy …

Everyday Rituals, Chen Gu

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis traces the trajectory of Chen Gu’s work over a three year period, looking at major influences such as Bustos and Saville, on her painting and film projects. She explores the concept of childhood, memory, and portraiture.

Being-There, Atilio A. Pernisco

CGU MFA Theses

I blend figures with backgrounds to define pensive areas of focus and delve between figuration and abstraction. These paintings connect the viewer with the strangeness of the ordinary world. This is the moment of unconsciousness. It is then where elements of a narrative emerge. I depict the figure in movements of awkwardness. Images of the familiar environments of children involved in some kind of work-play activity, the inheritors of generational trauma, reoccur in my work--a parade of daydreamers in direction to witness the uncertain.

The Darkness Is Passing, Grace Heeeun Park

CGU MFA Theses

My work is about the interplay of light, darkness and space. I express illumination of space and penetrating light with abstract painting. I use the white of canvas and thick application of black paint to create frames and to break rules of defined dimensions. Through my paintings, I challenge the perception of space and question the boundaries between two and three dimensions.

Reflections On Sexuality, Sensuality, And Painting, Loie Hollowell

Theses and Dissertations

The written component of my thesis will take the form of an extended artist statement in which I discuss all six paintings included in my thesis exhibition. A major theme of my work is sexuality, specifically female sexuality. This thesis will begin by looking at the three miniature paintings that spearheaded the investigation of this theme. I will examine the generalized and personal feminist symbolism that these paintings contain. The two works that followed the miniatures are depictions of sexual interactions between my husband and myself. I will explain the significance of my depictions and relate them to the work …

Ed Lai Interview About Grace Lai, Thomas Matt

Asian American Art Oral History Project

Artist Bio: Grace Lai painted downtown Chicago in concrete and steel bloom, for two decades producing vibrant montages of skyline-shaping buildings as they climbed. An "on-site" artist who didn't seriously take up painting until nearly 60 because of a promise made to her deceased husband, Mrs. Lai donned a hard hat and was unafraid to board construction elevators for rides high into the sky to complete her work. In winter she'd wrap herself in plastic garbage bags and substitute rubbing alcohol for water in her paints, so they wouldn't freeze.

Artist Bio taken from the Chicago Tribune (http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-03-17/news/ct-met-0318-lai-obit-20100317_1_paintings-materials-train-stations)

To learn …

Float In Float Out, Jason Sabbides

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The artist discusses Float In Float Out, his Master of Fine Arts exhibition held at The Slocumb Gallery, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee from March 19, 2012, to March 23, 2012. The work consists of paintings on canvas, panel, and paper and employs a variety of media ranging from traditional materials to spray paint. The painting sizes vary from 20x24 inches up to 48x96 inches and all hang directly on the wall, framed and unframed. Topics discussed in this thesis paper include the influences of the artist's military experience and travelling abroad as well as the influences …

Marais Des Cygnes, John Michael Orr

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis documents the concept, process, installation, and specific pieces in my Master of Fine Arts thesis exhibition, Marais des Cygnes. The Marais des Cygnes is a river in southeast Kansas and western Missouri, near a Bleeding Kansas-era massacre site of the same name. The river is notorious for flash flooding, was named by French explorers and translates to Marsh of the Swans. The work is about a fictional wandering car thief and alcoholic named Vernon, the bad guy in my novel. Vernon is obsessed with the distant past, particularly the time before the Louisiana Purchase and the Louisiana of …

Teller Machine, Reid Ramirez

Theses and Dissertations

This document examines the work in my MFA thesis exhibition. The objects in that installation address specific socio-aesthetic sites of class and power. The personal and cultural narratives examined here further explain the objects’ symbolic potential.

Dismemory: On History, The Southern Imaginary, And Abusing The Visual Record, Matthew Pendleton Shelton

Theses and Dissertations

Using the literary device of a fictional interview between the artist and a sympathetic intellectual, I explore concepts relating to subjectivity, pedagogy, memory, “Southernness,” whiteness, the deceptive nature of images, social justice, and 20th century art as they relate to a contemporary artistic practice.

