This thesis is an investigation of the way in which the painter May Stevens (b. 1924) synthesizes her personal experiences and political philosophy to form complex and enduring works of art. Primary data was accumulated through an extended interview with May Stevens and by examining her works on exhibit in New York and Boston. An analysis of selected works from her "Big Daddy" and "Ordinary/Extraordinary" series revealed how her personal feelings about her own family became entwined with larger political issues. As an important member of the feminist art movement that evolved during the 1970s, she celebrated this new kinship among women in paintings that also explored the contradictions in their lives. In more recent work she has explored complex social issues such as teenage prostitution, sexism, and child abuse in a variety of artistic styles and media. This study investigates how May Stevens continues to portray issues of international significance in works that consistently engage the viewer on a personal, almost visceral level.

Loss of Innocence uses sculpture, two-dimensional imagery, and text to explore the moment when children lose their innocence or realize their mortality. In the introduction, I explain that there are many factors, such as age and personality, which determine how children will deal with traumatic events in their lives and the duration of time that must pass before they move past the event. Often, children will combine childhood fantasy with random facts to create their own satisfactory explanation of what has happened. In my problem in lieu of thesis, I discuss work that I created with these thoughts in mind. I explore how the sculpture, two-dimensional imagery, and text work together to convey the emotion of innocence lost.

This thesis explains the stories and concepts behind each piece that was discussed on the opening night of my MFA Exhibition. The works, entitled Film Noir, Brains, Trains, and Beer, The Boy Next Door, Peterbuilt, and 10-50, H-1, was discussed more specifically and in greater detail. Speaking in public has always been a difficult task, especially on the subject of my art. My images deal with the highly intense subject matter of violence inflicted onto others as a result of human social behaviors. These vile social behaviors are translated into colorful and humorous lithographs, etchings, and drawings. These images are displayed to the public for individual interpretation. This thesis discusses audience interpretation before the literal meaning is revealed, how much information should be revealed to the viewer, and how this information manipulates the aesthetics of the piece.

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.

Chapter I presents my background as an artist born and raised in Romania, and describes my artwork in connection with my interests and experiences. Maps and traditional Romanian art are important sources of influence. The questions in the statement of problem deal with the way ideas, references to various elements, and installation impact the artwork. Chapter II discusses the installation at the Dallas Visual Art Center, the creative process, and how the artwork addressed the questions in the statement of problem. Important points are: a step into three-dimensionality with the tall, freestanding pieces painted on both sides, the use of topographical contours in creating shapes, issues of form and content as expressed in the painted surfaces, and the interaction of the individual works in the installation.

This paper documents the execution and exhibition of a group of oil paintings exploring themes of spectacle and the construction of reality in contemporary American society. The paintings are composed of figures and fragments of text originating in stills taken from television news and reality TV. This paper describes and assesses the paintings according to a set of questions developed by the artist at the inception of the project. Various strategies employed in the execution of the work are analyzed and compared. The contribution of this project to the field of contemporary visual art is evaluated via comparison with other art, past and present, expressing similar concerns.

Texas programs in pre-service art teacher preparation vary little. Since 1970, the National Art Education Association (NAEA) has created voluntary standards in hopes of decreasing variability among programs. In 1999, the NAEA published Standards for Art Teacher Preparation, outlining 20 content areas that art pre-service programs should provide their students. To obtain information on the implementation and the extent to which these 20 standards are being implemented, a questionnaire was sent to all programs in Texas. The 20 standards were the dependent variable for the study. The four independent variables used in this ex post facto study were: the size of the institution where the program exists; the number of full-time art faculty; the number of full-time art education faculty; and, the number of undergraduate art education students who graduated last year. The 20 standards or provisions were scored on a Lickert scale with six options: zero (not taught) to five (comprehensively taught). The response size (N = 23) was 47% of the state's 49 approved programs. The results from the survey suggest no significant difference among programs. However, the results showed a significant difference in the number of provisions taught between programs with no art educators and those with …

Surfacing the Void is an exploration of surface design in relationship to the topic of voids. For the purpose of this paper, two types of void were addressed: shelters and hulls. The theme behind the sculptural works dealt with negative spaces as an analogy for the voids in people's lives. The goal was to find a way for the surfaces to elicit an emotional response from the viewer that correlates to the impression of either shelter or hull. Keeping this in mind, each experiment was approached with how to best represent the meaning of void being manifested. Imagery was applied during different states of the clay: wet, dry, and fired. Methods of exploration included texturing, drawing, stenciling, stamping, incising, decoupage and covering the surfaces with textiles.

