History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons^™

Imagining The Inuit: Myth, Market, And The Making Of The Contemporary Inuit Sculpture Canon, Kristen Sara Davidson-Schwartz

MA Theses

This thesis explores how qallunaat institutions used sculpture to shape and define Inuit life. I argue that contemporary Inuit sculpture, as conceived of by outsiders to support Inuit economic enfranchisement and modernization, became a vessel through which qallunaat institutions circulated ideas about Inuit culture and Arctic lands. Although purported to reflect the voice of Inuit, the meanings attached to Inuit sculpture rarely reflected Inuit intention and consistently aligned to qallunaat priorities: a performance of primitive, ancient, and authentic Inuit life; a gesture of indigenous gratitude and cheerful participation in state-designed development programs; or a masterful expression of the formal concerns …

Integrating The Oriental Gaze: Japonisme And Kitagawa Utamaro’S Influence In The Parisian Art World Of The Late 19th Century, Wanda Irini Goudas

MA Theses

This thesis discusses the phenomenon of Japonisme in Paris, how it manifested in the market, its accompanying theoretical discourse, and its role in fostering artistic innovation. In 1853, Japan officially opened its borders for trade with the West, resulting in an unparalleled influx of objects and artwork from Japan. This generated a widespread fascination with Japanese material culture, culminating in the phenomenon known as Japonisme. Among the imported items, ukiyo-e woodblock prints or ‘images of the floating world,’ became very significant. Exhibited widely across Paris, their peculiar themes and unique formal qualities prompted theoretical discourse and inspired shifts in artistic …

The Lost Art Of Club Photography: Capturing Nyc’S Nightlife And Cultural Legacy From The 1980s To The 1990s, Madeleine M. Canfield

MA Theses

This thesis examines how club photography in New York City’s nightlife of the 1980s and 1990s both shaped and reflected cultural identity, and investigates why this visual practice has largely disappeared in the age of social media. By focusing on photographer Steve Eichner and his documentation of iconic moments from one of Peter Gatien’s four mega-clubs, this thesis analyzes published photographs and articles to examine how visual representation shaped the culture it portrayed. The research demonstrates that club photography was instrumental in shaping public perception of nightlife, capturing the spontaneity, creativity, and energy of the era. It also highlights how …

Constructing Minimalism: Canon Formation, Exclusion, And The Afterlives Of An Aesthetic, Lucy Ewert

MA Theses

Academics, critics, curators, and artists alike have perpetually struggled to agree on a coherent definition of Minimalism since its inception. Who is included in the historical canon, what its defining characteristics are, and the movement's legacy have long since been contested. This thesis will explore the origins of Minimalism, tracing its emergence from movements such as Abstract Expressionism, and discuss the early values that shaped its perception through a handful of fundamental voices. The study will also survey three of Minimalism’s modernist predecessors, questioning the extent of influence these movements may have had.  Understanding the origins of Minimalism will set …

The Spiritual And Emotional Impact Of Color In Luis Barragán’S Convento De Las Capuchinas Sacramentarias, Ivana Martin

MA Theses

This thesis examines how Luis Barragán’s Convento de las Capuchinas Sacramentarias (1955) is a medium for spiritual experience. In his work, Barragán explores the use of color, light, and emotion as central elements and the ways in which they transform sacred space into an embodied, contemplative experience. There is also a comparison to other churches and other similar projects that were done during the same time period, specifically in Mexico. Modernist architecture in mid-century Mexico was largely defined by rationalist and more functional ideals, but Barragán separated himself from these tendencies to create an architecture that privileges silence, intimacy, and …

Neither Innocent Nor Illicit: Breaking The Gaze In Lisa Yuskavage’S Candy-Colored World, Kristin Kiley

MA Theses

This thesis examines the evolution of Lisa Yuskavage’s female nude. Drawing on theorists such as John Berger, Lynda Nead, and Laura Mulvey, this study explores how varying perspective dictates the very meaning of nudity in conjunction with sex. Through a deep analysis of Yuskavage’s oeuvre, tracing her progression from the submissive, Kewpie-like sex babies of the 1990s to the introspective multi-figure compositions and studio scenes from the 2000s up until the 2020s, the audience discovers that their ultimate discomfort with sexually engaged women positions them as antagonists in Yuskavage’s candy-colored world. From the 1980s to the present day, this thesis …

