Due to its cheap, pervasive, and disposable nature, post-consumer plastic has no subjectivity in its relation to the consumer. My thesis project examines the material’s inherent destructive narrative and question its ability to have extrinsic value beyond the assumptions of trash. In my research, I found that humans instinctually seek to conserve and treat biotic material with care. This fact has become a catalyst for the works in this project, which aim to not only increase the material’s value through animate biomorphic transformation, but also counter our disposable tendencies. At the onset of this project, I was fixated solely on the physical potential of plastic, but in researching cultural narratives, I became more aware of the social significance that post-disposal plastic material holds. Artistic works by Mark Bradford and El Anatsui helped me understand the potential for re-inscribing new meaning into materials that have had a prior existence, and the art of Lynda Benglis and Tim Hawkinson inspired my technical application. From there, I applied the aesthetics of biomorphism, which resulted in a culminating piece that utilizes melted and deformed bubble wrap to evoke reptilian skin or a micro-biotic cell community.

Historical events captured in an abstract manner have the ability to produce a profound effect on the emotions. The purpose of this research is to create a time-based computer media work, using dialogue from playwright Anne Nelson's The Guys, based on the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, with emphasis on visual imagery, particularly the use of line and color, to enhance the dramatic and emotional content of the piece. The stylistic direction of the thesis work is greatly influenced by selected works of abstract expressionists Robert Motherwell and Franz Kline, whose artwork was shaped by the social backdrop of World War II.

The completed research allows to conclude that abstract expression holds a key importance in the process of art tuition. Its influence on children visual reflection is determined by a number of factors: the development of student's thinking process, his individual character, visual reflection forms, relevant teaching methods and valuation of student's works. This research describes the techniques the tutor uses for the purpose to understand the student, best reveal his unique inner capabilities and skills and facilitate their development. In early age, when children only start to realize the principals of abstract art, they create abstract compositions on playing grounds. Their creativity, active imagination, thinking capabilities and intuition expand and improve on the way. In upper grades, when the attractiveness of drawing and working as a process fades out, the weight of drawing result continually increases. This is the age when children lose the joy of spontaneous creation, while the attempt at realistic expression encounters an essential lack of skills. Children are willing to be taught and they seek definite rules. Still they cannot generalize consciously, therefore the most appropriate tasks are design of ornaments out of geometrical figures, lines and colours. This way they get acquainted with the means of abstract expression in art, and these provide a positive impulse for the enhancement of creative capabilities and overall personality maturing. 14 – 18 years... [to full text]

A thesis report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Painting.

My most recent body of work frees me from traditional animation and graphic design principles that had become second nature in my creative practice over years of commercial work in industry. I now find myself unconsciously creating shape and form without a preconceived vision of the final outcome. This allows for a free-flowing approach to my canvas. The canvas in which my forms are created is virtual space and can be described as an infinite cube. The first step I take in each of my pieces is creating a cube with the center residing at Cartesian coordinates 0,0,0. From there, I make the decision either to subdivide the cube into sections or extrude faces from the cube. In either case, I begin to see the possibilities in which the form can take. Some forms are organic and rhythmic while others become machined and rigid. At this stage, color and light are not a part of the equation.

I've always considered myself a serious person who understood the meaning of labor. I am determined to labor over my ideas, and to labor seriously. The problem, and by "problem," I mean, "best thing" about this is that no one takes me seriously. Ever. They seem to like my work anyway. Apparently, I'm more funny than I am serious. But that's okay, because, secretly, I think I've always tried to be serious because I never thought I was smart enough to be funny. I often misunderstand things. Sometimes I mishear or wrongly attribute or think that facts are a metaphors or that metaphors are facts. Then I take this (mis)information back to my studio and playing Cosmic Matchmaker, yoking together seeming disparate elements to create a visual vocabulary. And then I labor over it. Very seriously.

My personal life experiences are reflected in my art. I use symbolic and expressive marks in developing my abstract imagery, which acts as a visual language. The combining of my past and current art work, fused together, has become what I call a creative matrix. I see my images as choreographed compositions using a mixed media approach. The open-ended interpretation of my art have expanded the never ending possibilities of creation.

Ce travail examine l’œuvre de l’artiste abstrait italien Alberto Burri (Città di Castello, 1915 - Nice, 1995) et ses nouvelles contributions à partir de 1945, notamment dans l’utilisation de la matière en peinture : Goudrons, Sacs, Bois, Fers, Plastiques, jusqu’aux Cretti et Cellotex. La métamorphose de sa recherche est contemplée en faisant état des différentes phases de sa création. C’est dans le Texas, durant sa captivité au cours de la Seconde Guerre mondiale qu’elle vit le jour et continua sans cesse de prendre forme, dans chaque lieu qu’il habita : Rome, où il entra en contact et influença nombre d’artistes, et aussi Los Angeles, Beaulieu-sur-Mer. Prenant également en compte la réception critique de ses créations en Italie et ailleurs, on étudie ses spéculations par rapport à celles des Avant-gardes et à d’autres artistes travaillant avec de la matière, en France, en Italie, dans d’autres pays européens, aux États-Unis et au Japon (entre autres, Gutaï, Néo-Dada, Nouveau Réalisme, Arte Povera…) Tableaux, sculptures, grands «Cycles», œuvre gravé, livres d’artiste, décors pour le théâtre, Sculptures-Théâtre : un voyage monumental, où Burri - entre révolution et classicisme - concevant des œuvres puissantes et raffinées, à l’ «équilibre déséquilibré», renouvela complètement le langage artistique de l’après-guerre. / This survey examines the work of the Italian abstract artist Alberto Burri (Città di Castello, 1915 - Nice, 1995) and his original contributions using a variety of materials in artistic creation since 1945: Tar, Burlap, Wood, Iron, Plastic, and finally Cretti and Cellotex. The metamorphosis of his research is evidenced through all the different phases of his activity, starting in Texas at the time of his internment during WWII and constantly continued in every place he lived: Rome, where he met and influenced many artists, Los Angeles, Beaulieu-sur-Mer. Also examining the critical reception of his work in Italy and elsewhere, his speculations have been studied in relation to those of the Avant-garde and other artists working with materials, in France, Italy, other European countries, United States and Japan (among others, Gutaï, New-Dada, Nouveau Réalisme, Arte Povera…) Paintings, sculptures, big "Cycles", graphic work, artists’ books, stage sets, Theatre-Sculptures: a monumental journey, during which Burri - between revolution and classicism - created powerful and refined works of "unbalanced balance", completely renewing the post-war artistic language.

