This paper is an experiment using digital video to locate and identify the abstract in everyday life and nature. The abstract moment occurs when the image that is captured by video loses its connection with the original context, allowing the images to be viewed in an entirely new way. The abstract moment is initiated by a transformative instant, that instant in which perception is altered and the viewer sees the intended content of composition of light and sound. The project contains four digital videos that record the artist's progress and interests.

I look at the world as a sculptor, examining physical constructs and implied meanings. My current research developed from my earlier studies of “containment” or, more specifically, “encapsulation,” creating visual, often physical, boundaries around selected content. Encapsulation confers a more active role than “containment”, a process rather than a result. This idea speaks to the issues of form, and asks the viewer to question the outside “shape of the form” in relation to the inside shape and content. My work focuses on exposed interior spaces and forms, allowing the viewer to enter the space physically as well as mentally and psychologically. Built in a large enough scale, the viewer could actually become the content. The sculpture’s interpretation revolves around the seen as well as the unseen. I built this duality into my work by using transparent and opaque materials. I also implemented small diameter stainless steel rod along with the transparent and opaque vinyl to reduce forms to their respective shapes and volumes. This approach allowed me to clean the “slate” of an object’s collective meaning and context, adapting it to the intent of my work.

This thesis examines the portraiture of Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun and Adélaide Labille-Guiard within the context of their time. Analysis of specific portraits in American collections is provided, along with an examination of their careers: early education, Academic Royale membership, Salon exhibitions, and the French Revolution. Discussion includes the artists' opposing stylistic heritages, as well as the influences of their patronage, the French art academy and art criticism. This study finds that Salon critics compared their paintings, but not with the intention of creating a bitter personal and professional rivalry between them as presumed by some twentieth-century art historians. This thesis concludes those critics simply addressed their opposing artistic styles and that no such rivalry existed.

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.

It was my intent to find objects that were both historically symbolic and symbolic of the times we live in, and that could be melded into a nineteenth century interior where their presence would be secondary to the overall atmosphere. I wanted to incorporate objects that would function as metaphors or personal symbols as well as historical icons.

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.

I believe the frame or housing of a printed image plays an integral role in the context of the work. It functions as a vehicle for possible interpretation. It should respond to and complement the concept of the central image. The image presented in a vessel or reliquary format should instill a meditative or religious response.

This paper describes the artist's conception of their scientific knowledge and spiritual beliefs, and the juxtaposition of the two in a single awareness. Michael Muller discusses the use of printmaking, drawing, and photo mechanical processes to represent this awareness through visual imagery, and includes photographs of the works.

This thesis identifies and analyzes gendering in the art writing devoted to Lee Bontecou's metal and canvas sculptures made from the 1959 - 1964. Through a careful reading of reviews and articles written about Bontecou's constructions, this thesis reconstructs the context of the art world in the United States at mid-century and investigates how cultural expectations regarding gender directed the reception of Bontecou's art, beginning in 1959 and continuing through mid-1960s. Incorporating a description of the contemporaneous cultural context with description of the constructions and an analysis of examples of primary writing, the thesis chronologically follows the evolution of a tendency in art writing to associate gender-specific motivation and interpretation to one recurring feature of Bontecou's works.

I proposed that both Bruner's (1963) idea of the spiral curriculum and Yenawine's (1992) theories of teaching for visual literacy in the museum set the stage for significant learning for students when used together. If school teachers lay a foundation of knowledge about a museum object, especially through museum resources, then the student may transform and apply this 'prior knowledge' (explicit memories from the classroom) while on the museum visit tour. When docents utilize Yenawine's (1992) methods toward the goal of visual literacy, the semantic knowledge of the classroom is then fused with museum learning, building stronger memories and facilitating deeper understanding as students learn about museum objects. This research explored the correlation of these two theories in a qualitative manner based on observations of actual museum visit preparation in classrooms in Casper, Wyoming, and how it related to a museum tour at the Nicolaysen Art Museum and Discovery Center. The research revealed that conditions do exist within the community that would facilitate Bruner's (1963) idea of a learning spiral, yet not in the manner envisioned. The observed conditions toward a spiral was accomplished through the participant teachers relating the museum exhibit to their operational curriculum in a variety of …

I chose to exhibit sculpture and classical style vessels together to encourage discussion about whether ceramics should be considered a fine art medium. I was interested in experimenting with different forms and textures in order to see which combination would captivate the viewing audience the longest. I found that massive textural sculptural forms held the attention of the viewer more so than did the classical smooth surfaced vessels.