A Visual Analysis Of The Work Of Anna Weyant For Art Historical Precedent, Jordan Arnold

MA Theses

This paper examines the rapid ascent and artistic evolution of Anna Weyant, whose blend of technical rigor, stylized figuration, and sly narrative tension has positioned her as a leading name in contemporary figurative painting. While her market visibility and high-profile representation have often overshadowed critical engagement with her work, a close analysis reveals a steadily developing practice grounded in a set of consistent formal concerns: controlled light and shadow, psychologically charged compositions, and a sustained dialogue with art-historical precedents. By situating Weyant’s paintings in relation to the psychological realism of the Dutch Golden Age, the uncanny and erotic undercurrents of …

The Postmodern Frontier: Richard Prince And The Neoliberal Spectacle Of The American Dream, Taïs Khassanova

MA Theses

This thesis examines the oeuvre of Richard Prince’s as a sustained allegory of contemporary American visual culture, beginning with his Cowboys series as the point of origin from which his later appropriations, including Girlfriends, Spiritual America, and New Portraits, unfold. Through the recursive gesture of appropriation, Prince’s Cowboys expose the myth of rugged independence as a corporate fiction, revealing how the frontier ethos was redeployed under the Reagan presidency to naturalize neoliberal ideology. Building on this premise, the thesis traces how such logic extends throughout Prince’s subsequent body of work, as his Girlfriends refigure the cowboy’s masculine autonomy as the …

Beyond Recognition: The Surrealist Strategy Of Face Concealment In The Portraits Of René Magritte And Ewa Juszkiewicz, Darina Kravchenko Eldridge

MA Theses

This dissertation investigates the evolution of the Surrealist strategy of face concealment from a modernist device of perceptual estrangement into a contemporary tool of feminist and postcolonial critique within portraiture. By obscuring the most recognisable marker of identity, it evokes a complex and unsettling emotional response in the viewer, transforming the act of looking at another person into an encounter with absence. The study situates this transformation within broader aesthetic and ideological discourses, drawing on feminist art history as articulated by Linda Nochlin and Griselda Pollock, alongside John Berger’s Ways of Seeing, Jacques Derrida’s hauntology, the Zeigarnik effect and Guy …

When Fine Art And Commercial Art Merge: A Playbook For Emerging Artists Without Gallery Representation To Create Successful And Sustainable Careers, Regina Escobedo Guerra

MA Theses

Pursuing a career as an artist comes with no clear path nor directions. The first years after graduating are filled with confusion and uncertainty. Emerging artists are oftentimes unequipped with the necessary resources to create sustainable and profitable careers. In a saturated market where only a select few are able to make a living solely from art, artists need to gain autonomy and control over their practices. This thesis provides emerging artists with no gallery representation with the tools to create an independent career that prioritizes artistic authenticity and sustains profit. Through a dismissal of the negative perceptions placed on …

Marc Chagall And The Jewish Experience: A Personal Modernism In The Parisian Avant-Garde, Samantha Desanctis

MA Theses

Marc Chagall and the Jewish Experience: A Personal Modernism in the Parisian Avant-Garde examines the interplay between Marc Chagall’s Jewish heritage and his engagement with the Parisian avant-garde of the early twentieth century. Chagall’s upbringing in the Russian Empire deeply informed his visual language, which persisted even as he explored the techniques and innovations of modernist movements. This thesis analyzes Chagall’s early works alongside close readings of key paintings such as I and the Village, 1911, Homage to Apollinaire, 1911–12, Self-Portrait with Seven Fingers, 1912–13, and Green Violinist, 1923–24, considering symbols, colors, compositions, and recurring motifs drawn from religion, tradition, …

Can A Curator Influence Their Nation’S Art Market Value? Adriano Pedrosa, The 60th Venice Biennale, And The Global Repositioning Of Brazilian Art, Maria Joana Ventosa

MA Theses

The 60th Venice Biennale (2024), curated by Brazilian curator Adriano Pedrosa, the first Latin American curator, and the first curator based in the Global South to lead the Venice Biennale, revived long-standing debates concerning visibility and marginalization, who controls canon formation and, in a market where visibility directly affects value, the power of dictating the market. The curator furthered this discussion by curating a show literally titled “Strangers Everywhere”, focused on representations by artists who identify as “othered”, through, for example colonisation and erasure of native cultures, immigration or queerness.  This thesis examines the evolving role of biennials as platforms …

