History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons^™

Between And Beyond, Noah F. Heil

Art and Art History Honors Projects

Between and Beyond is a series of handbuilt and wheel-thrown ceramic objects which explore intimate queer relationships through the human figure. I assemble slabs of clay to create openings and negative spaces within the sculptures, implying the ways in which the human form also acts as a vessel. The sculptures as well as the figures themselves remain open and vulnerable, literally and metaphorically. The body is depicted through fragmented sections, alluding to the ways in which society and culture break up gender and sexuality into limiting binaries. These intimate, private moments are meant to conjure an imagined future free of …

Between The Cracks: From Squatting To Tactical Media Art In The Netherlands, 1979–1993, Amanda S. Wasielewski

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the early 1980s, Amsterdam was a battleground. During this time, conflicts between squatters, property owners, and the police frequently escalated into full-scale riots. Although the practice of squatting was legally protected in the Netherlands, the formation of a social movement around squatting in the mid- to late ’70s brought about a turbulent period exacerbated by economic hardship and widespread youth unemployment. Those active in the squatters’ movement sought to carve out new spaces in the fabric of the city, guided by anarchist politics and a desire for autonomy. These cracks, or temporary autonomous zones, in the established order created …

Dance Of Exile: The Sakharoffs’ Visual Performances In Montevideo (1935–1948), Pablo Munoz Ponzo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis explores the life-work chronology of the dancers and choreographers Clotilde von Derp (whose surname then was Sakharoff) and Alexander Sakharoff, who were exiled in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Buenos Aires, Argentina, between 1941 and 1948. During their stay in the Rio de la Plata region, the Sakharoffs stirred up the art scene by performing extremely detailed dances with great attention to costume design. This thesis begins with a review of the reception of the dancers’ performances by the artistic and cultural circles in Montevideo, arguing that the Sakharoffs’ “queer” trajectory resonated with the Uruguayan artistic community, influencing the creation …

Raman And Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy For Forensic Analysis: Case Studies On The Identification Of Illicit Substances And Artist Pigments, Abed Haddad

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Raman spectroscopy is an effective tool for detecting trace amounts of material by fingerprint-like vibrational spectra. At times, the weak intensity of Raman scattering can make it difficult to distinguish trace materials. This shortcoming is addressed by surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), which produces strong signal enhancements when target compounds are near metal nanoparticles. For the first part of this thesis, the identification of fentanyl and carfentanil, main culprits in the opioid epidemic, was done using normal Raman and the SERS spectroscopy. As an aid in the assignment of the spectral lines, a computational model was built using Density Functional Theory …

Assessing Paleoenvironmental And Geomorphic Variability In Relationship To Paleoindian Site Burial; Centennial Valley, Montana, Hillary A. Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wave action along the shores of Lima Reservoir in Centennial Valley, Montana is actively eroding the southern margins of three neighboring Paleoindian sites. Despite ostensible similarity among the sites, major site formation differences are apparent in exposed sediments. Shoreline cutbank exposures one-to-five meters high connect the sites and reveal a complicated geomorphic history. Although each site contains artifact evidence of terminal Pleistocene-early Holocene occupations, Paleoindian components at these three localities occur in very different contexts: one is buried, while the other two are apparent surface scatters. This raise the question of why sites of the same age are in both …

The Impossible Tasks, Rachel Kalman

Graduate School of Art Theses

In this thesis I unpack the still life genre and its relation to my painting practice, examining the ways in which banal objects project influence and disrupt the notion of a linear, narrative history. Through the contextual lenses of close observation, propagandistic agendas, and the transgressive history of pattern, I explore the inherent contradiction contained within still life painting; working to balance an empathic respect for objects, as such, with my deeply seated desire to metaphorically interpret and empower visual imagery. I am fascinated by the impossible tasks we ask of weak, inanimate, decorative objects and work to generate still …

Patronage And Portable Portraits: Early English Miniatures: 1520-1544, Ashley Owens

