This problem in lieu of thesis concerns voyeurism and fetishism and how they relate to art. It addresses at voyeurism from both sides of the gaze. It describes a body of work that was created to explore the relationship between the voyeur and the fetish object and the viewer and the art object.

I have always believed the design of clothes should not try to conceal the naked body but should act as a catalyst that reveals the existence and strength of the individual. Spring Message includes three phases, Spring Message, Mystification, and My Paradise to reflect my three life experiences. Spring Message is an attempt to express my thoughts and ideas though designs in fashion, which were derived from the ancient beliefs, traditions, and western influence I have experienced. Through my individual pieces and creations I hope the viewer will be able to see who I am, where I came from, and understand the happiness and changes in my life.

The focus of my graduate work was to figure my way through a variety of challenges and transitions I was going through as a graduate student and simply as a person finding my way through my education to discover who I am and who I want to become. Perhaps my themes didn't focus primarily on these events in a literal sense, but I think the transitions in my artwork have become obvious through my time spent at UNT and the variations on a theme I have dealt with. All of my work deals with love, attraction, repulsion and the consequences we deal with as human beings when we make choices according to whom we choose to have relations with. It became very important for me to deal with these issues in an effort to discover what my expectations of myself as an artist and a person are.

This autobiographical problem in lieu of thesis explores the subject matter of the sculpture, revolving around the issues of dyslexia and literacy, and builds upon the idea of metaphor and its function in relationship to the sculpture. The four visual and conceptual elements that are emphasized are: (a) the juxtaposition and arrangement of elements and materials; (b) inability to open the books; (c) alteration of the text to make the words illegible, by creating words that are fuzzy or transparent; and (d) repetition and scale. Also discussed are ideas of post modern criticism with an emphasis on semiotics and writing of Derada in relationship to his contemporary analysis of his sculpture.

When I am weaving I listen to music and notice that my hands and feet fall into a rhythm. This connection reminds me of playing the piano. I took a closer look at weaving drafts; the movement of the threading setup reminded me of the notes on musical scores. This relationship inspired me to see what textures I could achieve by actually weaving the musical notes. The focus of my study is the exploration of the relationships between weaving and music utilizing elements and principles found in both, such as: color, texture, form, repetition, rhythm, and time. Both music and color produce emotional responses and will be taken into consideration within the weavings.

My thesis, Question of Honor, addresses the premise of women's lack of choice in relation to men's honor, and vengeance; concepts that are closely connected to the oppressive world of women in Pakistan. These works deal with concepts of purity and minor transgressions that have an impact on the lives of women in relation to family names and the associative feelings of humiliation linked to men. The subtle nuances of women and their reactions to oppression give a strong emotive content to the work.

As China is opening its doors to the world and getting more involved in the global market, it is facing great challenges and competition with other countries and cultures. In order to make Chinese graphic design industry more competitive and help Chinese businesses and industries have better success in the global market, I believed Chinese college-level design educators and students should learn more from advanced American graphic design processes and marketing methods to achieve a better understanding of Western design culture and make communication more successful. At the same time, I believed American college-level graphic design educators and students should become aware of strengths and weaknesses that exist in their own design education and learn from Chinese formal tradition.

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.

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 …

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 examines Rogier Van Der Weyden's two unique fifteenth century Crucifixions, The Crucified Christ Between the Virgin and Saint John and The Diptych of the Crucifixion, in light of Carthusian beliefs, practices and relevant devotional texts. The specific text used to support this examination is the Vita Christi by Ludolph of Saxony, which in part deals specifically with the Hours of the Passion. Ludolph's text is given visual form in Rogier's paintings and supports the assertion that Rogier and Ludolph were connected by a shared belief and worldview. Key aspects of Rogier's life, supported by original documentation- familial ties, associates, patrons, use of finances, and his close involvement with the Carthusians-- support this assertion. Other models of connections of belief, evidenced through artist's work, are corroborated in the work of Grunewald, Sluter and Durer.

The Universalis Ecclesiae of 1508 authorized Spanish colonization of the Americas in return for the conversion of native populations to Christianity. From its inception therefore, the Mexican nation lived an alliance between Church and State. This alliance promoted the transfer of Castilian Catholicism to American shores. Catholic practices, specifically the ex-voto tradition, visualize this intermingling of religion and politics. The ex-voto is a devotional painting that expresses gratitude to a religious figure for his/her intervention in a moment of peril. It is commissioned by the devotee as a means of direct communication to the divine. This project analyzes 40 Mexican ex-votos for their reflection of political issues in Mexico. I assert that the Mexican ex-votos engage discussions of social politics. To support this argument, visualizations of socio-political discourses such as the Virgin of Guadalupe as a national religious symbol, police action and economic disparity were examined.

The lack of ancestral record instilled in me this desire to hold on to memories, and to leave my children with permanent records or memories of our family. My desire to work with metals was inspired by the need to encapsulate a record of memories through a more permanent means. The durability of steel, I feel, can be used as a diary, in the form of an artistic and lasting object, rather than written words. The need to leave behind a legacy inspired me to explore the use of lockets and containers that have some resemblance to a reliquary. My intent was not one of religious purpose, but rather to create a locket or container that would reflect or contain symbols of where one's roots begin, the home.

