<p> <i>Furnishing Gender</i> is a collection of furniture and objects of the home that have been deliberately altered to explore and expose pervasive aspects of toxic masculinity. The work within examines aspects of rape culture, queer culture, and hetero-normal constructs that link our realities to the lies of masculinity and gender difference. It is my intent that the viewer become uncomfortable and my hope that they not shy away from this discomfort, but accept the exhibition&rsquo;s challenge to be vulnerable, genuine, and to engage in conversations that confront the conventions of traditional gender roles and biases.</p><p>

This practice as research thesis centres on the use of light projected through theatrical haze as a method of creating tangible, volumetric objects within a performance or installation space. The practice seeks to define light as a physical object, not simply an illuminating force but as a material in its own right, and in doing so examines the relationships built between that physically perceived light and the performer, the installation participant, the audience and the choreographer. The term Dynamic Light Structure has been coined here as a way to identify light perceived as a solid object, and to describe a sense of movement, reconfiguration and agency. Although the use of theatrical haze for performance lighting design is an accepted and ubiquitous technique used in the pursuit of conditioning a stage space, the resultant volumetric forms that appear when light is introduced to that conditioned space have not been examined in terms other than those relating to design methodology. This thesis moves beyond discourse that explores light as a design tool by placing the Dynamic Light Structure at the heart of the performance and installation experience. The research establishes the relationships that are built between Dynamic Light Structures and audience members, installation visitors and choreographers. In examining participant reception and practitioner process, the research defines how Dynamic Light Structures are perceived as autonomous stage objects in dialogue with a live performer, as manipulable objects used to redefine an environment and as process tools that can shape the trajectory of performance making.

Please note: creative writing theses are permanently embargoed in OpenBU. No public access is forecasted for these. To request private access, please click on the lock icon and filled out the appropriate web form. / This thesis is a collection of poems submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts, 2018. / 2031-01-01T00:00:00Z

Salvador Dalí was an artist who existed not long before my generation; yet, his influence among the contemporary art world causes many people to take a closer look at the significance of the imagery in his paintings. For the most part, Dalí is categorized as a Surrealist artist, yet in this essay, I also plan to explore other possibilities of influence that surrounded Salvador Dalí’s generation and inspirational background. Around 1941, Dalí’s work began to shift away from Surrealism and, instead, moved toward a more Classical style that contained many religious themes, a style which he called “Nuclear Mysticism” (Taylor 2008, 8). My interest in this subject stemmed from a visit to the High Museum of Art in Atlanta to see the exhibition “Dalí: The Late Work.” This exhibition contained highly regarded paintings such as Christ of Saint John of the Cross (1951), The Persistence of Memory (1931), and The Madonna of Port Lligat (first version, 1949). Seeing these paintings caused me to consider the possible situations, groups, and events occurring in 20th-century Spain and elsewhere that could have caused this transformation in Dalí’s art. In most of our minds, Dalí was an artist who painted amorphous figures and objects that would only exist within his dreams and unconscious state; yet, Dalí’s subject matter after the 1940s showed a remarkable consideration of figures and objects that are symbolic to the fundamentals of the Catholic tradition.

Gatlinburg, Tennessee is a tourist town. I was born and raised in this area, and am currently employed at a ceramics shop in the historic Arts and Crafts Community. Due to this job, I have decided to research the importance of the town and crafts area. In this paper, I will present an overview of the history of the town and its art community, and also present an inside look at life and business in a tourist town. Although the Arts and Crafts Community has grown to be a tourist attraction, its roots still lie in the traditional handmade trades, and its artisans attempt to balance the integrity of their crafts with modern demand and economic realities.

Bachelor of Fine Arts Exhibition, No Place Like It, held at Tipton Street Gallery, 126 Spring Street, Downtown Johnson City, TN, from April 2nd to April 6th. The show exhibit consists largely of drawings mostly done in graphite or charcoal, an installation piece, a quilt and found objects completed between the summer of 2010 and spring of 2012. The work uses family photos and Jackalopes to show the relationship to the artist as well as ideas about family, isolation, and identity.

Everybody lies. Everybody. The fact that everyone lies, however, is by no means a judgment; it is a good thing, a necessary thing. As far as I am concerned lying is the very foundation of our society. Nobody in the world tells the truth all the time, not because they are trying to be malevolently deceitful, of course, but out of necessity. Like the old adage says, the truth hurts. That is, in essence, the very heart of this body of work. Everyone tries so hard to not only convince others that the truth is a moral imperative, but also to convince themselves. Earth survives because it has an atmosphere;Mars hasnothing standing between it and the full of force of the Sun. A world full of truth is like life on Mars: much too harsh to survive. Were no one to ever lie again (conditioned as we are to not only ignore, but also to accept and expectthe small falsehoods that surround us at all times), the sheer force of that unbridled honesty would tear the very fabric of society apart. We have to staple our rose-colored glasses on so that the world goes down a little smoother.We lie to support modern society's obsession with things. We lie to support our reality because the lie is our reality. Deceit has become true and truth as been relegated to the world of fiction. People prefer it that way and I cannot say I blame them.

A written thesis about an exhibition of portraits. The portraits and paper discuss my relationships with the subjects and the psychological implications of being subjected to the eye of an artist.

This paper concerns operatic performance from an acting perspective utilizing the works of Constantin Stanislavsky from my personal experiences in the Opera Workshop course offered in Fall of 2011.

Everyday we find ourselves making hundreds of decisions, often without noticing the relevance of even the most miniscule choice that can grow and form into a life altering state of mind. The human brain is the most elaborately complex structure in existence, enabling us to be able to function and comprehend our surroundings. With complexity, also comes malfunctions, which will inevitably occur occasionally ranging in a wide variety of defects from mental illnesses, to super genius abilities. What a certain individual may see as reality, may be completely opposite of the reality you or I see. This poses the question, who decides which reality is true? This paper contains documentation of my research and process through writing and performing an original short film confronting observations that we all experience in our daily lives in the form of a very extreme circumstance that will attempt to force a new way of thinking about what ties us all together as a species, despite our many unique and diverse perceptions. "Metamorphosis" was shown November 30th, 2012 as a short film. To coincide with the film, a promotional website was made to accompany the piece, as well as graphics.