The Language Of Value: Lot Note Complexity And Auction Performance In Abstract Expressionism, Artur Sharifullin

MA Theses

This thesis asks a simple question: does the language in lot notes relate to price and to whether a lot beats or misses its estimate? I study eight Abstract Expressionist artists: Ad Reinhardt, Adolph Gottlieb, Barnett Newman, Franz Kline, Joan Mitchell, Lee Krasner, Robert Motherwell, and Sam Francis because their works are less representational and often need supporting text to explain the context. The main sample includes only lots sold for more than $1 million at Christie’s or Sotheby’s in New York or London over the past ten years. I measure a small set of writing features that are easy …

Reconstructing The Surreal: Female Artists And The Transformation Of Surrealist Aesthetics, Erin Regan

MA Theses

This thesis examines the role and legacy of female artists who took part in the Surrealist visual art movement of the early 20th century. Canonical accounts have historically privileged the contributions of male artists, marginalizing women to the fringes of the movement by framing female artists as being primarily relevant as muses for their male peers. This study contests this historiographical misconception, relying upon visual analysis and archival research, as well as drawing from psychological, feminist, and postmodern theory, ultimately arguing that their artistic and theoretical innovations fundamentally restructured Surrealism’s visual vocabulary, theoretical objectives, and cultural legacy. This thesis is …

Corporate Patronage In Art And Education: A Case Study Of Bloomberg's Interventions, Xiaojun Tian

MA Theses

This study focuses on the application of corporate sponsorship in the fields of art and education, delving deep into the interventions and cases made by Bloomberg L.P. in these two domains. Corporate sponsorship for the arts acts as a significant display of Cultural Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), not only fostering diversity in the production of art institutions and artists but also having a profound effect on the educational sector. Utilizing case study methodology, this research deconstructs key projects and activities funded by Bloomberg, encompassing support for exhibitions and public art projects, as well as various initiatives aimed at art education, …

The Collapse Of The New Tendencies: How Did A Movement That Never Existed Cease To Exist, Tonka Protega

MA Theses

This thesis examines the short lifespan of the New  Tendencies. Although the  New Tendencies have gained renewed recognition over the last couple of years, there is still limited research on their final phase. To address this topic, I analyzed the narrative history of the  New Tendencies  , alongside the essays published in the exhibition catalogues. Additionally, I considered the historical and political situation in Croatia during this period, which influenced the manifestations. Ultimately, this thesis argues for the non-existence of the  New Tendencies  as a movement in the history of art and identifies the key reasons that led to its …

Global Art: An Economic Exploration Of The Factors Driving Sensible Gallery Expansion, James Mclennan

MA Theses

The goal of this thesis is to develop a practical and defensible decision tool to guide art gallery expansion. Focusing on four cities – New York, Hong Kong, London, and Doha – the thesis translates heterogeneous considerations into a matrix that scores each of the cities according to eight factors: Market & Demand; Regulation & Tax; Logistics & Shipping; Labor & Immigration; Legal Entity & Finance; Brand, PR & Audience; Competition & Benchmarking; and Risk. Sub-factors are scored and averaged to provide results on how each city scores against each other. The output is a ranked set of city recommendations …

Aura For Sale?: Art Merchandise And The Totalizing Culture Of Reproduction, Lily Paternoster

MA Theses

The art historical discipline largely excludes art merchandise from critical analysis, relegating it to being a marketing gimmick or gift shop opportunity. This failure to reconcile with the rapidly expanding enterprise for brand collaborations with fine artists has led to an overwhelming and unregulated commercial licensing industry, similar in mystique and ascend to that of the fine art market. Through the case studies of two post-humous artists and two living- Keith Haring, JeanMichel Basquiat, KAWS (Brian Donnelly), and Maurizio Cattelan- I argue that art merchandise exists on a constantly fluctuating scale between democratizing force and commodity. Despite its status on …

Evolving Motives: How Art Collecting Has Changed Across Generations, Giovanni Mazzoleni

