Each day countless numbers of high school students remain standing at the threshold of the door to meaningful learning in art history because of traditional authoritative instructional methods and content. With the keys of feminist pedagogy, interactive teaching methods, and the new art histories, the teacher can now unlock that door and lead students to personally relevant learning on the other side. A case study using both qualitative and quantitative research methods was conducted in a secondary art history classroom to examine the teacher's pedagogical choices and the degree to which they enable meaningful and relevant student learning. The analysis of multiple sources of data, including classroom observations, revealed statistically significant correlations between the teacher's instructional methods and the content, as well as their impact on student meaning-making.

This thesis uses the work and career of the textile designer Maria Kipp to stage a prolegomena concerning how to write about a female designer active during the middle of the twentieth century. How can design historians incorporate new methodologies in the writing of design history? This thesis explores the current literature of feminist design history for solutions to the potential problems of the traditional biography and applies these to the work and career of Kipp. It generates questions concerning the application of methodologies, specifically looking at a biographical methodology and new methodologies proposed by feminist design historians. Feminist writers encourage scholarship on unknown designers, while also they call for a different kind of writing and methodology. The goal of this thesis is to examine how these new histories are written and in what ways they might inspire the writing of Kipp into design history.

This thesis investigates, analyzes, and discusses Picasso's imagery in the cultural context of the nineteenth-century Spanish tradition of flamenco. Two published photographs featuring the elderly artist with the gypsy guitarist Manitas de Plata initiated the study, and led me to the conclusion that selected works by Picasso were influenced psychologically, thematically, and formally by his youth which was spent in the Andalusian province of Malaga and later in Barcelona. Picasso's early artistic education occurred at precisely the same time and place as The Golden Age of Flamenco in Spain, a cultural phenomenon that profoundly affected both his life and art.

This thesis will examine the iconography of late-thirteenth- through fifteenth-century images of St. Veronica's veil, also known as vernicles. In the late Middle Ages, vernicle iconography changed from iconic representations of Christ's face toward graphic imagery of Christ's suffering during his Passion. These passionate transformations, as I have called them, were affected by the Roman Sudarium relic, popular devotion to Christ's suffering and humanity during his Passion, and the Catholic ritual of Mass. This thesis will consider how the function of vernicle images during Mass was reflected in their iconography throughout Europe between 1250 and 1500.

This thesis examines Pieter Bruegel the Elder's Fortitude, 1560, a print from the Seven Virtues series. Fortitude stands out as an anomaly within the cycle because it contains several allusions to the Book of Revelation. The linkage of Fortitude to the writings of St. John is important because it challenges previous iconographic and iconological analyses of the composition. Analysis of Fortitude's compositional elements is provided, along with an examination of the virtue tradition. Additionally, an exploration of sixteenth-century apocalypticism is included, as well as an examination of the artistic influences that may have inspired Bruegel. This thesis concludes that Fortitude's apocalyptic allusions do not seem unusual for an artist familiar with St. John's prophecies, influenced by Hieronymus Bosch, and living in an age of apocalypticism.

This thesis analyzes Benjamin West's altarpiece St. Paul Shaking the Viper from His Hand After the Shipwreck and his designs for thirty-three related artworks in the Royal Naval College Chapel, Greenwich, England, as a synthesis of the major influences in his life and as an example of both traditional and innovative themes in his artistic style of the late eighteenth century. This study examines West's life, the Greenwich Chapel history, altarpiece and decorative scheme, and concludes that the designs are an example of West's stylistic flexibility and are related thematically to his Windsor Royal Chapel commission.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze and discuss the changing ways in which the visual art of heraldiy was perceived by the feudal aristocracy of twelfth- and thirteenth-century England. It shows how the aristocracy evolved from a military class to a courtly, chivalric class, and how this change affected art and culture. The shifts in the perceptions of heraldry reflect this important social development of the knightly class.

This thesis examines the imagery of Jose Guadalupe Posada in the context of the Mexican Revolution with particular reference to the corrido as a major manifestation of Mexican culture. Particular emphasis is given to three corridos: "La Cucaracha," "La Valentina," and "La Adelita." An investigation of Posada's background, style, and technique places him in the tradition of Mexican art. Using examples of works by Posada which illustrate Mexico's history, culture, and politics, this thesis puts Posada into the climate of the Porfiriato and Revolutionary Mexico. After a brief introduction to the corrido, a stylistic analysis of each image, research into the background of the song and subject matter, and comments on the music draw together the concepts of image, music, and text.

