This research project is aimed at creative practitioners in art and design who choose to engage in postgraduate research and who recognise narrative to be an important aspect of their work. While the goal of narratology has been explicitly declared as an interest in understanding narrative in all its forms, this project responded to a perceived absence of art and design centred perspectives in the general literature on narrative. A general attitude has developed throughout the course of the twentieth century resulting in a view that narrative has become a dead issue for contemporary practitioners. Findings from the investigations conducted as part of this project demonstrate a contrary view and show that definitions of narrative tend to be weak unless anchored in specific practices or disciplines. The lack of scholarship to support contemporary art and design research practitioners produces a problem by giving the false impression that narrative is largely irrelevant to practice. It also inhibits new scholarship when what currently exists is poorly categorised. The research question asks how it is possible to support the creative practitioner doing postgraduate research to better articulate their position on narrative in a way that contributes to scholarship in the arts and consequently to knowledge about narrative in general. The thesis argues that approaches to narrative traditionally associated with the discussion of art continue to be relevant today but only account for practice in a marginalised way. It posits that theorisation of narrative in the social sciences provides additional opportunities for creative arts practitioners. In psychology, sociology and anthropology the focus has tended towards localised or personal narrative in accordance with the disciplinary interests in those fields. If small stories, in contrast to the great narratives of history or literary art, can be regarded as the prototype of narrative, then artists can draw on other academic resources which better reflect their own disciplinary interests. Having established narrative to be more relevant than it might otherwise appear in the existing traditional scholarship, the thesis proceeds to make use of my practice as a case demonstrating narrative possibilities to be considered in relation to the work of practicing artists. Since my work operates across fields of art and design it was necessary to use a mix of methods to reveal the understanding of narrative in the different cases. Finally, the thesis proposes a narrative framework which categorises narrative in creative practice in five classes which incorporate the work, its reception, and the social space in which it is experienced. In addition, the practitioner's perspective is a distinct class. The purpose of the framework is not to describe narrative in all the forms that could ever be imagined by creative practitioners. Instead it offers a way of thinking about narrative that is derived from practice and structured relative to theories traditionally used to discuss narrative and art.

This “pseudo” educational film, Tool Box, incorporates video in real time to illustrate four different techniques used to understand the English language for a child who has been diagnosed with dyslexia. When dyslexia was first discovered, doctors wanted to understand how the brain functioned differently and eventually concluded that people who have dyslexia use one side of their brain more than the other. Although these ideas were first conceived between 1870 and 1880, the methods for teaching children with dyslexia have not changed much since then. This project is meant to inspire and illustrate the “behind the scenes” aspects of what it takes for someone with a unique mind to understand the basic principles of English. The work is meant to show that although dyslexic brains may perceive something different than other brains, hard work and persistence can help alleviate some of the frustration and difficulty that comes with dyslexia. The work portrays four different techniques: a spelling test, a grammar sheet, a trick for L’s and B’s, and a repetition list. Each of these challenges was created to help ensure that the problem words would be committed to long-term memory by incorporating all the senses.

My installation is an exploration of the subconscious ventures within dreams, focusing on aspects of identity, anxiety, and intimacy. The personal disposition of an ‘active’ imagination, even while I sleep, has made me both fascinated and exasperated by my dreamed experiences. By documenting my dreams through animation I am able to explore this power dynamic between my consciousness and subconscious which orchestrates these scenes. Tension between the audio, content, and aesthetic of the work explore the grey emotional areas of dreams that leave residue in the back of our head as we navigate the real world. Time, form, and the scientific and societal laws that govern our lived experiences may be distorted beyond recognition within a dream, and mankind’s proclivity to fantastical dreams makes sleep a gateway to something otherworldly and freeing, all-consuming and overwhelming.

This thesis examines my studio practice and research during my studies at Virginia Commonwealth University in the Photo & Film MFA program, which has culminated into my thesis exhibition. Through traditional portraiture and landscape photography that utilize contemporary photographic practices such as digital processing and material studies, my work in Plantiod Planet creates a fiction which examines plant intelligence and the gendering of landscape.

Human beings have two perfectly aligned eyeballs working together sending three-dimensional images to the brain and providing accurate depth perception. I lack true stereoscopic vision. When I was five years old I had my second eye surgery and I remember lying blind and terrified for two days in the children's ward of Reid Memorial Hospital in Richmond, Indiana. I later learned that my eyes didn't align properly and for the rest of my life my right eye would "wander". Because of my condition, I was given a list of jobs that I could never perform, jobs where human lives are entrusted to skilled professionals wielding scalpels or landing jets. I could never be one of those people. Or so I was told. I've always had excellent vision, nearly 20/20 my whole life and I've never struggled academically. It's just that my eyes don't point in the same direction like everybody else. Those who know me best can see it, but I've learned ways to make it not so obvious. It's all I've ever known. But, in an ironic twist of fate, it's become clear that my lazy eye has taught me to "see" better than the average artist. Having spent the last five years of my life studying 3D Design and exploring the most advanced creative technology on the planet, I've created a series of computer-generated environments, objects and characters. This is my latest attempt to prove to the world that I can see just fine. I could've been a doctor or a pilot after all. In this paper I present to the world a digital friend manifested from my slightly skewed interpretation of the world. Rocky is part of my imagination brought to life in perfect three-dimensional clarity for the world to see. He's a symbolic representation of my childhood love for cartoons and science fiction. He is strong yet gentle, modest, intelligent and noble. And, he is fiercely protective of that scared and blind five-year old boy.

No description available.

The work explores the body and its limitations through the lens of printmaking.The surface of the body acts as a barrier between our internal and external selves exposing the vulnerabilities between mind and body. As fragile and receptive beings, the past builds up and manifests itself through our daily actions and repetitive tendencies. There is a strong desire to control our appearance and physical signs of well-being.

This thesis includes the work of Vicki L. Clarke for a Masters in Fine Arts.

This thesis is for a Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture.

A Thesis Report Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts in Painting.