Contemporary Art Commons^™

A Taste For The Distasteful: The Aesthetics Of Gore In The Giallo And Horror Films Of Mario Bava, Thais Casado Bignardi-Engstrom

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the Italian experience with horror in cinema in both psychoanalytic feminist and cognitive Marxist critical film theories through a study of visual renderings of excessive violence and sex in gothic and thrillers known as giallo films created by the film director Mario Bava. This is an art historical study that looks at Bava’s work against the Italian cultural landscape in the post war period.

Southern And Caribbean Transnational Black Feminist Dialogues In Contemporary Art, Adria Gunter

Theses and Dissertations

“Southern and Caribbean Black Feminist Transnational Dialogues in Contemporary Art” presents a Black feminist reading of the transnational cultural forms, as well as the political and social histories between the Southern United States and the Caribbean through the works of Andrea Chung, Allison Janae Hamilton, and Tamika Galanis.

Picturing Consumer Culture, Cultural Hybridity, And Womanhood: Farah Al Qasimi’S Photographs From 2012 To 2020, Minji Lee

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines Farah Al Qasimi’s 2012-2020 color photographs, arguing that this work presents a distinctive and salient critique of domesticity, material culture, and womanhood in the UAE. Through her lens as a woman and a culturally hybrid subject, Al Qasimi explores the tensions of modernization, globalization, consumerism, and gender.

Bedeviled Beauty: My Journey Through White American Theater Institutions, J'Aila C. Price

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Game console: Oculus Quest

World: American Theater Institutions

Player: Minority

Place: United States

Level: “Ain’t no way.”

This thesis explores the contrast between the Westernized philosophies ingrained in my education and my identity as a Black female artist. It sheds light on the difficulties of pursuing higher education in the arts and the gaps that arise from limited exposure to culturally diverse Black resources, revealing the systemic issues in Western performance education. The paper also discusses the insights gained from my journey as a Black female artist, focusing on my thesis performance of Blood at the Root, which is …

In A State Of Becoming, Benjamin Conley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The artist discusses his Master of Fine Arts exhibition titled, In a State of Becoming. The exhibition was on view at the Tipton Gallery in downtown Johnson City, TN from February 26 March 8, 2024. In a State of Becoming showcased three large scale paintings, five multimedia prints, two sculptural installations, and a video projection installation. Conley's thesis research and current artistic practice revolve around the interfaces, connections, and relationships of humans and animals. Conley explicitly uses language like "animal" to describe "non-human animals" in his work's context. The exhibited works focused primarily on how the artist and/or the viewer …

The Impersonation Artist: A Novel With Critical Afterword: Displacement And Dissent In Fiction And Art., Flora K. Schildknecht

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of a creative project, The Impersonation Artist: A Novel, and a critical afterword, “Displacement and Dissent in Fiction and Art.” On a narrative level, The Impersonation Artist engages the question of how, and if, participatory art can reveal and intervene in oppressive conditions. The novel employs a stylistic methodology in which the use of multiple narrators and narrative fragmentation formally gestures toward the complex dilemma of how artists might intervene in contemporary problems in the face of conflicting ideologies and ever increasing precarity. The novel follows three characters: an environmental activist; a young man veering towards …

Stephen Antonakos: The Spiritual Tenets Of Neon, Seville Partida

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Working without paint or brushes, Stephen Antonakos (1926—2013) created murals of neon light. These sweeping gestures of buzzing color achieve a meditative and spiritual quality yet remain accessible in their communal and urban settings. Douglas Crimp's 1981 essay, “The End of Painting '' argues that the most promising art of the time mounts a thorough critique on the myths of humanism, and consequently the cherished tropes of expressive painting. Antonakos’s career spans this period of upheaval, fraught by fears over the looming death of modernist painting as well as critical and curatorial activity that interrogated art’s structures. Although Antonakos seems …

Without Us There Is No Britain: Black British Photography And Film Networks, 1950-1989, Maria T. Quinata