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

This thesis examines function and patronage of early sixteenth-century portrait miniatures by Lucas Horenbout (d. 1544) and Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/8-1543). Portrait miniatures, a unique form of portraiture emerging in the sixteenth century, have a long tradition in England, but hold an ambiguous place within art history because of their size, variety, and multifaceted function. Scholarship on the topic of early English portrait miniatures defines and discusses the tradition as it applies to the Elizabethan miniatures of Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619), the first major English-born artist. Therefore, the miniatures prior to Hilliard have been studied as predecessors to his works …

Thinging : Powerful Objects., Tammy M. Burke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The works in "Thinging” are inspired by desire, the genuine and the false, systems of real and perceived values, the quest for immortality, the allure of things, our use of them to make ourselves, and imagining pasts and futures via objects. The following concepts are threaded through the work: cathexis, ritual as a value builder, collections, hoarding, display, object history, exchange, use, and sign values, and vibrant materiality. At the heart of my investigation is the quest to examine the origins of object power, and by what measures it can be evaluated: value from belief, market value, and something perhaps …

Exploring Place As A Producer Of Localized Art Styles And Its Role In A Contemporary Global Art World., Alexis Doerr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Place as influencing the production of local art idioms is examined. Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of habitus and Michael Baxandall’s concept of visual capacity explain the social, economic, and physical structures that comprise place and affect how people perceive and evaluate the world around them. Art education, professional development opportunities, and local arts spending are discussed as the main structures of place that shape local art idioms and art making processes. South Dakota artists Harvey Dunn, Terry Redlin, and Dorothy Morgan are used as a case study. The writer argues that due to globalization the long-standing structure of art center and …

The Evolution Of The Centaur In Italian Renaissance Art: Monster, Healer, Mentor, And Constellation, Trinity Martinez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Monsters, hybrid beasts, and animals in Renaissance art have, until recently, received little iconographic attention. This dissertation examines the unprecedented transformation of centaur imagery in Italian Renaissance art. The centaur, a mythological beast half-man and half-horse, was ascribed a savage nature from antiquity through the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance. Although negative representations of this creature were never entirely eradicated, the years 1480 to 1535 witnessed a dramatic shift in centaur iconography from savage to civilized beast. My study argues that the centaur’s transmutation resulted from the thriving humanist culture of Renaissance Italy and widespread interest in the philosophy …

Mechanical Kingdoms: Sound Technologies And The Avant-Garde, 1928–1933, Lauren Rosati

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Against accepted histories of the historical avant-garde, which have elevated artistic production in traditional media while suppressing sonic practices, this dissertation argues that artist-engineers working across Europe and the United States independently, if simultaneously, turned their attention to emerging sound technologies as new media for creative experimentation by the early 1930s. This spectrum of activity demonstrates the significance of sound in avant-garde practice, and indicates a wide-ranging artistic engagement with technological devices intended for mass audiences. While the common understanding of the relation between art and technology in this period amounts to one of mere enthusiasm for the novel formal …

Crossing The Atlantic: Italians In Argentina And The Making Of A National Culture, 1880–1930, Lauren A. Kaplan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Between 1880-1930, Argentina took in millions of Italian immigrants, contributing to the largest voluntary diaspora in modern history. This dissertation examines how Argentina’s open immigration policy dovetailed with the formation of a national artistic style, generating new perspectives on how immigrants, particularly Italians, proactively shaped Argentine culture while also becoming enmeshed in an intricate geo-political relationship that spanned generations and regimes. This project takes an interdisciplinary approach, drawing upon research from anthropology, social history, political science, and nationalism studies in order to produce new insights about art and national identity in Argentina around the turn of the twentieth century.