MA Theses

This thesis elucidates the changing reasons for collection in recent years and focuses on three generations of collectors: those born before 1950; those born between 1951-1980; and those born after 1981. It commences with a literature review of the initial collecting motivations and challenges, motives based on socio-cultural, economic and technological advancements which foster the importance and reasons for collections. To make this investigation tangible, a quantitative survey was adopted. Forty-five participants, each ranking their levels of agreement from one to five based on an assessment of eight statements based on five motives: economic, normative, uniqueness, hedonic and intellectual. Descriptive …

From Fear To Familiarity: Folkloric Creatures And Cultural Identity In Contemporary Japanese And Filipino Art, Mariel Yulo Asuncion

MA Theses

Mythological and folkloric creatures have evolved beyond their traditional contexts to serve as tools through which contemporary artists reinterpret and express colonial memory, cultural experiences, and social anxieties. Both Japan and the Philippines mobilize their folkloric monsters as forms of commentary on modern conditions; however, they do so in distinct ways shaped by their differing cultural histories and belief systems. This study aims to analyze and compare how Japanese and Filipino contemporary artists reinterpret folkloric creatures within modern contexts. Employing a qualitative, comparative cultural analysis alongside a sociohistorical framework, this research investigates the contemporary reinterpretation of mythological creatures in both …

Cancel Culture: A Battle Of Headlines, Not Meanings, Nataliia Sapyrkina

MA Theses

This work explores the phenomenon of “cancel culture”, with a specific emphasis on the repercussions for Russian art, artists, and cultural institutions following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022. The study examines “cancel culture” as a reputational sanctions mechanism functioning across the modern media landscape. By analyzing selected case studies this paper addresses cases of performance cancellations, institutional distancing, the termination of cooperation with donors, and the revision of artwork attributions. Crucially, Russia’s exclusion from the dialogue is driven both by direct legal grounds, namely sanctions, and by indirect technical factors or those arising from the internal structure …

M+, Beyond A Museum?: The Making Of A New Cultural Paradigm In Hong Kong, Grace Law

MA Theses

This thesis, titled M+, Beyond a Museum? The Making of a New Cultural Paradigm in Hong Kong, is a critical inquiry into whether M+ is a traditional museum or an institution that redefines Hong Kong’s cultural landscape. The study examines the operational and financial challenges encountered by the Museum in the backdrop of its distinguished architecture, meticulous programming, and advanced digital technology. By tracing the Museum’s development through its core exhibitions and international collaborations, this thesis demonstrates how M+ has evolved into a key art institution within the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD), and elevated its positioning in the cultural …

Painted By Hand, Written In The Sky: Martin Wong’S Fingerspelling As Invented Visual Language, 1982-1985, Bella Clemente

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines Martin Wong's (1946-1999) hand-painted fingerspelling as an invented personal visual language and vehicle of self-portraiture, analyzing three paintings created during his time in New York between 1982 and 1985: Attorney Street: Handball Court with Autobiographical Poem by Piñero (1982-1984), Compulsion (1984-1985), and Stanton Near Forsyth Street (1983). Through iconographic analysis of lingual elements in each work, including fingerspelling, graffiti, calligraphy, and poetry, this thesis argues that Wong's stylized adaptation of the American Sign Language manual alphabet reflects an evolving sense of self-identity, drawing on influences from Chinese artistic traditions, calligraphy, Kufic script, and the Nuyorican poetry and …

Modernizing The Sacred: The Church’S Growing Relationship With Modernism And Salvador Dalí’S Renaissance, Emma Mandia

MA in Fine and Decorative Art and Design Dissertations

Salvador Dalí (1904-1989), a renowned painter from the Surrealist period, is known for his dreamlike Freudian works that challenge the traditional values of painting. However, halfway through the 20th century, he took a turn towards religious themes of Catholicism, drawing inspiration from the Renaissance. This pivot was quite shocking to the artistic community. At that time the artistic community did not view him as a religious man but rather as someone who aimed to provoke by pushing boundaries with his unconventional themes. During the same period, the Vatican began to loosen their views on modernism, which was once strictly forbidden, …

Debauchery And Decorative Art: Framing The Relationship Between Dining And Material Culture In British Country And Town House Dining Rooms During The Long 18th Century, Guoyang Sun

MA in Fine and Decorative Art and Design Dissertations

This dissertation explores the profound effect of material culture and rituals in elite British dining interiors during the long eighteenth-century. As spaces greatly influenced by the process of museumification, they are often perceived by contemporary and historical observers as settings intended for the ostentatious display of family lineage, taste and affluence. The dining rooms of British Georgian formal houses were highly curated proto museums with huge potential for display through architectural expressions, artworks and decorative objects, however, they were more importantly extremely complex environments that require complete analysis from multiple disciplines and perspectives.