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation tracks three moments from 1950 to 1989, when images were put to work by Black photographers and filmmakers to stake individual and communal claims to Britain and Britishness: first, through the emergence of photographic portraiture taken in domestic living spaces during the 1950s to 1970s; second, through the Black Panther Movement and their use of photography in the late 1960s to mid 1970s, and last, with the efflorescence of Black film and video collectives in the 1980s. At each of these moments, I attend to the simultaneous production, negotiation, and co-mingling of new social identities that were diasporic, …

Ripe Spoils, Yan Cynthia Chen

Theses and Dissertations

Chen’s practice primarily focus on sculptures and installation. She explores the interplay between the idea of nature and the constructed environment, by examining how language informs what we know. The central thesis, "Ripe Spoils", employs citrus fruits as symbols for bodily experiences and personal identity, investigating their cultural and historical significance. Her sculptures summon the qualities and embedded meanings in materials like paper pulp and clay, wax and citrus fruits, often resulting in abstracted forms evocative of the human body. This thesis paper and exhibition reflect on themes like mortality and the essence of self.

Chinese-English Dictionary Enable Select Search …

The Black Arts And Black Power Movements In The Artwork Of John T. Riddle, Jr., Isabella Vitti

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the under-studied work of the Black sculptor John T. Riddle, Jr. and how he was influenced by the politics of Los Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s. Police brutality, the Vietnam War, the Black Power Movement, and the Watts uprising had a major impact on Riddle’s work.

Routed Through Rubber: Ulises Carrión And Marginal Media (1972–1980), Mary-Elisabeth Moore

Theses and Dissertations

Directed by Aart van Barneveld with support from his partner Ulises Carrión, the Stempelplaats gallery (1976–1981) in Amsterdam developed out of larger trends in independent publishing and mail art, as artists on the margins of conceptual art explored the potential of rubber stamps toward various ends. The thesis examines the role the rubber stamp played in Ulises Carrión's early poetic book works and his later mail art activities: how it allowed him to draw out the sequential aspects of a book's structure and forged strong links through his network.

Lutz Bacher: 1975-2019, Jeremy Gloster

Theses and Dissertations

"Lutz Bacher: 1975-2019" is a monographic study of the artist Lutz Bacher (1943-2019), detailing the artist's trajectory from participant in the Bay Area photography scene of the mid-1970s to an established figure in the art world. Alongside this exposition, the thesis contends theoretically with Bacher's work, turning toward the theorist Peter Osborne's recent writings to examine Bacher's multifarious engagements with the photographic image and her own stagings of contemporaneity.

The Coevolution Of The Six Ancient Kilns And Japanese Postwar Local Identity, Benjamin Lewis Rothstein

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

The arts have long been tools used to prop up political visions, and Japan’s traditional crafts are no exception to this trend. Japanese ceramics in particular have enjoyed, or perhaps endured, era after era of patronage by successive governments and movements over their more than a millennium of history. Appropriated by a wave of nationalism in the Meiji period, the rokkoyō (six ancient kilns), long famous for their rustic style and acclaimed tea wares, were converted along with many other traditional crafts into symbols of the Japanese national spirit. In the postwar period, however, without necessarily losing their national importance, …

Rodcon, Flier, 2024, University Of Northern Iowa. Rod Library.

RodCon Documents

RodCon
Saturday April 6, 2024
10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Free & Open to the Public
Rod Library, UNI Campus

Flier used in promotion of the event.

Deep Roots, New Shoots: Modern And Contemporary African Art From The Kam Collection, Charles Mason, Andie Near

Kruizenga Art Museum Exhibition Catalogs

Kruizenga Art Museum, Hope College Catalog for the exhibition: Deep Roots New Shoots: Modern and Contemporary African Art from the KAM Collection. Exhibition dates: January 12 – May 18, 2024. Charles Mason, author. Andie Near, photographer, designer.

Currere As Contemporary Art: Weaving Creative Research, Purposeful Vulnerability, And Poetic Expression To Nurture Teacher Self-Knowledge, Kimberley D'Adamo

Kimberley D'Adamo: Art, Curriculum, Publications, and Other Scholarly Works

Statement, first paragraph:

Pinar’s currere process offers educators supports for engaging in honest self-reflection to develop liberatory practices and tools to facilitate purposeful vulnerability. Currere scaffolds a transformative journey, enabling educators to explore their educational past, interpret it in their current context, and use those personal and pedagogical insights to envision alternative educational futures. In many ways, currere is about identifying and developing one’s own authentic voice, which appeals to me as both an educator and artist.

