History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons^™

Canonizing Modernism: An Avant-Garde Legacy In France’S Sacred Art Movement, 1937–1958, Heather Renee Read

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation offers a critical reassessment of modernist involvement in the Sacred Art Movement, the highly controversial Catholic art renaissance undertaken by the French Dominican Order in the fragile World War II era between 1937 and 1954. Marie-Alain Couturier and Pie-Raymond Régamey, the Dominican co-editors of the influential religious art journal L’Art Sacré, led the Sacred Art Movement by arguing that to reveal the timelessness and universality of Catholic themes in the modern world, “it would be safer to turn to geniuses without faith than to believers without talent.” Far less understood are the motives that compelled these same “geniuses …

Representations Of Lucrezia Borgia And The Image Of The Moral Exemplar In The Late Quattrocento And Early Cinquecento, Nina Wutrich

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Throughout her life, Lucrezia Borgia (1480-1519), the daughter of Pope Alexander VI, appropriated the imagery of holy women and other moral exemplars in her portraiture. This appropriation of imagery evolved as Lucrezia herself matured; the representations shift from those where Lucrezia disguises herself as a morally exemplary woman such as Saint Catherine of Alexandria, to those where she presents herself, in her role as Duchess of Ferrara, as a morally exemplary holy woman in her own right.

Profanation, Tsahi Zac H. Hacmon

Theses and Dissertations

This paper attempts to provoke an Israeli American dialogue that comes through profanity of conventional architecture. I am creating this dialogue by displaying two main subjects in proximity to each other: border architecture from Israel and institutional architecture or non-places in New York.

Representing Struggle: Raquel Forner’S Social And Political Engagement In The 1930s And 1940s, Diana Flatto

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines Raquel Forner’s engagement with current events in her paintings from the 1930s and 1940s. Uncovering her realist style, each chapter focuses on a thematic area of her work over these years: the female figure and representation, religious iconography, and wartime.

The Romance Novel Cover, Jessica D. Spears

Theses and Dissertations

Romance novel covers dating from the 1980s and 1990s reflect complex and contradictory ideas about gender, power, and sexuality. The covers overflow with stereotypes of what women are attracted to such as enormous pink roses, lush folds of silk, and hair long enough for Rapunzel. To this socially acceptable women’s imagery, the covers add two less reputable aspects: sexual imagery and, occasionally, suggestions of female submission. Since the association of romance and conventional femininity is so strong, the covers make a visual argument that submission and sexuality are things that a conventional woman wants. Readers have to deal with what …

Adoration And Art: Ancient Egypt, Greece, And Rome, Fiona Wirth

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

"Adoration and Art" focuses upon religious artifacts from the ancient Mediterranean and explores what these artifacts reveal about the religious practices and sacred spaces of their cultures. This Honors College capstone consisted of an exhibition through the Lisanby Museum utilizing artifacts from the Madison Art Collection. This text is the full exhibition catalog compiled by the student through her research as an intern for the Lisanby Museum.

Middle-Class Millions: The Creation Of Atlantic City's "Modern" Image, 1890-1910, Trevor Cooper

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

By the end of the nineteenth century, vacationing became more accessible to middle-class Americans than ever before, resulting in the growth of tourist destinations on the New Jersey shore, particularly in Atlantic City. Between 1890 and 1910, government officials, railroad companies, and hotel owners advertised Atlantic City’s technological and cultural modernity to middle-class Americans particularly in Philadelphia, creating an image of Atlantic City as a modern middle-class utopia.

This thesis further examines the relationship between consumerism and American middle-class identity. While we often consider the link between consumerism and identity to have been solidified in American culture following the Second …

Snapshot In A Squiggle: How Painting Terminology Illuminates Short Fiction, Jennifer Pretzer

Senior Honors Theses

This paper will demonstrate that painting terms can offer a helpful avenue to understand short fiction, particularly abstract short fiction. After defining abstraction, realism, and the short story, it will trace relevant stages in the evolution of both painting and short fiction to show how and why the media share similar elements. In this examination, the paper will discuss which features of painting correspond with certain features of short fiction. Based on the essential elements of short fiction, as well as the features mentioned above, the paper will analyze examples of short stories that exemplify how painting parallels short fiction …