O principal objetivo desta pesquisa consiste no estudo, desenvolvimento e aplicação de um conjunto de procedimentos metodológicos introdutórios para leitura e percepção da paisagem geográfica, direcionados ao ensino fundamental. Trata-se de uma proposta de articulação de conteúdos de Arte e Geografia baseada na noção de paisagem como texto não-verbal, cuja organização dos procedimentos de leitura recorre a subsídios da semiótica. Os conteúdos de Arte explorados nesta tese buscam identificar as transformações da noção polissêmica de paisagem, concentrando-se no abstracionismo informal e nas paisagens do pintor brasileiro Antônio Bandeira um dos principais representantes dessa tendência no Brasil a fim de possibilitar um processo alternativo de percepção estética da paisagem. Os conteúdos de Geografia alinham-se principalmente com as pesquisas recentes da Geografia Cultural, que após receberem múltiplas contribuições e influências, tais como da Antropologia, da História, da Filosofia fenomenológica e existencialista, concebe a paisagem como texto e como marca e matriz cultural, principais abordagens nas quais esta pesquisa inspirou-se. Após a reflexão teórica, foi realizado o experimento de uma parcela dos procedimentos metodológicos propostos, com alunos de 7ª série. Os resultados demonstraram que é possível uma mudança na percepção e leitura da paisagem geográfica, quando os modelos de paisagem também são modificados. Verificou-se: abandono da perspectiva e incorporação de vários pontos de vista numa mesma paisagem (visão horizontal, vertical e oblíqua); adição das sensações olfativas, auditivas e táteis; o consentimento da escala afetiva na representação dos elementos; possibilidade de vínculo com o aprendizado das representações cartográficas, dado o caráter abstrato das pinturas de paisagens contemporâneas; a leitura não-verbal como estímulo à expressão verbal; alto grau de interesse dos alunos não só pelos conteúdos desenvolvidos, mas principalmente pelas estratégias envolvendo arte e pintura a guache / The main objective of this research is the study, development and application of a set of introductory methodological procedures for the study and perception of geographical landscapes in elementary education. It is a proposal for the synchronization of the course content of Art and Geography based on the concept of the landscape as a non-verbal text, whose organization of study procedures relies on semiotic assistance. The Art-related content investigated in this thesis aims to identify transformations of the polyssemic notion of landscapes, focusing on informal abstractism and landscapes painted by the Brazilian painter Antônio Bandeira - one of the foremost examples of this tendency in Brazil - in order to create a feasible alternative process for the esthetic perception of landscapes. Geography content is mainly in accordance with recent research in Cultural Geography, which, upon receiving several contributions and influences, for example from Anthropology, History, and phenomenological and existentialist Philosophy, envisages a landscape as a text and a cultural mark and matrix. This approach was the main inspiration for this research. After theoretical reflection, an experiment was carried out involving a part of the proposed methodological procedures among 7th grade students. The results show that a change in perception and study of geographical landscapes is possible, when the landscape models are also modified. The abandonment of the perspective and incorporation of several points of view into a single landscape (horizontal, vertical and oblique view) was noted; addition of olfactory, audio and touch sensations; the contentment of an affective scale in the representation of elements; the possibility of a connection with the learning of map representations, given the abstract character of contemporary landscape paintings; the non-verbal study as a stimulus to verbal expression; a high-level of interest on the part of students not only in the content developed, but mainly in the strategies involving art and gouache painting

This thesis combines personal experiences of depression with experimentation of media, and consists of four projects including a set of five postcards, a graduation robe, and a tapestry collection. The final project, and central focus, is a series of 100 digital images that was created to distract the artist from harmful mental breakdowns. The series is aptly named Coping and has become a study on expressions of the mind. The exploration of the subconscious through art has roots in psychology and influences from several art movements. Psychologist Sigmund Freud recognized the power of the unconscious mind, and his psycho-analytical discoveries influenced artists in both the Surrealist Automatic and Abstract Expression movements (Turner, pgs. 373-374). Artists such as Andre Masson, Joan Miro, and Jackson Pollock experimented with subconscious thoughts, images and techniques. Additionally, contemporary artists such as Yayoi Kusama reference psychological states of being in their work by using specific denotative elements such as pattern, shape and color. Even though Coping was not initially created with conscious intention, the work proves that art can be both an insight into the subconscious and a powerful coping mechanism.