This thesis analyzes the destruction of imagery dedicated to Saint Thomas Becket in order to investigate the nature of sixteenth-century iconoclasm in Reformation England. In doing so, it also considers the veneration of images during the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Research involved examining medieval and sixteenth-century historical studies concerning Becket's life and cult, anti-Becket sentiment prior to the sixteenth century, and the political circumstances in England that led to the destruction of shrines and imagery. This study provides insight into the ways in which religious images could carry multifaceted, ideological significance that represented diversified ideas for varying social strata--royal, ecclesiastical and lay.

This thesis studies the style of Native American portrait photographs of William S. Soule (1836-1908), John K. Hillers (1834-1925), and William E. Irwin (1871-1935), who worked in Oklahoma from 1869 to 1904. The examination of the three men's work revealed that each artist had different motivations for creating Native American portrait photographs, and a result, used a distinct style. However, despite the individual artistic styles, each artist conformed to Native American stereotypes common during the nineteenth-century. The thesis includes a discussion of the history of the area, photographer biographies, a stylistic analysis of the photographs, and how the images fit into American Indian stereotypes.

This thesis draws upon recent, art historical scholarship in iconography and semiotics to identify and analyze key images in an iconographic program associated with murals, paintings, and posters related to the Austin, Texas music venue, the Armadillo World Headquarters, 1970-1980. Resources include South Austin Museum of Popular Culture, the Center for American History at the University of Texas, Austin, personal communications, and publications concerning the artists, music and history of Austin and the Armadillo World Headquarters. There are five chapters as follows: Introduction, History of the Armadillo World Headquarters, Analysis of the Armadillo Mural and Freddie King Painting, Analysis of Posters for the Grand Opening and the Michael Murphey Cosmic Cowboy Concert, and Conclusion.

I have been working with horses as imagery for about seven years and my problem in lieu of thesis continued along this vein by researching the roles of the horse in history, specifically mobility, and developing work that creates visual links between the past and present roles of horses. I am a printmaker and the work involved in the project consists of prints that use layers of related images and juxtaposition of unrelated images to accomplish my goals of cohesion between horses and the machinery that has replaced them. As the project developed the links between past and present society became my impetus rather the horse and mobility, and my future work will respond to this.

Although clay has been used throughout history as an embellishment of architectural structures, clay elements have usually remained subordinate to existing architectural forms. Three-dimensional ceramic modules which divided an existing space, altered or obscured architectural forms, and intersected with or penetrated established planes provided a greater interaction between clay and architecture. I explored the use of clay as an integral three-dimensional element which interacted with an architectural space, rather than merely surfacing it. Because the installation of these works was temporary, methods of connecting the clay elements to the architecture were also investigated.

This study explored the current status of Turkish basic art education and the objectives of the first year art program at the university level in Turkey. Also, the researcher attempted to explore the objectives and expectations of Turkish art professors and to examine the applicability of certain concepts of American basic design education in the teaching of studio foundation courses in Turkish art schools. The study included the literature review concerning changes in educational philosophy related to the history of design education in the West and in Turkey.

This thesis examines the roles of the sublime and the beautiful in the works of eighteenth-century French landscape painter Claude-Joseph Vernet. An introduction to the study, a history of the sublime and beautiful, and an overview of the way these ideas are portrayed in Vernet's calm and storm pendants are provided. How commissions for these pendants relate to theoretical developments of the sublime and beautiful and how Vernet became aware of the these ideas are addressed. The thesis shows Vernet was not dependent on British patrons or on the century's most influential aesthetic treatise on the sublime and the beautiful by Edmund Burke, because Vernet started painting such themes well before Burke's treatise (1757) and did so in response to French patrons.

The internal necessity to rediscover myself constantly drives me back to the country where I spent most of my life, Mexico. I was born and raised in the heart of the world's largest metropolis, Mexico City and through the years I have photographed in locations with important significance for Mexican culture as well as for my personal history. I reorganize and reinvent these places, and by staging models there, I construct my personal interpretation of the Mexican way of life involving the world of “manana” (tomorrow) with its “dictadura perfecta” (perfect dictatorship), where opposite and contradictory situations exist side by side. I am particularly interested in the relationship between people and their environ-ment and I use this theme as a means to explore my own identity as a Mexican. One strategy involves juxtaposing cultural signifiers of Mexican culture. My images are an examination and a projection of my ideals, fears, and dreams about my country and myself.