My approach to the art making process is a kind of poetic reverie on forms and spaces. Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary defines reverie as “a state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing; a daydream, a fantastic, visionary or unpractical idea.” It is a romantic notion that has less to do with the big questions of existence than it does the incidental parts of daily existence. Reverie is a state of mind that comes from being receptive and finding simple pleasure in the affects of imagination. My paintings, drawings and sculpture evolve out of the freedom to imagine shapes and spaces that describe different kinds of interactions. They come from recollection, awareness, and observation of the diverse sensual phenomena that surrounds me. The variety of interactions between forms such as contrast, imbalance, balance or synchronicity, have the potential to evoke various aspects of being: vulnerability, uncertainty, confidence, and determination. Possible interactions between shapes and spaces are what intrigue me most. Recently, I expanded the investigation of form to include objects and consideration of space. As the scale of my paintings and drawings grew, I became interested in the effects of three-dimensional objects in a space, such as a gallery. My inquiry …

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.

This problem in lieu of thesis centers around my work and involves the production of the film trilogy Knife, Fork and Spoon. The methodology for this project comes from my investigation of postmodernist theory and social norms. Three problems are addressed and my professional procedures and practices that helped me find solutions while working on these films are included in chapter two.

In an effort to continue the conceptual and aesthetic growth started in graduate school, I have produced a body of work dealing with the relation between the fragmentation of the figure and the self-perception of beauty. I produced twelve prints that have been exhibited at Cora Stafford Gallery. I have analyzed the body of work conceptually and formally and chose to discuss six pieces in a problem- in lieu-of-thesis. My work and book references informed the content of the paper. I divided it into three chapters; Introduction, Description of the Work, and the Conclusion. Within the body of the paper the paragraphs are sectioned into descriptions, methodology and intent of the six pieces. I went into detail of the process and content and addressed the questions posted in the Statement of Problem.

The challenge of this project was to present subject matter in a way that did not seem common to the viewer. With this goal in mind, I aimed to switch the traditional roles of material and form in order to aesthetically elevate the commonplace. For my proposed project I combined traditional sculptural materials and processes with commonplace subject matter. I took a chance at the beginning of this project by making something that I had been joking about until I realized that this might be an interesting piece. From this point on I made a conscious effort to make whatever popped in my head. Although I am not a literary person, it seems that with this body of work I backed into what I might call "ironical metaphor."

I believe that the ability to change and freely rearrange a drawing or painting by erasing or painting over a mistake allowed me the freedom of spontaneity, whereas the perceived finality of printmaking hindered a freer approach. I began to start thinking of my prints as if they were my paintings or drawings. Fully freeing myself from planning any of my work has led to some unforeseen consequences. I have begun to realize that the work creates a life of its own. Some works have a greater influence over me and tend to live longer in my work. These pieces, whether they are drawings, paintings or prints, start a chain of ideas that push me to investigate new areas of conceptual and formal application related somehow to these first influential works.

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.

For the past two years my artwork has focused on the cultural issues of a Mexican immigrant community in Fort Worth, Texas. The primary focus has been women and the way in which their homes reflect their blending of two cultures. The occupants of the homes are people that I know personally, including my immediate and extended family as well as friends of my family. Undocumented women usually have the most difficulty in adjusting. Although some do work outside of the home, many of these women spend countless hours inside due to their inability to speak English or drive. These women have little hope of returning to their homeland because their children are being raised in the United States. In order to feel more at home, the women make every effort to re-create the Mexican culture in their new houses. Thus, acculturation takes place with very little cultural loss. Instead of previous strategies of total assimilation, these women blend the two cultures, making it easier to adjust to their new lives.

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.

I believe that our individual religious experiences are just that, individual. Each of us has a different reaction to every narration, sermon, situation, and experience. Further, I believe these experiences are understood and maintained in or through abstract thought. In the parable of Jonah and the whale, what do you picture while reading the story? Most of what took place lacks any physical evidence of existence. The voice of the Spirit, the face of God, the sound of prayer in multitude, even the person begin swallowed by the fish, are all abstract in character. My paintings are visual investigations into the idea that most of our religious experiences and concepts are abstract in nature, thought, and experience. Continuing my exploration of how my specific Christian experiences can be expressed through abstract painting, I investigated how the placement of the ellipse or ellipses as a dividing line affects the field and how surface development, layering and the expressiveness of high intensity colors affected the specific experience or Biblical narrative chosen.

During my career producing functional ceramics, I have followed a very traditional working methodology. As with many functional potters, I have always maintained a high level of productivity. Making many similar pieces allows me to develop an idea and to refine it through the working process. My method for developing a new piece is to first design the form, then to decide upon the desired manipulation of the surface planes and surface, and finally to consider the glazing and decoration to refine this new piece of pottery. I work with the new form systematically attempting to isolate and change specific elements, attempting to make each piece in the series more successful. Finally, changes are made to alter the form and decoration in order to achieve an integration of the new design into the present whole of my work. I make every piece intending that quality and craftsmanship will define each piece as an exceptional piece of pottery. Although my intention is that every piece be exceptional, the percentage of exceptional pots is not that high. In each kiln load, a minority of pieces meets my specific criteria of exceptionality. Although the other pots in each kiln load are of high …