Art And Space: Impacting The Workplace, Erin V. Mccool

Senior Honors Theses

Art in its various forms and applications has always been a part of the human experience. Art can be intrusive, thought provoking, or simply beautiful. Although art comes in many different styles and forms, art continues to capture our imagination. The purposes of this thesis are to discover how art affects human activity in the workplace as well as the qualities that make artwork in the workplace successful. Based on the findings of this study, artwork will be created for the Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence at Liberty University in order to create a lively, creative environment. By …

Stephen Chang Kim Mfa Thesis Statement, Stephen C. Kim

CGU MFA Theses

Stephen Chang Kim Thesis

Peacocking, Margaux Hymel

LSU Master's Theses

My work attempts to express personal experiences and external observations of the present day western female ethos. Through visual depictions of forms with mixed media, my paintings convey females exposing themselves as sexual beings yet displaced in reality, as the illusion of their character is a projection based on environment and other people. Dressed in intimate garments with different hairstyles or wigs, I reference myself and create various extensions of my persona. Through these facades I investigate aspects of womanhood dictated by a cultural paradigm. I aim to create sexually charged scenes and explore the concept of perception, the internal …

Color Locality, Michael Frederick Secor

LSU Master's Theses

Secor, Michael, B.A. Art, Centre College, 2006 Master of Fine Arts, Spring Commencement, 2012 Studio Art Color Locality Thesis directed by Professor John Malveto Pages in thesis, 10. Words in abstract, 188. ABSTRACT I go outside to make small drawings and sketches of the local landscapes. My paintings are created in my studio. I use the lines and shapes from the drawings as a guide in making a design of color and space. This practice allows me to relate my enjoyment of the outdoors to my interest in color relationships. It is very important to me to spend time outside, …

Vestige, Gina Hunt

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The work in Vestige alludes to aging and the physical deterioration of the human body through time. My interests in early radiography and X-ray technology, paired with a recent exploration of spirit photography, have become the conceptual basis for this body of work. The relationship between medical imaging and spirit photography deals with technological efforts to document the elusive and less tangible. In this work, the artistic process has become a metaphor for existence and ephemera. Utilizing monotype printmaking with spray paint, I create marks that are traces. This quality becomes a metaphor for the transient, similar to watching a …

Inside And Outside, Joshua Harry George

LSU Master's Theses

The boxing paintings and drawings are not about fighting as much as they are about the fighter’s existence. Many of the images show the boxer training or in an isolated environment in order to show how methodical their lives become. I see boxers as sacrificial athletes, not only because their health is at risk, but also because they must separate themselves from loved ones during training, as well as abstain from certain foods in order to maintain a certain weight. Every boxer is an underdog, in a sense. They are all at risk of losing something, whether it is their …

Mexico Through The Russian Gaze: Olga Costa In Guanajuato, Yulia Stakhnevich

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Posted And Painted, Emily Wood

Theses and Dissertations

My works are painted directly from photographs posted on the social media website Facebook in an attempt to explore how the reading of an image can be altered when it is painted. By working from these particular photographs I make my work relevant to my time. Through translating these images into paint, I draw attention to, and bring life to, images that have become lost in monotony. Painting an image on wood places it on an organic surface that takes it far away from its digitally contrived and mechanical origin. Furthermore, the expressive application of paint is an integral part …

Eulogy., Megan Renee Levacy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The artist discusses the search for identity which underlies her Master of Fine Arts exhibition, Eulogy, hosted by the Carroll Reece Museum on the campus of East Tennessee Sate University, Johnson City, Tennessee, from March 8 to May 6, 2011. This exhibit contains works which explore the artist's relationship with the natural world, ornithology, philosophy, psychology, poetry, and related personal influences.