An Argument And Survey On Artemisia Gentileschi’S Allegory Of Fame, Rachel Done

Student Research Symposium

The Allegory of Fame is a recently rediscovered painting that is attributed to Artemisia Gentileschi. As is common with all of Artemisia’s paintings, there come certain questions among scholars such as, is it truly her work? When was it made? Who was it made for? This particular painting also features a rare subject for Artemisia- an allegory. Allegory of Fame is unusual for Artemisia in terms of size and composition as well. I was attracted to exploring these questions and peculiarities around such a unique painting by Artemisia. Due to the controversies around the timeline and provenance of this work- …

The Whole World In His Hands: What A Qibla Indicator Illuminates About Islamic Community In Sixteenth-Century Ottoman Turkey, Meghan Doyle

Global Tides

In the sixteenth century, at a time of Ottoman rule and production in modern-day Turkey, qibla indicators were ubiquitous objects, used to assist faithful Muslims in finding the direction to Mecca. A particularly well-preserved qibla indicator in the British Museum allows for an inquiry into how these objects were used, bridging the gap between folk astronomy and scientific geography. Applying contemporary theories of belongingness to the composition and function of the qibla indicator reveals the psychological effect this object may have had on members of the Islamic community. Ultimately, what the qibla indicator may lack in geographical accuracy it more …

Medieval Japanese Zen: Catalyst For Symbol System Formation, Kendall Ann Roper

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Post-modernism asserts that the world as we know it does not exist independently from the symbolic interpretations we formulate about it. This symbolic and ever unfolding interpretation of reality applies to our understanding of science as well as philosophy, to religion as well as art. In striving to describe religious experiences, various cultures have developed complex symbolic languages whose purpose is to reference a culturally understood version of sacred reality as presented through religion. Religions contribute to shaping these cultural perceptions of reality by utilizing symbolic acts, objects, events, qualities, or concepts to express otherwise inexpressible elements of a culture’s …

Wearing Art History: Fashion As An Art, Sofia Killion

Senior Theses

Fashion is often seen as a frivolous craft which many believe to lack substance. Fashion however has for generations drawn inspiration from one of the very things that defines culture and that is art. Some of the most successful fashion designers of our time have drawn inspiration directly from masterpieces of art. The Spanish fashion designer Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895-1972) was heavily inspired by his countrymen including Diego Velázquez (1599-1660), Francisco de Zurbarán (1598-1664), and Francisco Goya (1746-1828). The Italian fashion designers Domenico Dolce (1958-present) and Stefano Gabbana (1962-present) created a Fall 2013 collection that was significantly inspired by the Byzantine …

Art Therapy And Art History Theories, An Inquiry, Hannah L. Masters

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This research uses critical theory inquiry with interviews and arts-based research to explore biases about art making in clinical art therapy practice. The literature review establishes an historical link between theoretical tenets in fields of art therapy and art history. Participants are chosen from experts in the fields of art therapy and art history. Interviews explore what art making means to each participant, utilizing both verbal and arts-based processing. The data is condensed through coding and arts-based reflection, and seven emergent themes are identified. The themes are checked with the participants for accuracy. The findings of the paper integrate the …

The Work Of Living Art, Empathy, And The Creation Of An Aesthetics Of Perception In The Early Twentieth Century, Sarah Peil Winstead

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

Adolphe Appia (1862-1928), theorist and pioneering voice of the New Stagecraft Movement in twentieth century theatre, was a transformative influence on the history of scenic design. This paper looks at the links between Appia’s theories in theatre scenic design and contemporaneous German aesthetic theory. At the time German theorists like Adolf Hildebrand and August Schmarsow developed an aesthetic theory, Einfülung or empathy theory, based on the connection between the human body and perception. I will argue this theory influenced not only Appia and his contemporaries it also shaped the landscape of mid-century theatre design. Appia’s own theories revolved around three …

Art For All: The Artistic Journey Of Julia Elizabeth Tolbert, Julie L. Woodson

Student Scholarship

Progressing from a student, concentrating on absorbing foundational skills and techniques to an intentional, expressionistic painter, Julia Elizabeth Tolbert spent twenty years of her life creating art. Using formal educational opportunities as a way to escape the life intended for her, she found art to be a freeing and meaningful endeavor. She experimented greatly in both style and medium, working with movements such as the Ashcan school, Regionalism, and Cubism and creating works in watercolor, oil, encaustic, pencil, clay, and more, all in pursuit of a professional artistic career. Though physical and visual limitations ultimately prevented her longterm success, Tolbert …

Representations Of Mainstream And Marginalized Subjects In The Work Of Diane Arbus, Grace Short

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

This thesis considers the photographs of the twentieth-century photographer, Diane Arbus. In America during the 1950s and 60s, Arbus photographed both marginalized and mainstream subjects including dwarfs, giants, transvestites, nudists, debutants, socialites, and celebrities. At one point in her career, she expressed an interest in family portraiture and, indeed, a number of her images depict families.

