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My MFA project titled, “Lantern's Diary” is a synergy of colors, tactile experiences, and reflections on change. The artwork is based on cultural influences. The physical form of the lantern is a metaphor of culture identity—in Eastern culture, paper has been used in architecture, furniture, clothing, funerals, writing materials, and lanterns. Its function as a material is to fulfill the necessity of daily life and ceremonial rituals. Hence, paper plays an important role in the Eastern society. The color spectrum representing “Change” corresponds with the western system of color organization. The gallery space plays a spatial aesthetic role in guiding one's interpretative journey through the artwork. The cooler colors were placed closer to the entrance of the gallery. Then the warmer colors were arranged and set in the furthest end of the left-hand corner of the gallery. As a result, the warmer colors would draw the viewers to walk around to the other end of the exhibit, signifying the importance of looking on the bright side of things as we go through life changes, with bright hope at the end. I was interested in the thinking and production process. I sketched a lot in my sketchbook and made some prototypes as references. The lanterns were made from reeds and handmade paper. Each of the thirty lanterns is about seven to eight feet tall and hangs from the ceiling of the gallery. The structural form of each lantern may vary a little in detail, but they are all based on the same design concept—a chrysalis. Reeds, commonly used in basket weaving were used to make the skeleton structure of the lanterns. Understanding the profound process of making the lanterns is important, as it mirrors us making sense of changes in our lives as they unfold.

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One of the most important compositional theories of Alexander Tcherepnin (1899-1977), Russian-American composer and pianist, is the Eurasian ideology, which was a result of the influence of Eastern culture. Inspired by this theory, Tcherepnin not only extricated himself from his own compositional techniques, but also intensified his search for musical folklore. In April, 1934, he began a world tour which was to include China, Japan, Singapore, the Philippines, Egypt, and Palestine, to search for "musical folklore." He became so fascinated with the culture of ancient China that he cancelled the rest of his arrangements, and, except for visits to Japan, he remained in China for three years, until the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in July, 1937. During his three-year stay in China, Tcherepnin was greatly attracted to Chinese culture, and as a result, Chinese culture influenced his music to a significant degree. This essay examines the manner in which Tcherepnin's music was influenced by his experiences in China. In order to precisely analyze the close affiliation between Chinese musical elements and Tcherepnin's "Chinese Mikrokosmos," many original Chinese sources proved indispensable in this study. These sources include Chinese folk music, theater music, instrumental music, religious music, and Chinese periodicals and newspapers that reported Tcherepnin's activities in China (1934-7). The organization of this dissertation as follows: Chapter I provides a brief biographical sketch of Tcherepnin, traces his activities in China, and introduces one of his greatest "Chinese" compositions, "Chinese Mikrokosmos," which represents the fruits of his labors to scrutinize and absorb Chinese musical language. Chapters II and III are devoted to exploring how Chinese folk and instrumental music inspired Tcherepnin's "Chinese Mikrokosmos." Chapter IV summarizes this study.