The artist's thesis work consists of paintings, drawings, and photographs. The artist references her own investigation of poetry, philosophy, psychology, and personal history which have shaped a private sense of awareness. Also reviewed are the influences of artists …

A Matter Of Taste., Charles E. Haskins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis paper supports the Master of Fine Arts exhibition at the Slocumb Galleries, East Tennessee State University, from March 14th through March 18th, 2011. The exhibit is composed of nine oil paintings depicting an invented story about two characters who create a soup for a cooking competition. The show A Matter of Taste chronicles an allegory concerning the evaluation of creative works. Through Gaudie and Baudie's "odd" recipe this work illustrates the ways in artists and art audiences interact and determine artistic value. The work is inspired by techniques in distortion and narrative painting. The following expands on the …

The Anxious Fields Of Play, Luther Kroman

Theses and Dissertations

I see myself as a maker. Most of what I do is make paintings, but to define myself as a painter puts other projects at a critical disadvantage, labeling them as “side projects.” Robert Morris once said that although visually his work may vary a great deal, he felt the ideas flowed throughout the work. I like this idea. The role of the studio and the idea of play as both diligent investigation and a way of playing a game with the viewer is part of what I will discuss. In addition, I use game spaces as a surrogate to …

Image-Based Modeling Techniques For Artistic Rendering, Bynum Murray Iii

All Theses

This thesis presents various techniques for recreating and enhancing two-dimensional paintings and images in three-dimensional ways. The techniques include camera projection modeling, digital relief sculpture, and digital impasto. We also explore current problems of replicating and enhancing natural media and describe various solutions, along with their relative strengths and weaknesses. The importance of artistic skill in the implementation of these techniques is covered, along with implementation within the current industry applications Autodesk Maya, Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter, and Pixologic Zbrush. The result is a set of methods for the digital artist to create effects that would not otherwise be possible.

Alterations, Michael Marks Ii

All Theses

My work is an investigation into the physical and cognitive spaces that painting occupies as both image and object. By transplanting fragments of mechanical and digital reproductions into formal and conceptual participation, I seek to disrupt the significations of culturally accepted iconography and probe the locations of acceptance they normally inhabit. I employ strategies of manipulation, framing, and juxtaposition to visually suggest the presence of the original object through the parameters of the reproduced composite and implicate the presence of the institution by incorporating the gallery wall directly into a number of my compositions. By utilizing imagery from the art …

Realist Painting And Its Relationship To My Creative Practice, Xuning Wang

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis examines the realist art movement from its origins in France in the 1840s to its development in China in the 20th century and its impact on the author as an artist. The thesis reviews the development of realism in France, and traces its impact on Chinese conceptions of realism in the 20th century. The contemporary debates surrounding realism in China are examined and contextualised within the recent history of realism in China. Finally the thesis looks at the impact of realism on the author’s creative practice and a case is argued for the development of realist ideas in …

Physically And Viscerally Made, Jenny Hutchinson

All Theses

Through the mediums of painting and drawing, I seek to create a figure that communicates particular states of being relative to contemporary conditions in society. Today we are individuals consumed by visual media and interconnectivity. I question -in wake of those conditions- how often we are self-aware. By living our lives through these two devices, we increasingly satisfy external needs, but may neglect internal needs. This situation, I believe, causes a dislocation of mind from body, and allows us to behave body-less. The distortion that we feel viscerally and live physically is actualized through the paint and drawing mediums. An …

Cannibalism: A Failure To Be Satisfied., Richard Brandon Pruett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis supports the Master of Fine Arts exhibition at the Tipton Gallery, East Tennessee State University, from March 23^rd through April 3^rd, 2009. To comment on the title of my thesis, it describes an invented process created to re-contextualize failed paintings into works that critically comment on the discipline of painting itself. The paper describes and analyzes the conceptual moves created by a refusal to be satisfied with predictable outcomes in my work. At the end of this tumultuous quest to explore what painting is to me, the most rewarding works were a product of a …