For centuries, books have been a traditional way to display prints. Contemporary artists' books have become more than simply a method of displaying prints and have, in fact, become a relevant medium for artistic expression. It has been important to my work that each of my artist's books have functioned as a unified whole, all parts of complementing each other and strengthening the overall concept.

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of developing an art curriculum in Qatar, using the principles of the DBAE curriculum in conjunction with technology. Many of the challenges facing art educators and the art curriculum in Qatar can be approached through the multimedia applications of DBAE, which will provide instructors and students with an opportunity to more readily interact with visual art and to discover its educational relevance. Additionally, this study attempted to discover whether teachers are engaged in implementing technology in the art classroom and whether they are given the opportunity to engage in art to their satisfaction.

I planned to explore the concept of the dichotomy of barriers and connections further. The works I planned to produce would incorporate a variety of printing techniques, drawing, and conceptual development. Each technique and method allowed for my perception to speak in a slightly different voice. The use of these multiple techniques would allow me to explore fully the complexity of barriers and connections in a manner more comprehensive than the one technique alone.

When I was first introduced to photography, I was mainly drawn to landscape imagery. I enjoyed being a solitary spectator. Over time, inclusions of figurative elements became more and more apparent in my work. I purposefully began to incorporate a figure into my landscapes, ascribing to it a certain nostalgia and a sense of isolation I was experiencing on many levels at that time. Before long, I felt disconnected from these images because of their ambiguity and generalization. I found myself craving more content and personal commitment in my photography. At the end 2003, I started experimenting with a 4" x 5" format camera, which forced me, to some extent, to change my way of photographing and seeing. That is how the beginning of this new body of work was born. I was accustomed to shooting with a 35 mm camera, which allowed me to be spontaneous, quick and immediate. I permanently switched to a large format. I could see myself benefiting from this change. I lost some of the spontaneity that a 35 mm format offers but I gained the beauty of working with larger negatives and the endless possibilities of view camera movements. Thanks to this technical transformation, …

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 focus of the problem was to challenge the more traditional. Western approaches to jewelry as adornment in respect to areas such as placement and scale. Approaching adornment as sculptural forms interacting with the human body could possibly challenge the individual's awareness of jewelry as wearable art. This approach brought up the issue of using the human body as a pedestal for adornment.

The purpose of this study was to use the bomaki/arashi shibori process to create three-dimensional fabric forms which could be incorporated by the design of a garment.

a. How does the use of different materials such as string, screen, fabric or wire personalize the work? b. How does the addition of subtly recognizable imagery change the reductive field? c. How do processes such as wrapping, printing, dripping, and other techniques infer meaning? d. How does the choice of color and scale affect the work?

There has been a growing trend in the film industry in the use of three dimensional computer generated images (3D CGI) for special effects. With the popularity of this relatively new medium comes the need for new terminology. This exploration developed a general system of classification for 3D CGI effects for use in film. This system was based on a study of various writings about the significant films, which employ 3D CGI effects. A three-group system of classification system was developed. The three-group system was composed of the Elements Group, Level of Reality Group, and the Kind Group. These terms were developed to aid in the day-to-day production of 3D CGI special effects in the future.

Investigating the behavior, function and appearance of ceramic materials has proven an enduring point of interest throughout my education. In learning about the vast range of the earth-yielded materials and their physical manifestations in states ranging from wet to dry to fired, I have found myself excited and challenged to seek out ways to expand their presentation. My attention has been repeatedly drawn to the class of ceramic materials that frequently get classified as “glaze ingredients.” Understanding the structural and visual qualities of these minerals and compounds was an interest whether I was making tableware, tiles, or sculpture. For the purposes of this paper, I propose to deal expressly with the physical art-making considerations of material and process as they relate to my work in ceramics. By directing my focus as such, I hope to center my work on a concern that became evident to the art world upon the display of Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain: material equals content.

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.

Chapter I describes how my works are grounded in a Chinese point of view, based on sociological and anthropological approaches as defined in my work. The questions in my Statement of Problem deal with how I use "imbalance" in my works, yet still find a way to make acceptable compositions to better tell my stories. I relate how my work constitutes a positive act or event in an evolving world culture. Chapter II discusses the work I focused around the questions posed in Chapter I. Chapter III expresses my conclusion about my work and my goals for the future.

I Investigated the use of unpremeditated and reactionary methods of composing to arrange the landscape and figurative elements in my paintings. Though it may not necessarily be the case, these paintings may appear to have a narrative structure. The media, graphic imagery, and figure/ground relationships have given me a feedback loop, a guide by which I pictorially arranged the remainder of the developing composition. The painting revealed its identity and direction in this way to me. The application of a comic book style was the other consistent form with which I composed.