Thesis (M.A.)--California State University, Chico. / Includes abstract. "Located in the Chico Digital Repository." Includes bibliographical references (p. 16-17).

In recent years, ecological issues have grown to become some of the most significant sociopolitical concerns of our time - something which has been reflected by an explosion in engagement with such issues across every area of arts and culture. Across most major art forms, this trend has been identified, analysed and promoted both by critical studies in the growing field of ecocriticism, and by the curatorial recognition of new 'ecological' genres; however, to date there has been no equivalent ecologically-focused engagement within sound art. This can be recognised as the product of two significant gaps in sound art scholarship: the first critical in nature, regarding the lack of ecocritical engagement with sound art; and the second curatorial, regarding the failure to recognise the growing number of ecologically-engaged works of sound art as a distinct genre in their own right. The research detailed within this thesis will address each of these gaps by conducting a comprehensive investigation into ecology and environmentalism in contemporary sound art. The critical gap will be tackled by coupling a thorough analysis of the field of ecocriticism with an investigation into the ways in which ecological principles manifest within sound as a medium and listening as a means of engagement. This will then be used to develop a new ecocritical framework specifically designed for sound art, which will be employed to conduct ecocritical listenings to a selection of canonical and contemporary sound works. To address the curatorial gap, meanwhile, a new genre of 'ecological sound art' will be proposed, with a second set of ecocritical listenings focused upon a selection of ecological sound works in order to determine the precise nature of their ecological engagement, and to develop both a comprehensive definition and an initial catalogue of works for this important and timely contemporary movement.

The creative project was a series of three, mixed media drawings created on multiple layers of transparent plexiglass. The artist designed a frame in which three sheets of plexiglass were contained. This unit portrayed a three-dimensional drawing. The artist then experimented with a variety of mediums to determine which material was best suited for successful rendering on plexiglass. The artist then did a number of sketches to determine what images would best convey the idea of humankind's close connection to the land, air, and sea.The primary accomplishments achieved in this project were the knowledge gained in the experimentation of materials and the ability to create a composition on multiple layers of plexiglass. Through these successes, the artist was able to effectively create a series of three three-dimensional mixed media drawings. / Department of Art

The statement of the problem for this creative thesis project was: How to construct photomontages that expressed the photographer's personal concerns regarding the human condition and the environmental status of the earth. Secondary components of this problem were the use of color within the work and how to reproduce this color. The goal of this project was: To stimulate individual awareness resulting in a reevaluation of one's own position and responsibilities towards humanity and the environmental status of the earth.A description of the significance of this problem is given along with supportive research. This project provided the photographer with an opportunity to use an artistic process to express environmental concerns that grew out of the photographer's environmental studies.Methods used to solve this problem included the collection of visual elements from readily available pre-printed material such as magazines and books. By combining these elements together in a new context a collage or montage was created. After the montage image was complete it was photographed on color slide film. These color slides were then placed in a projector system connected to a color laser copier. Each slide was projected on to the bed of the copier and scanned. This scanner communicated the image's digital signal to a color laser printer which produced a color laser print.Finally, each photomontage color print was window matted on white 100% acid free rag mat board and placed in a white frame for exhibition. An exhibition was held in the Ball State University Theatre Lounge/Gallery. Included in the appendices of this thesis is a copy of the exhibition flyer, artist statement and press release.A description of each individual piece is provided within_ this thesis. Addressed in this section are the formal properties of each photomontage. Techniques used in the construction of each photomontage are outlined. The expressive elements are identified arid their functions explored as they apply to the montage image. It is within this section that the photographer's opinions and feelings are expressed.The last section of this thesis is the evaluation and conclusion. In the photographer's opinion this project was a success because the photomontages express the personal concerns of the photographer. Also, these photomontages did stimulate awareness and reevaluation in the audience as reported by members of the audience to the photographer. / Department of Art

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1993. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