In framing the intimate relationship between dining …

Demystifying Dominican Artist Yoryi Morel And His Approach To Painting, Zoila Neris Sosa Veras

MA in Fine and Decorative Art and Design Dissertations

During the period between 1930-1961, the Dominican Republic experienced one of the longest and most brutal totalitarian dictatorship regimes of modern times, imposed by a tyrant named Rafael Leonidas Trujillo.1 During this period, nothing could be said or done without the consent of the so-called “Benefactor of the fatherland”. Artists' creativity and self-expressions were not allowed to be used as means to disapprove of the regime, but to please and adulate the dictator. Some artists stopped painting and some others went to live in exile. However, there was an artist whose career flourished during the era, his name is Jorge …

From Otherness To Agency: Reframing Eurocentric And Orientalist Representations In Contemporary Middle Eastern Art, Violette Wolter

MA in Contemporary Art Dissertations

This essay examines how contemporary artists from the Middle East challenge Eurocentric frameworks of representation embedded in Orientalism by proposing alternative narratives of identity, history, and resistance. This study, which draws on postcolonial theory, particularly Edward Said's Orientalism (1978), Dipesh Chakrabarty's Provincialising Europe (2000), and Hamid Dabashi's Post-Orientalism (2009), explores how artistic practices dismantle the inherited hierarchies of Orientalist knowledge and visual power. Orientalism, which generated a discourse that constructs the Orient as Europe's ‘Other,’ still fuels neo-Orientalist narratives that portray the Middle East as irrational, violent, or static. Through a close analysis of the artistic practices of artists Shirin …

Making The Invisible Visible: How Contemporary Artists Depict The Climate Crisis Through Visual And Conceptual Strategies, Isabella Ray

MA in Contemporary Art Dissertations

This dissertation examines how contemporary artists depict the environmental consequences of climate change through visual and conceptual strategies. Through the examination of different artworks: Olafur Eliasson’s Ice Watch (2014-2018) and Your Waste of Time (2006), John Gerrard’s Western Flag (Spindletop, Texas) (2017), and Mary Mattingly’s Waterpod (2009) and Swale (2016-2020), this research analyzes how site, material choice, and civic participation create ecological awareness and model possible futures. Eliasson’s installations prompt phenomenological engagement with melting glacial ice and temporalities beyond human perception; Gerrard’s real-time simulations critique humanity’s dependence on fossil fuels through the digital presentation of a perpetual burning flag; Mattingly’s …

Unmaking The Anthropocene: Colonial Violence, Racial Visuality, And Extractive Capitalism, Jiwon Ko

MA in Contemporary Art Dissertations

This dissertation examines how the works of Sammy Baloji, Otobong Nkanga, and Anna Boghiguian—specifically …and to those North Sea waves whispering sunken stories (II) (2021), Solid Maneuvers (2015), and The Salt Traders (2015)— offer critical reconfigurations of the Anthropocene. Bringing together the frameworks of Black Anthropocenes and the visuality of the Anthropocene, the study argues that the environmental crisis cannot be understood as a universal human condition but must be read through the racialised geologies, extractive histories, and visual regimes inherited from colonial modernity. Through strategies of installation, performance, and speculative narration, these artists reveal the uneven material and perceptual …

Playing In The Field: Carrie Mae Weems Exploration Of Black Mobility, Through Diasporic, Temporal, And Visual Movement, Tobi Alexandra Falade

MA in Contemporary Art Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the notion of diaspora, as a framework to explore the use of movement within the lens-based work of Carrie Mae Weems. This study is largely carried out through Leave! Leave Now! 2022, a twenty-five-minute video installation sectioned into five parts and staged within a traditional movie theatre. The artwork explores the journey, real-life disappearance and reappearance of sharecropper Frank Weems—the artists grandfather—through a diasporic tale interwoven with critical questions about migration and its historical and future consequences. The first chapter “Diasporic Journeys”, explores enforced journeys and the diasporic experiences at large. The second chapter, “Temporal Movement”, explores …