The following paper reveals some aspects of my thoughts about art. The works discussed are featured in my M.F.A. exhibition. All works are mainly based on the ideas of absence, self-reference and utilization in art practice, even though each piece approaches the subject from differing angles. My dissatisfaction with preconceived notions in the contemporary art, rooted in art history, has shifted my focus from concerns of the direct, physical presence of artworks to the indirect or indecisive elements of their context. From this position I have felt free to explore the paradox of self-reference that is involved in performance. In addition, by transferring art works to functional objects, I have found a way to infuse everyday life with my art, and vice-versa. The ambiguity of interpreting artworks with language means that I present this paper with photographic documentation of my artwork. Combined, this will give a clear indication of the thrust of my graduate studies and the current theatrical direction of my art.

The working cowboy remains part of the contemporary culture of Texas. A visual record of him appeared early in the state's history, in daguerreotypes, followed by representations in contemporary black and white as well as color photographs, film and video. Although the way of life for the Texas cowboy has changed, it remains a thriving part of the Texas economy, society, and culture. Moreover, the image of the cowboy has permeated popular culture and fine art. This paper explores what late twentieth century popular culture and fine art images of the cowboy signify, emphasizing aspects of how they signify in relation to an existing tradition of photographic representations. Using Barthes' "Myth Today," it considers how the documentary aspect of early photographic representations of cowboys is transformed in contemporary popular culture and fine art to become mythology, for example, by the exaggeration of features of dress to connote ideals allegorically.

Modernist painters such as Picasso, Ernst and Matisse were among others who incorporated what was then considered "primitive" art, mostly from Africa and Oceania, into their works. Prior to this, European artists had appropriated Greco-Roman themes and characters. These appropriated elements were consequently recreated without their cultural context and content, altered to reflect more current themes. In most cases, attention was directed toward the recreator, the author of the new work of art, not the creator of the artifact. In contrast, Post-Modern artists, including myself, have reproduced appropriated elements virtually unaltered as a way of denying authorship and emphasizing a more conceptual format. Appropriated imagery has been a tool for me in my work. Additionally, both figurative and abstract elements play significant roles since I consider juxtaposition of elements to be a strength. The challenge of fitting these elements together has enabled me to develop a style of painting that seems uniquely mine. The formal issues of style and content figure heavily in my endeavor to capture a moment in time; something lost forever except for its persistence in memory. These reflections are often imbued with personal icons, arcane text and symbolic drawing that weave in and out of the …

This was an ethnographic study of the woven tent objects produced by the Bedouin Otaibah tribe in Najd, central Saudi Arabia; the study examines origin, techniques, character and significance of their weavings. A major objective of the researcher was to discern the relationship between the weavers' development of traditions and the factors of technique, medium and perceived meaning. The method used was investigative fieldwork that included techniques of face to face interviews and participant observation. Interviews with 50 Bedouin female weavers in Najd were conducted for 8 months. Background information on the Otaibah tribe and their traditional way of life was provided. The review of the literature of traditional arts, folk arts and art education illustrates that there is limited accessible information concerning the general history of traditional arts in Saudi Arabia. A discussion of the aesthetic value, definitions and roles of traditional art, tribal art and the differences between art and crafts was included. Analysis of data answered the study's questions through a presentation of the findings of the fieldwork. The Otaibah tribe has its own unique style of weaving. Information gathered from participant observation and documents from the Haifa Faisal Collection of Saudi Arabian Traditional Arts in Chicago …

Abstract not available

This problem in lieu of thesis project looked at the style of a place setting as an exciting part of the meal. The study concluded that funware is achieved through a combination of color choice and a harmonious relationship of the dinnerware and the surface decorations.

The figure within the paintings function not only representations, but as surrogates for the subjects depicted. The artist believes that allegory goes beyond Western civilization. By applying allegories to our moder world, we can add to them rich in subliminal messages and keep them going.

In this proposed study, I had hoped to discover new strategies to develop imagery. I also wanted to know if using strategies in my work that expressed the psyche of myself, would work to express the psyche of other people. By using new and old strategies, I wanted to see not only if the outside face of people in photographs could be misread but if the inside face of people could be expressed.