Rodcon, Program, 2024, University Of Northern Iowa. Rod Library.

RodCon Documents

Contents:

--- Welcome
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The Birth Of "A Painting": You Yong Solo Exhibition, Dongpeng Wang

MA Projects

Curator Wang Dongpeng takes great pride in unveiling "The Birth of 'A Painting'," an exclusive solo exhibition by the renowned painter You Yong. In this thoughtprovoking display, You Yong harnesses the simplicity of the iPad to craft vivid artworks that capture the essence of individual lives amidst the pandemic. His pieces offer a window into the lived realities within mainland China during these challenging times. This exhibition is an invitation to an extraordinary art experience that breaks free from the confines of traditional art space, promising to leave viewers with lasting impressions. The Birth of "A Painting" stands as a …

Unveiling Urban Photographs: The Evolution Of Street Photography Through Cameras, The New York Photo League, And Visionaries Lisette Model And Helen Levitt, Isabella Danesi

MA Theses

Street photography is a visual art that began to pick up in popularity in the 20th century especially in large cities like New York. There was so much going on in the world at the times and it was a perfect opportunity for aspiring artists to go out into the streets and capture the realities of what was happening. This thesis dives into the origins of street photography as well as an emphasis on the development and shaping of street photography while being used in urban settings in the 20th century. A discussion of the technological development of the camera …

Navigating Boundaries: Challenges And Strategies In Exhibiting Brazilian Art Globally, Bruna Ribeiro Schnor

MA Theses

This thesis critically evaluates key initiatives in New York from 2002 to 2023, notably "Brazil: Body and Soul" and "Tarsila do Amaral: Inventing Modern Art in Brazil" at institutions like the Guggenheim and MoMA, highlighting potential shortcomings in representing Brazilian culture accurately. Additionally, it discusses exhibitions like "Bárbara Wagner and Benjamin de Burca: Five Times Brazil" at the New Museum and “The Yanomami Struggle” at The Shed for their unique approaches to showcasing Brazilian art. The methodology involves analyzing significant exhibitions in New York from 2000 to 2023, evaluating their efforts to globalize Brazilian art, and understanding their global impact. …

Art And Entertainment Collaboration: The Benefits And Challenges Of Auction Houses Crossover Collaborations In The Global Art Market, Yushi Chen

MA Theses

Over the past decades, crossover collaboration has become increasingly important
in the contemporary art market as an effective strategy to reach a wholly new customer segment. This research focuses on the crossover collaboration between art and entertainment by exploring the partnerships between auction houses and singers. It uses a case study as a research methodology to analyze Sotheby’s partnerships with three famous singers, including Nigo, T.O.P., and Jay Chou, by which the auction house successfully entered the Asian art market. The research found that these examples have demonstrated Sotheby’s how has integrated crossover collaboration into its sustainable competitive advantages. The …

Standardizing Records: Library Cataloging Versus The Museum, Chiara Di Muccio

MA Theses

Unlike libraries, where descriptive cataloging has been internationally standardized for nearly a century, art museums to this day do not adopt a world-wide recognized standard for record-keeping their painting collections. It is challenging for museums to establish a single cataloging set of rules that could suffice in all cases, given that institutions are diverse in scope and in needs and deal with paintings that by nature are unique. Hence, museums vary their standards much more than libraries by often adopting internally-developed guidelines instead of recognized authorities when cataloging their painting collections. This thesis addresses this issue focusing on cases in …

The Great Mess Of Auction Catalogues, Hector Yuyang Chen

MA Theses

Ever since the Covid Pandemic in 2020, auction houses around the world have changed their policies on printed auction catalogues - many simply did not print auction catalogues, or at a much-reduced volume; publishing instead the information online. The issue here is evident: without public access, auction houses have the ability to manipulate data and self-regulate their records. This can result in a skewed presentation of data that favours their interests while concealing less favourable information. Public archives have already suggested their frustrations in this trend, most notably, at the Paul Mellon Centre: “Catalogues have been acquired in the following …