Though …

Stills Of Passage: Photography And Migration In The Us-Mexico Borderlands, 1978-1992, Nadiah Rivera Fellah

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project investigates documentary photography at a critical juncture in the history of the US-Mexico borderlands. Following a period of rapid industrialization and growth in Mexico, the 1970s and 1980s were marked by moments of economic and political crisis, which simultaneously spurred a massive wave of northward migrants and the militarization of the US-Mexico border. These developments produced a large class of Mexican undocumented workers in the US, which in turn stimulated the formation of a hybrid border culture. At the same moment, a generation of young artists from Mexico and the United States, eager to document these changes, radically …

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 …

The Poetic Function Of Imagination: The Parallel Process Of Poiêsis, Angela Carlson

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

In the advent of Postmodernism, modern approaches to understanding the nature of things is being put into question. As the gap between objective and subjective realms of experiences is narrowing, there is an increased need for a more artful approach to science. This paper serves as my attempt to promote the field of Expressive Arts Therapy (ExATh) as a mode of poetic science for understanding the experience of ‘Being’ in the world. Through a critical review of the semantic development of the ancient Greek concepts poiêsis, noêsis, and aisthêsis, the imagination is identified as a function of alêthaic revealing, …

Vincent Van Gogh's Self-Portraits, Mary Novitsky

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

This paper analysis the correlation of Vincent van Gogh’s mental and physical state with his application and choice of color in his self-portraits. His life before art held a heavy influence over his self-perception throughout his artistic career. Van Gogh could not escape his sense of guilt from failing his family, and constantly felt like a burden on his brother, Theo, who sponsored his artistic endeavors. Through Theo’s encouragement and work as an art dealer, van Gogh developed his own artistic style and met other popular artists from his time. His friendships along with his developing mental issues lead to …

From Lace To Chains. The Making Of A Print, Alison G. Stewart

Zea E-Books Collection

How have printed works of art changed over time? Do printmakers today work with the same materials and techniques that printmakers used centuries ago? And does printmaking involve the same motivations, concerns, or methods of distribution today as it did in the past?

These were questions asked by University of Nebraska–Lincoln students in a history of prints class in the School of Art, Art History & Design taught by Hixson-Lied Professor of Art History Alison Stewart during fall semester 2018. For this curatorial project, students selected one set of old master prints (pre-1850) and one modern (post-1850) print from Sheldon’s …

Pamela Colman Smith: The Untold Story By Stuart R. Kaplan With Mary K. Greer, Elizabeth Foley O'Connor, And Melinda Boyd Parsons, Emily E. Auger

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

Understanding Community: Microwear Analysis Of Blades At The Mound House Site, Silas Levi Chapman

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding Middle Woodland period sites has been of considerable interest for North American archaeologists since early on in the discipline. Various Middle Woodland period (50 BCE-400CE) cultures participated in shared ideas and behaviors, such as constructing mounds and earthworks and importing exotic materials to make objects for ceremony and for interring with the dead. These shared behaviors and ideas are termed by archaeologists as “Hopewell”. The Mound House site is a floodplain mound group thought to have served as a “ritual aggregation center”, a place for the dispersed Middle Woodland communities to congregate at certain times of year to reinforce …

Shawn Hunt's Transformation Mask: The Intersection Of Contemporary And Traditional Heiltsuk Art, Terese R. Lukey

Art & Art History ETDs

Shawn Hunt is an artist of Heiltsuk (Bella Bella), French, and Scottish Canadian ancestry who is at the forefront of contemporary Northwest Coast art in the Vancouver area. Historic artworks of his community have been often overlooked in scholarly literature due to the seeming willingness of the people to adapt to colonization. Viewed as a “tainted” culture, the Heiltsuk have been noticeably ignored in the art historical realm. However, their masks are some of the best examples of traditional regalia that are found in museums across Canada and the United States. Contemporary native artists of the Northwest Coast continue to …

The Rockbridge Group: Masters Along The Maury, Teresa Gunter, Whitney M. Grim, Emma E. Noe, Grace Ragansky, William R. Tharp, Christine L. Moore

Student Scholar Showcase

For the last eight decades Rockbridge County, Virginia has served as an influential center for modern art. Neighbored by the capricious Maury River and nestled against the backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Rockbridge Baths significantly impacted the lives of four distinguished modern artists. Connected by ties of friendship or kin, the Rockbridge Group—Pierre Daura, Jean Hélion, Cy Twombly, and Sally Mann—drew inspiration and support from each other and from the people and places of the Rockbridge area.