Through an exploration of both the sculptural and socially-engaged art practices undertaken in creating my Master of Fine Art exhibition, 53 Stitches, I unpack some of the possibilities pertaining to the practice of sustainability, ecology and social engagement in contemporary art. This thesis explores the history and concepts of sustainable development and what the implications are of the far-reaching global consideration of sustainability for contemporary art production. Looking at the writings of Felix Guattari’s (2000 [1989]) and Suzi Gablik’s (1992) on the effects of the economic model of capitalism on our environmental, social and mental ecologies, I discuss the necessary paradigm shift of the artists’ identity from the ‘individual self’ towards the ‘relational self’, affirming our interdependence upon our social and natural environments. With reference to the writings of Maja and Reuben Fowkes (2008), I explore the principles of sustainability in contemporary art and discuss the notion of ‘sustainability of form’ through insight into dematerialisation, recycling and the prospect of artists now becoming knowledge producers/facilitators. This is supportive of my personal exploration and experimentation with recyclable materials as a creative medium, used as a means of knowledge and skills facilitation in socially-engaged arts practice and the process of art-making as research. I refer to the sculptural and ‘painterly’ constructions of Sofi Zezmer and Mbongeni Buthelezi, respectively, as a means to elucidate a practical contextualisation of my practical work, particularly with regard to the use of plastic as a constructive medium. Looking at the works of Linda Weintraub (2006), Marnie Badham (2010) and Miwon Kwon (2002), I expand on the theoretical discourse pertaining to sociallyengaged art practices, and elucidate the reconfiguration of the role of the artist towards now becoming a cultural service administrator, organiser and knowledge facilitator. With reference to Arjen Wals and Johnson et al., I further discuss the role of education in sustainability and explore the necessary reconciliation between university institutions and the social and environmental context in which they are located, in the form of place-based capacity building and service learning. I explore within this thesis the concepts and processbased research of my own sculptures

The objective of this creative project is to develop a series of paintings in oil on canvas that focus on the issue of mankind's crumbling relationship with the natural world. The paintings will be produced through a process that begins with an intuitive abstract approach and will later develop layered representational imagery. My technique of painting involves initially choosing and mixing colors without regard to the finished painting, allowing the subconscious to determine the direction that the painting will take. Upon completion of the under painting, I begin creating stencils and layering imagery that provoke thought concerning nature and our place in it. This collection of paintings is representative of the process I have developed through a wide variety of influences, and is a means of communicating my concern for the ever dwindling natural environment and our connection to it. / Department of Art

With the rise in industrial capitalism during the 20th Century, artists increasingly focused on the threat of a disappearing natural world. In the high technology era of the late 20th Century, artists whose practice is termed 'ecological' based their work around new understandings of the relationship between nature and culture, fundamentally underpinned by a shift toward evolutionary, systems-theoretical perspectives from those of conquest and exploitation. Now, at the dawn of the 21st Century, the information era has brought into intersection the discourses of information technologies, quantum physics, and biological science, awakening artists to the challenge of engaging with ecology as the primary subject of their practice. The doctoral project that is the subject of this exegesis focuses critical attention on our scientific and aesthetic understandings of water - a crucial symbolic element of global import in survival. It explores the representation of water in and through art practice that is informed by political ecological awareness and new (digital) technologies. My practice exploits the potential of recent digital technologies to create experiences that aim to encourage a more ecologically sustainable human engagement with nature through this focus on water. This exegesis describes and locates the creative work within an ongoing discourse in contemporary culture that actively seeks to re-establish and redefine the relationship between culture and nature.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This project sets out a theory of how performance can contribute to the spread of ecological values as we, as a species, confront the challenges of the Anthropocene. In response to the theory that the roots of the contemporary ecological crisis lie in the agricultural revolution, the project examines an archive of performances that engage questions of agriculture, land use, and anthropogenic climate change. Chapter 1 looks at mainstream, Western dramas that depict ecodystopian futures; chapter 2 looks at teatros in the Chicano movements and their anti-agribusiness actos; chapter 3 looks at rural, community responsive theater on public lands threatened by fossil fuel development; and chapter 4 looks at anti-pipeline ritual performance in the Niobrara River Valley. These objects of analysis are united in their activist drive to dislodge the values that undergird industrial agriculture and replace them with ecological values. The project argues that an understanding of performance as “performance-assemblage” can help to explain its power to bring about this transvaluation by drawing on the posthuman characteristics of assemblages to “deterritorialize” and “reterritorialize”—that is, to shift elements from one assemblage to another, and to alter the meaning of those elements and assemblages in the process.