The stenciled, sculpted, or painted word is a central motif in approximately thirty major paintings produced by Jasper Johns between 1955 and 1964. For Johns, who often recycles important ideas in his work, the written word is a key element that transcends other stylistic and iconographic transformations during this period. The words in Johns' paintings refer to the names of colors, label familiar objects or title his compositions. The written word appears in works by other artists prior to 1955, and therefore Johns' significance lies not so much in the establishment of a new aesthetic vocabulary, but in exploring ways that language works in the visual arts. Because Johns' use of word imagery from 1955-1964 is innovative and important, it is the purpose of this thesis to examine the different ways that Johns approaches the subject of language within the framework of painting.

AbstractPAINT MEDIATIONS Theresa Faye Pfarr, Master of Fine ArtA thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Art at Virginia Commonwealth University.Virginia Commonwealth University, 2004Major Director: Ruth Bolduan Associate Professor, Painting and Printmaking DepartmentMy paintings are contentions. I work in response, answer, and reaction to the media world. I carry a collection of incongruent images in my mind, bits and parts of the images I deal with everyday. The images stuff my mailbox, clutter my space and get in my head. I am questioning, though praising, the exploits of advertising and its mode of symbolic function. Whether their exploits are ethical is really of no concern to me in comparison to our cultural belief systems, which allow them. Advertising doesn't exploit children more than they are exploited already. In my paint investigations I forge and draw parallels to relocate meaning, as does the media. Through painting figure into space and space into figure things begin to dissolve or evolve, making the paintings both figure and of figure. The children in my paintings claim their spaces and close out the adult world.

This thesis includes the focus of my creative process regarding my MIS degree. Artists that have influenced me along with experiemental art techniques are discussed.

In the past two years my paintings have fluctuated from figuration to abstraction. Dense surfaces, physical weight, and sense of touch have been dominant characteristics of my work. I have tried to animate oil paint by pushing it to the outer edges of the painting support and by using it to perform unorthodox tasks. I have stretched the limits of oil paint, creating works that reference flesh and the figure even while the forms remain amorphous and minimal. My work is a way for me to question the meaning of material and spiritual transformation.

Electricity has a long and continuing history. This paper explains the impact that electrical light had on interior design. The focus of this explanation is those interiors closest to the advent of electricity and one turn-of-the-century designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928). Beginning by comparing electrical light with its closest rival gaslight, this paper continues with a look at three factors in electrical history that affect its appearance in interiors. The focus narrows to the fashions appearing for the new illuminant. Finally, to understand how architects and designers applied electricity at the turn of the century, one must examine their work individually. Mackintosh is the subject of the case study embarked on in the last chapter, which examines how his lighting designs contribute to or detract from the designer's place on the cusp of Modernism.

The thesis exhibit installed at VCU's Anderson Gallery was carried out using still imagery (a photograph), moving imagery (recorded video, live video), constructed objects and a delineated space. It was an experiment dealing with how one comes to know the world by virtue of one's physical activity within it. It was most importantly a work that required the viewer's participation in order to become "complete".

This thesis is a narrative of a project called the James River Anthology. The project was an experiment in "process theater" for the all-boy student population of Seven Hills School in Richmond, Virginia. Students were asked to write their own monologues and create masks inspired by the James River in the 2004-2005 school year. The performance was held on April 28th, 2005 at the Lewis Ginter Recreation Center. A grant from Partners in the Arts was awarded for this project to fund visiting artist, Heather Hogg, author of this thesis.

Memory is like afternoon light penetrating the windows of a fast moving car. The light coming through the trees creates images, reveals objects and faces, and introduces fluctuating sensations of warmth and coolness. Sometimes these images appear in logical sequences and at other times they are fleeting, surreal, and ambiguous. While memories are often presented linearly as fact, in actuality our stories only grasp at the truth. They are fragmented, imagined, and rearranged. By examining the intersection of reality and imagination in memories we see retelling as an act of creativity.

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) of Richmond, Virginia, is completing its largest expansion and reinstalling over 6000 artworks, including the Ancient American art collection, to be displayed in the museum’s first permanent gallery space for Ancient American art. In preparation for expansion, the VMFA issued its “Interpretive Plan Guiding Principles,” identifying visitor motivations for viewing the collections. As collection accessibility is central to the museum’s mission statement, all galleries are to provide visitors with the tools to engage with artworks. This thesis project presents a comprehensive history of Pre-Columbian collecting in museums and the history of the VMFA including its Pre-Columbian collection, which will be displayed in the Ancient American Gallery. It includes a summary of research conducted on objects designated for installation. Finally, this project addresses how the Ancient American Gallery will serve as an environment adapting to the principle experiences established by the VMFA.

This body of work represents a celebration and pursuit of realizing an alternative language, one capable of expressing internal conflict through process and response to external typographic form and content.