Scholars who have written about Arbus, such as Susan Sontag, Carol Armstrong, Anthony W. Lee, and John Pultz, have formulated theories about Arbus’s motivations, although their findings focus on individual features of her work. Sontag argued that Arbus exploited her unorthodox sitters whereas Armstrong …

Bird Symbolism In Italian Devotional Paintings From The Thirteenth To The Seventeenth Century, Sarah Poisner

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Madonna and Child images represent a significant portion of the paintings produced during the Medieval and Early Modern periods. Beginning in the thirteenth century, Italian painters began to embed symbolic birds into these works to create further points of reference and significance. This paper will examine the long history of bird symbolism and why Christian artists used different species of birds to create specific meanings. Hundreds of Madonna and Child paintings which include a bird were made between the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries, but there has been no in-depth analysis of this motif in over seventy years. Since the publication …

The Disjointed Moment : Marking, Mapping, And Making The Real In William Eggleston's Election Eve (1976)., Joel Darland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the photographic book Election Eve (1976) produced by photographer William Eggleston. Eggleston’s photographs represent a complex network of connections between material objects and the potential truth of depiction. The often-nondescript locations that Eggleston photographed in Sumter County, GA in October 1976 appear specific at the outset, but quickly lose their adherence to the supposed realities that they depict. Since his first major exhibition in the mid 1970s, Eggleston’s photographs have presented difficulty because they from often-disparate material sources. Despite of the complexity of Eggleston’s engagement with both art and non-art photography, scholarship continues describe Eggleston’s “snapshot aesthetic” …

The Positive Developments And Applications Of Geospatial Technologies In Archaeology On Fort Benning, Georgia, Jane Mader

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the advantages of using geospatial technologies in the field of archaeology. The purpose of this study, conducted on Site 9CE16 on Fort Benning, Georgia, was to examine the ways in which Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be used to more accurately depict artifacts and features present on archaeological sites. With the research I gathered, I constructed an updated site map which can be viewed in Figures 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3. The map produced includes more features than were initially mapped at Site 9CE16 and help paint a clearer picture of the structures which existed at the original …

Architecture Of The San Francisco Bay Area: The Influence Of The 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, Orion Weinstein

Senior Theses

Just hours after the 1906 Earthquake, Jack London arrived in San Francisco and wrote an article for Collier's Magazine, “The Story of an Eyewitness.” He famously reported, “San Francisco is gone...Nothing remains of it but memories.” The earthquake and subsequent fire left most of San Francisco in ruins; commercial buildings, humble residences and grand estates destroyed. The City was a blank slate and in the process of rebuilding, there was the opportunity to utilize new architectural styles as well as create new architecture; significantly, the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915 (PPIE) provided the impetus as well as the art, color, …

The Commodity Club: Commodity Fetishism In Modern Art And Tattoos, Shelby Maiden

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The current culture of commodity fetishism that surrounds both modern art and tattoos are disproportionately a part of the perpetuation of an artificial sense of society and community. It promotes the notion that by simply by inking the deeper layers of their skin or by spending millions on a painting that somehow one becomes elevated and enters an elite space, or club, of people like them.

Hiding In The Archives: The History Of The Art History Department At Dominican University Of California, Maura Wilson

Senior Theses

When students register for classes, they often take for granted the subjects that they register for. To these students their classes represent a means to an end. However, in the midst of the registration rush, when the registering student takes a moment to consider the time and work that had to be invested in to establishing these subjects, they might find a new appreciation for the classes that they are taking. This work is a tribute to the work of Dominican University faculty members who had to work hard to bring to fruition the Art History department as it exists …

Reconstructing Ancient Lives Using 3d Technology: A Case Study Of Pork And Doughboy Point, Belize, Jane Fiegel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

3D technology can preserve cultural heritage resources and enhance museum collections and exhibits. Through 3D scanning, an exact digital replica of an artifact is created, which can be printed out or used to create a digital display. For this project, 3D scanning was used to reconstruct ancient Maya lives at Pork and Doughboy Point, Belize. By studying and classifying an inventory of selected artifacts, we were able to determine what activities occurred at the site. goal of this project was to showcase the growing importance of 3D technology in cultural preservation and the variety of ways in which it can …

