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 metamorphosis and transformation of forms as metaphors continued to be the focus of my work. The use of modular forms with lightweight materials increased mass and volume in my work. The reconstructing and reassembling of sculptures formed with modules was an excellent vehicle for the content of metamorphosis and transformation. The focus of this problem was to create a series of multi-media art pieces that were each composed of a number of modules.

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.

I has been almost four years since this change of perception from "belief" to "disbelief." Looking back I can say this shift can be characterized as "belief" standing for an idea of art which requires it to represent a singular closed reading, while "disbelief" stands for a realization of an art which corresponds more with the complexities of social interaction and produces work with an array of possible readings. Or more simply stated, "belief" requires the desire to destabilize meaning. Or even more simply stated, "belief" equals "truth," while "disbelief" equals the absence of "truth."

I wanted to see if I could affect the "unknown" by attempting to steer the subconscious. I kept a journal of events going on in my life, dreams, therapy sessions, or ideas for songs or short stories. In my studio, I kept a running list of ideas for titles of songs, stories, or paintings. In addition to this, I recorded narrative or metaphoric ideas that the paintings presented on the search for the final painting.

A continuing goal of my work has been the desire to evoke strong emotive responses in relation to imagery. The content of this body of work deals with suicide, utilizing text with imagery. The content of this body of work deals with suicide, utilizing text with imagery. I have explored in this body of work the aspects of suicide and how it relates to the individual as well as the family.