I want the viewers of my work to participate with me in a common experience. How I choose to communicate an experience in the work is intended to effect the viewer's level of understanding and participation. Toward this end, an exploration of nontraditional self-portraiture involving the viewer in a relationship with the artist will be used to maintain the visual dialogue imparted through the work. Utilization of recognizable symbols and icons within the work is meant to increase the clarity of my communication enhancing the viewer's involvement in the common experience. Color, as a concern will relate to the increased access and interest of the work to the viewer's experience and understanding.

A craftsman’s work evolves with time, new forms arise and old forms become more refined. This research attempts to study the evolution of pots over a designated period of time. The key findings include that the approach to glazing was relatively unchanged by the evolution in the work. However,the refinements that occurred in the work allowed the glazes to impart wonderful characteristics to the forms on which they are used.

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.

Document that details the conception, evolution and conclusions of a body of work consisting of seven prints executed in the printmaking technique of intaglio printing in the manner of the state print. The work is discussed by explaining the visual and conceptual associations that occur in an "Alice In Wonderland" manner, where the initial idea is paired with seemingly unrelated topics to establish a progressive visual language. This language is further supported by discussing a comparative of the state print with the idea of the sketchbook as a tool of thought generation and elaboration. The technical aspects of intaglio and the choice of techniques utilized are discussed to support this comparison. How the quality of the prints reflects the quality of the sketchbook and how these techniques combine with the conceptual reasoning, which result in the body of work. Findings for the work are based on three questions that deal with the progression of conceptual reasoning, predictability of recurring ideas and the intentions of the technical choices made.

The focus of my graduate work was to find my own voice through my continued efforts in woodcarving. I proposed to produce six to eight wood carved sculptures for my thesis that would be dealing with a juxtaposition of struggle expressively portrayed by the figure between two-dimensional and three-dimensional worlds. I used these works to express my emotions about myself, and my interactions with others in a form of nonverbal communication with the viewer. The result of this process did lead me to find my own voice and with this voice I expressed three-dimensionally, not only my own struggles, but also those that many other women have experienced as well.

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.

I intend to explore various canvas sizes and many formal issues, focusing on space and the application of paint are paramount in my work. I used closely cropped photographs to aid in this study and my exploration addressed the following questions: 1) How does the speed of execution affect the spontaneity and authority of the piece? 2) How important is the unexpected for the success of my painting in regards to formal issues?

Through this study I intended to analyze and determine the significance of the recurring imagery that emerged as an integral part of my compositions. Furthermore, I attempted to discern the importance and over all the effects of the small scale upon my work and determine how vital is the spontaneity that is used to obtain each composition.

To emphasize the preciousness of these tools, I envisioned object-specific carrying cases, like a violin case or my grandmother's china cabinet. The object-specific case or cabinet is, like the tool it houses, special and singular inits utility and serves to underscore the ceremonial nature of the tool. Of all the examples of object-specific environments I've looked at, most have been constructed of fine woods; many have also been either covered or lined with various skins, silk, or velvet to reflect the preciousness of their contents.

My work has developed to the point where it exists within the grey area between painting and sculpture. These hybrid works necessitate the transition from creating objects to that work singularly to installations of various works that operate as a whole. The purpose of this study is to identify successful methods of making this transition through the use of the computer. The computer should provide new strategies to integrate sculpture and painting into a hybrid form.

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.

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?

The purpose of this research was to develop a body of work which exhibited unity between form and surface, but which relied upon a combination of deliberate intent (specific form, glaze, firing temperature, etc.) and the occurrence of random accident to achieve this unity. The project dealt with the integration of altered wheel-thrown and hand-built organic clay forms with a variety of surface treatments. The firing/glazing techniques chosen (which included cone 9 reduction firing, raku firing, and saggar firing) could be controlled to some degree. However, even minor differences in glaze and/or firing treatments evolved through a variety of chance incidents into marked differences in the finished piece.

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.

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.

My interest in the patterns of nature and culture has led me on a long journey through studies of math, sciences, and religions culminating in my current studies in art. Continuing my inquiry into processes of human perception and conception of time. My intention was to incorporate the "process" aspect of the printmaking medium into the final work by creating hybrid works that would take the "print" out of its traditional two-dimensional form. Finally, I planned to utilize the "multiple" aspect of printmaking to address ideas of patterns and evolution.