This study examines the effects that discipline-based art education has upon reading test scores of public school second grade children. The progress in language arts of an experimental group and a control group were followed for two six week grading cycles. The experimental group was treated with DBAE instruction for one six weeks, while the control group received only studio production exercises. Both groups received no art instruction for another six weeks. Gains between mean pre-test and post-test scores indicated a significant difference for the experimental group but not the control group.

Two curricular needs exist for the elementary art classroom: multi-cultural lessons which are customized to address North Texas ethnicities, and art history materials for early grades, whether taught by art teachers or regular classroom teachers. This thesis addresses both of these concerns by developing lesson plans to meet the needs, and executing an evaluative study with North Texas art and regular classroom teachers of kindergarten and first grade. The teachers represent four districts, including rural, suburban, and urban demographic populations. Findings address time limitations for public school teachers, cultural exchange differences between demographic groups, and differences between presentation of the units by regular classroom teachers versus art teachers.

Over a period of two decades, Raymond D. Nasher, a Dallas-based real estate developer, and his late wife Patsy amassed a collection of significant modern sculptures. For years, pieces from the private collection--numbering over 300 as of 1990--were on display in various museums and civic institutions, and they were installed on a rotating basis at Northpark Center, a Dallas shopping mall developed by Nasher. Since the 1987 Dallas Museum of Art exhibition, the collection has been shown in several major international museums. This study documents the formative period of the collection, the Nashers' collecting and exhibiting philosophies, and four early exhibitions of the sculptures. It includes a chronology of the Nashers and major acquisitions of sculpture.

This thesis investigates how the interior of the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center of Dallas accommodates the three groups which use the space: the patron, the musicians, and the administration. Following the Draft Brief of 1981 prepared by the Dallas Symphony Association's Concert Hall Building Committee, each area is discussed as to what was actually built and what concerns were met. The primary data were the symphony center and interviews with I.M. Pei, architect; Russell Johnson, acoustician of the concert hall; Charles Young, associate of Pei, Cobb, Freed & Associates, interior architect of the concert hall; Carolyn Miller, Trisha Wilson & Associates, designer of the Green Room, Richard Trimble, designer of the musicians' areas, and Joe Pereira, designer of the Administrative area.

My work already shared some of the characteristics of the gravesites that I proposed to study. They were similar in that they both attempted to integrate sacred and profane imagery. Both called attention to personal events and related these events to a larger scheme. Finally, both were involved with the creation of objects of veneration according to personal edicts, but in relation to already established mythologies. I proposed to create a body of work based on the information gathered from the investigation of three predominantly Mexican graveyards-- one in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and two outside of Laredo, Texas.

This study examines the development of Edward Larrabee Barnes's design concepts for the Dallas Museum of Art, from preliminary concepts and program statements by Director Harry Parker and Dallas Museum trustees, through initial planning and architect selection, to site selection, the Program and Space Study, Barnes's early conceptual plans, and his Dallas Arts District master planning. Influences on Barnes's work and his career development leading to the Dallas commission, his most ambitious museum to date, are examined. Discussion and documentation of design development is based on schematic studies, presentation drawings, models, and trustees' minutes. Design changes during construction and all phases of expansion planning are also discussed. The conclusion summarizes historical influences on the design and Barnes's fulfillment of program concepts.

This thesis investigates how the visual arts philosophy promulgated in the 1960s by the Second Vatican Council of Roman Catholic Churches is manifested by commissioned artists for a particular parish. The primary data were the new sanctuary and the artworks, which include stained glass by Lyle Novinski, a carved-glass Marian Shrine by Claire Wing, bronze Stations of the Cross by Heri Bartscht, and wooden medallions depicting two saints carved by Don Schol. This paper reviews pertinent ecclesiastical doctrines along with interpretational publications, physically and iconographically describes the sanctuary and artwork, and considers aspects of the relationship between patron churches and the artists they commission.

The purpose of this study is to examine I. M. Pei and his partner Harry Cobb's downtown Dallas architecture within the context of their overall stylistic development. This paper explores the structure of five buildings within the framework of the city, and addresses their possible influence on the city's future architectural direction. The thesis is divided into six chapters. Chapter I introduces and states the problem as it discusses the fabric of Dallas architecture. Chapter II outlines a brief biography of I. M. Pei, looking to those who have influenced him, while discussing the key public buildings of his stylistic development. Chapter III is devoted to Pei's first structure in the city, the Dallas Municipal Administration Center. Chapter IV explores the concepts of his planned Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. Chapter V outlines a brief biography and focuses on the work of Harry N. Cobb: One Dallas Centre, ARCO Tower, and the Allied Bank Tower. Chapter VI summarizes the contributions of Pei and Cobb by placing them within the context of twentieth century architecture, and pointing out their specific achievements with their additions to the fabric of Dallas architecture.

The purpose of this study was to examine the status and the content of the middle/junior high school art- programs in Texas. A questionnaire designed to elicit information concerning the art program was sent to middle/junior high school art teachers in Texas. The responses were analyzed according to the school district size, the grades comprising the school, and the school enrollment using simple descriptive statistics. This study revealed the following areas concerning the typical middle/junior high school art program in Texas: school district size, school enrollment, art enrollment, grades in school, types of art courses, teaching objectives and approaches, art budget, resource materials, and art equipment.