Ethical Dilemmas In Art Advisory Services: Navigating Influence In The Art Market, Noah G. Tyler

MA Theses

This scholarly exploration delves into the ethical dimensions inherent in
providing art advisory services within the dynamic milieu of the New York art
market. The spotlight is aptly directed towards influential entities such as
Gagosian Art Advisory, Lisa Schiff, Pace Gallery, Acquavella Galleries, Allan
Schwartzman, and The Brant Foundation. This diverse array of players vividly
illustrates the complexity of the ethical discourse prevailing in this intricate
landscape. The convergence of commerce and creativity leads to profound
inquiries regarding conflicts of interest, transparency, and the responsible
custodianship of cultural heritage, thereby unveiling the intricate relationships
underpinning the art world. The significance …

Paths To The Abstraction: Kandinsky And Rothko, Vera Schueler

MA Theses

This thesis explores the artistic journeys of Kandinsky and Rothko, focusing on underlying motivations that led them towards the realm of abstraction. Kandinsky and Rothko played pivotal roles in the development and advancement of abstraction in the art world. They shared the belief that only non-figurative art had the power to convey deep meaning and evoke profound emotions, going beyond mere representation of the physical world. Despite their divergent artistic paths, artists were united by the idea of the transformative power of artistic expression and aimed to transcend to the viewer the energy and concepts of their vision through delving …

Politics Of Being A Lover: In Art, (Space) And Kink, Rabeeha Adnan

Theses and Dissertations

Politics of being a lover: in art, (space) and kink explores my relationship with my practice through observations and stories that draw parallels with romance and kink. Narrated as love affairs turned into complex commitment, it shuffles through logics of structural power, control, and communication in the context of praxis and art institutions.

Double Jointed: Gendered Flexibility And The Overextended Self, Grace A. Bromley

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores compulsory domesticity and the impulse to overextend oneself, both pressures often associated with the construct of femininity. Through diving into my personal history, which includes growing up in a three-generational home of women, I explore mimesis as it functions in both the replication of identity and in terms of pictorial representation; specifically I address its relationship to gender, manifestation within the body, and the search for subjectivity through the process of making and thinking. In various forms of material explorations, I play with ideas of malleability, mimicry and “embedded” behaviors that are passed down and embodied in …

An Examination Of The Visual And Textual Influences On The Anthology Of American Folk Music, Ben Collier

History Theses

The Anthology of American Folk Music is a collection of eight-four selections of southern vernacular recordings made for commercial record labels in the 1920s and 1930s and assembled into a unified collage by Harry Smith. Smith was an experimental filmmaker, painter, and self-taught anthropologist with a deep interest in renaissance hermeticism and mysticism who worked with Moe Asch in 1952 to release the six-record set and accompanying handbook on Folkways Records. The release was heralded by musicians and critics as an essential piece of influence on the folk music revival. Despite this, the Anthology sold poorly and quickly faced legal …

Frozen Moments: Navigating Memory, Grief, And The Fear Of Loss Through Captured Images, Kayla Lockwood

Graduate & Professional Student Association Research Forum

Contemporary art photography delves into human intimacy, memory, grief, and the fear of loss through meticulously captured images. These photographs challenge conventional representations by presenting emotionally charged narratives encompassing themes such as love, loss, vulnerability, and resilience. Photographer identity and the deliberate absence of certain individuals within the frame prompt reflection on the significance of relationships and the personal nature of emotional response to photographs. Drawing on insights from Roland Barthes' "Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography" and Susan Sontag's "On Photography," contemporary art photography becomes an exercise in pathology, laying bare the emotional lives of subjects while also serving as …

Living In Untranslatability--Performance Art In China And Usa, Ziyun Ma

Masters Theses

This thesis embodies discontinuities in performance art and its non-equivalent Chinese term “行 为艺术” between language and cultural context into a migrating journey. A comparative analysis on the disciplinary history of performance art studies in the US and China laid a foundation in exploring the dynamics of marginality in two contexts. Extracting from the narrative mechanism and body view of Chinese performance art, I demonstrate how the philosophy of living (生) inspired many artistic creation, which also echoes my research journey. And from our mutual living experience, I pose the concept of constructive untranslatability that applies positionality and situated knowledge …