In 1928, Catalan modernist Pierre Daura (1896-1976) married Louise Blair, a Virginian studying in Paris. His friend, the French painter Jean Hélion …

Intertextuality And Iconography In Sergei Iukhimov's Illustrations For The Lord Of The Rings: Five Case Studies, Joel Merriner

Journal of Tolkien Research

Intertextuality and Iconography in Sergei Iukhimov’s Illustrations for The Lord of the Rings: Five Case Studies

Abstract

J.R.R. Tolkien once remarked in a letter to his publisher that his friends had been so impressed by Pauline Baynes’ illustrations for Farmer Giles of Ham that they labelled his text a “commentary on the drawings”. This apparently light-hearted anecdote conceals an interesting truth: the relationship between text and image can be problematic and the reading of an illustration depends largely on the culturally acquired discursive precedents which an individual viewer brings to the act of looking. This situation may be further …

The Tsin Bee Hooghan: Cross-Cultural Discourse And The Emergence Of A New Icon Of Diné Cultural Identity, Lillian Makeda

Art & Art History ETDs

The Navajo hogan is one of a small number of traditional Native American dwellings still in use during the 21^st century. Part of the reason for the hogan’s persistence has been the widespread adoption of a particular form, the tsin bee hooghan, that can accommodate Euro-American building technologies while also serving as a distinctive symbol for tribal identity. This dissertation surveys the emergence of the tsin bee hooghan as a Navajo icon during the period between 1890 and 1950 and suggests that Euro-American representations of Navajo culture played a role in popularizing the form. These representations could be found …

The Impact Of Patronage On Contemporary Visual Arts, Emily Coats

Honors College Theses

Patronage is vital to the art world and the success and notoriety of its artists. From straightforward patronage during the Renaissance of the Medici Family, the independent artists of modernism, to contemporary crowdfunding, it is important to note the changes in the art world throughout history to truly understand how artists and patrons have grown and continue to evolve in our contemporary society. Considering how patronage has changed and adapted throughout history and understanding the influence it has, not only allows a deeper understanding of the art world but also the world’s culture.

Environmental Legacies Of Pre-Contact And Historic Land Use In Antigua, West Indies, Anthony Richard Tricarico

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hurricanes Irma and Maria have recently demonstrated once again the susceptibility of contemporary populations across the Caribbean to climate-driven events. For islands such as Antigua in the eastern Caribbean, this vulnerability is partly a legacy of prior land use. As such, the actions of pre-Contact and historic period inhabitants are intertwined with contemporary socio-ecological challenges faced by Antiguans today. This research sought to understand the relationship between land use and land degradation from ca. AD 100 to the present in eastern Antigua utilizing two markers of anthropic activity: soil stability and soil quality. Specifically, this research sought to examine how …

Review Of Environmental Humanities And Theologies: Ecoculture, Literature And The Bible, By Rod Giblett, Sam Mickey

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

This is a review of Rod Giblett's Environmental Humanities and Theologies: Ecoculture, Literature and the Bible, published by Routledge in 2018. The review notes Giblett's contributions to the field in tracing wetlands iconography through theological and literary discourses in landmark works in the Anglo-American tradition, Judeo-Christian doctrine, and Australian Aboriginal myth.

Zemlja And Pioneer Day, Natalie D-Napoleon

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

Poems: Zemlja and Pioneer Day by West Australia born author Natalie D-Napoleon.

Snorkel Virgin, Emma J. Young

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

Snorkel Virgin

Plunging Down Under, Ian Smith

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

Plunging Down Under

Forest-Walks – An Intangible Heritage In Movement A Walk-And-Talk-Study Of A Social Practice Tradition, Margaretha Häggström

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

This article seeks to understand and extend current understandings of intangible heritage and particularly forest-walks as such. The study is related to Swedish conditions and has been conducted in Sweden. The research is grounded in social practice theory – and the perspective of practice architectures in particular – and it draws on the work of Stephen Kemmis. Further, we view practice theory entangled with the phenomenological life-world concepts of intersubjectivity and historicity. The data are based on 12 walk-and-talk interviews conducted in the forest with individuals who willingly walk in the forest on their leisure time. The analysis takes its …