The problem of this study was to compare the expectations of the interior design profession regarding entry level requirements of new graduates of Southwest Texas State University and the present interior design curriculum at Southwest Texas State University. Questionnaires seeking information regarding skills and knowledge thought necessary for graduating interior design students were sent to professional interior designers in the South Texas area. Simple descriptive statistics were used to analyze the responses. The survey of the interior designers practicing in the South Texas areas conducted in this needs assessment of the Interior Design program at Southwest Texas State University supports giving consideration to the development of new courses or content revision of existing interior design courses offered at Southwest Texas State University.

The problem of this survey is to ascertain the relationship between nine Texas art museums and contemporary art, defined for this study as art of the 1970s. The role of the museum and its involvement with contemporary art are also perceived in respect to the general public. The purpose of this study was (1) to visit nine Texas art museums and interview the director or curator of contemporary art, using a standardized questionnaire, and (2) to present and analyze the responses to the questionnaire. The eight questions comprising the survey were formulated to include both practical and philosophical related concerns. Therefore, the survey responses and final conclusions reflect a variety of issues ranging from the physical accommodation of diverse contemporary works to the more fundamental philosophical issue concerned with contemporary art's presence in the museum and the institution's function.

This study concerned the methods in which fourth and fifth grade teachers in one of the larger suburbs of Dallas, Texas, prepared themselves and their classes for a visit to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. Twenty teachers who had visited the Dallas museum in the last two years were interviewed using a validated interview questionnaire. The majority of teachers were concerned with both visual and written resources. Although, additional materials were requested, many teachers were uniformed about preparation resources provided by the museum. The teachers' idea and attitudes were found to be supportive of the museum and its programs.

In this limited survey, nineteenth-century cast-iron facades in Texas were recorded and compared to iron-fronted buildings in New York City. It was found that generally, the still existing buildings in Texas cities and towns were similar to those in New York in style but differed to the extent to which the cast-iron elements were used. It appears that nineteenth-century builders in Texas knew of New York trends in cast-iron but had definite regional preferences.

The miniature furniture cataloged is considered to be of the second size, i.e., miniatures which could have been used as traveler's samples, cabinetmaker's models, or toys. The entries are selected from collections of Louisiana and Texas museums and historical societies. They were located through use of a questionnaire sent to the institutions listed in the Official Museum Directory as having furniture and decorative arts collections. Responses showed five institutions owning miniatures of the second size, as follows: Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans; Anglo-American Art Museum, Baton Rouge; Harris County Heritage Society, Houston; Witte Memorial Museum, San Antonio; and Dallas Historical Society.

This thesis concerns the utility of including the art of hand lettering in a curriculum of a university advertising art program. Data secured from 155 questionnaires sent to 266 advertising firms in five states were analyzed by simple descriptive statistics including frequency counts and percentages. Two hypotheses were examined, and it is concluded that hand lettering is still needed in advertising art and should be taught in university art programs.

This study reports on the development of a curriculum guide to insure some degree of experience uniformity in the first art course available to students in high schools in Mesquite, Texas. Current general education and art education literature as well as curriculum guides from American schools provided the behaviorally oriented framework and objectives, content, and teaching strategies. The guide reflects a balance between the ideal and the real physical environment in which the guide will be implemented. Conclusions include the concepts that teacher education in using behavioral objectives is necessary, that a behaviorally oriented guide will work in Mesquite high schools, that behavioral objectives will facilitate evaluation, and that the trend toward tri-part subject content will increase in art curricula.

The purpose of this study is to catalogue the chairs and sofas of Old City Park that reflects the American Victorian style and to provide a brief historical account of the style's development. Old City Park in Dallas, Texas is the first major restoration of its kind in the Dallas area. Its aim is to provide an educational as well as historical center for the city. The restoration project began when Millermore, a Southern Colonial house built in 1862, was moved to Old City Park and an agreement was made between the Dallas Park Department and the Dallas County Heritage Society for its erection and restoration. the Society and the Park Department agreed ti create a heritage center in the Old City Park that will illustrate the growth and development of Dallas from 1841 to 1910. This catalogue was done to help justify the historical significance of the furnishing collections destined for use in the restoration of Old City Park. Organized according to substyles, the catalogue contains data collected on each entry and is illustrated by color slides. A brief account of the American Victorian Period precedes these entries.

The study attempts to determine 1) whether or not consumers want to choose colors for interior goods; 2) whether they agree as to which interior items are most important for color selection; and, 3) whether they prefer to coordinate interior colors for themselves or choose from pre-coordlnated color schemes.

"This study was conducted primarily to determine how relevant the interior design curriculum at North Texas State University is from the viewpoint of the practitioners of interior design in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area."--2.

The study being undertaken was to ascertain the effect or effects of different firing conditions and colorants on glazes composed of wood ash from two trees indigenous to Texas.

In order to create a motivational device to help students become more aware of their surroundings, an audio-visual project was chosen as the most effective means of reaching intermediate grade children in a low socio-ecomonic area. Developing an effective sett of motivational experiences for enriching learning through seeing in the art education program was the task undertaken in this study.

This thesis describes experimental work done in art education with a small group of children that met each Saturday at Dallas Services for the Blind over a two year period. The research used textured collage art projects as the medium of artistic expression for the children.

It is the purpose of this study to test whether or not any learning does occur during the viewing of an art educational film. In order to examine this learning, an art educational film was developed and tested at North Texas State University in Denton, Texas.

It is the purpose of this study to present three units for the instruction of certain aspects of color by using the techniques of audio-visual education which utilize the school stage as a laboratory. The study demonstrates how a stage and its apparatus become an audio-visual tool that the teacher may not hope to duplicate in the classroom.