Comparative Study On Urban And Suburban Art Education, Estevan Jose Puerto Jr

Multidisciplinary Studies Theses

Comparative Study on Urban and Suburban Art Education

Summary

The thesis on a “Comparative Study of Urban vs. Suburban Art Education” will be a discussion on the history of fine arts curriculum. Showing the historical evolution of fine art instruction in Europe, and how it is significant for visual arts in the history of human civilization. The thesis will provide a timeline of people and events showing the development of Art Education in the United States of America. Exploring what legislation involving public and private institutions helped enact change in Education for the visual arts. How art teachers over the …

Cellist, Catalyst, Collaborator: The Work Of Charlotte Moorman, Saisha Grayson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

When classically trained cellist Charlotte Moorman (1933-1991) moved to New York City in 1957, she swiftly positioned herself at the intersection of experimental music, performance, video, and the visual arts. She interpreted works by composers like John Cage, collaborated with artists such as Nam June Paik, and founded and organized the New York Avant Garde Festival from 1963 to 1980. This dissertation argues that Moorman’s career sheds new light on what it meant to be an artist in this post-medium-specific moment and proposes that Moorman’s deterritorialization of authorship exerts pressure on traditional art histories. The generative dynamics of her collaborations …

Shadows Of Empire: The Mughal And British Colonial Heritage Of Lahore, Naeem U. Din

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The Pakistani city of Lahore is the capital of the Punjab province. The city itself has existed for over a thousand years. In 1947 the British rule in the Indian subcontinent ended, resulting in the partition of British India into the modern states of India and Pakistan. At the time the Punjab province was also partitioned, with the western half (including Lahore) going to Pakistan and the eastern half being awarded to India. Prior to partition, Lahore served as an important administrative and commercial center under the Mughal Empire (1526–1799), the Sikh Empire (1799–1849), the British East India Company (1849–1858), …

Creating 1968: Art, Architecture, And The Afterlives Of The Mexican Student Movement, Mya B. Dosch

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The student movement of 1968 in Mexico City staked a claim to urban space. Through mass gatherings in the Zócalo, posters in the streets, and marches past prominent landmarks, student activists countered the spectacles of national unity designed in preparation for the 1968 Olympic Games. These competing claims to space came to a head on October 2, 1968, when government agents fired on activists and bystanders gathered in Tlatelolco Square, killing dozens and imprisoning thousands more. Scholars and essayists have since framed 1968 as a watershed moment in twentieth-century Mexican history and the massacre at Tlatelolco as a “wound” …

Rising Above The Faithful: Monumental Ceiling Crosses In Byzantine Cappadocia, Alice Lynn Mcmichael

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The design of Byzantine architecture created viewing conditions that reveal social and spatial contexts of Christian ritual, private devotion, and expressions of identity. This is apparent in the decoration of ceilings, which were crucial visual elements within spatial relationships in late antique and medieval architecture but are rarely discussed because few examples survive. However, Byzantine Cappadocia, a region that is now central Turkey, has a high number of extant medieval ceilings in its rock-cut architecture. About eighty monuments there have monumental ceiling crosses that were painted or carved in relief between the sixth and eleventh centuries. In this dissertation the …

Lauretta Vinciarelli In Context: Transatlantic Dialogues In Architecture, Art, Pedagogy, And Theory, 1968-2007, Rebecca Siefert

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation centers on the interdisciplinary work of Italian-born artist, architect, teacher, and theorist Lauretta Vinciarelli (1943-2011), a key yet relatively unknown figure who occupies a historic place in the 1970s revival of architectural drawings, Columbia University’s housing studio, Peter Eisenman’s influential Institute of Architecture and Urban Studies (IAUS) in New York, and architectonic trends in contemporary painting. She was the first woman to have drawings acquired by the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA, in 1974), she was among the first women to teach architecture studio courses at Columbia University (hired in 1978), …

Buying Time: Consuming Urban Pasts In Nineteenth-Century Britain, Dory Agazarian

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is about how historical narratives developed in the context of a modern marketplace in nineteenth-century Britain. In particular, it explores British historicism through urban space with a focus on Rome and London. Both cities were invested with complex political, religious and cultural meanings central to the British imagination. These were favorite tourist destinations and the subjects of popular and professional history writing. Both cities operated as palimpsests, offering a variety of histories to be “tried on” across the span of time. In Rome, British consumers struggled when traditional histories were problematized by emerging scholarship and archaeology. In London, …