Thesis (M.A.)--University of California, Los Angeles, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 53-57).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Montana, 2007. / Title from title screen. Description based on contents viewed Sept. 20, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 93).

Since the collapse of the USSR independent Ukraine has used politics and culture to define a separate national identity, in contrast to Russia. Through a performance studies lens I describe Kyiv's largest souvenir market, Andriyivsky Uzviz, and place it in the context of nationalism and cultural promotion. I draw on Conquergood who situates the performing of culture at the intersection of history and identity, and Kapchan who notes that markets are key sites where ethnic identity is defined within sociopolitical frameworks. While profit and customer demand are important to vendors in the Uzviz, Ukrainianness is consciously emphasized through their folk art items. Vendors wear national costume, sell "traditional" Ukrainian items, and explicitly identify as Ukrainian, not Russian. Through one Uzviz folk artist I illustrate vendors' use of folk arts to express Ukrainian cultural identity and show how the market is a microcosm of the larger nationalist movement in Ukraine.

Despite notable recent developments in epistemology and aesthetics, postmodernism is still largely met with reservations within the philosophical community. Within the art world postmodernism has also spurred controversy. However, while the philosophical community has quarreled about the coherence of theory and objected to the adoption of postmodernism on theoretical grounds, the art world has largely championed postmodern aesthetic theory. The disagreement here has thus not been one of theoretical coherence but rather of practical manifestation. That is: Have we really witnessed a change in art? Do we experience art differently? Clearly these are questions that connect theory with practice, tying philosophy to art. Further, these are questions that can only be answered with reference to some understanding of both modernity and postmodernity. My project will therefore begin by loosely defining modernism and postmodernism. Then, utilizing personal interviews that I have conducted with five award winning folk artists, I will make the case that the popular understanding of aesthetics is neither wholly modem nor wholly postmodern. While the genesis of folk art can be understood as a uniquely postmodern phenomenon in the sense that it has championed the role of community and context in aesthetics, it has simultaneously been commodified and exploited under the distinctly modem idea of 'art for art's sake'. This is a tension which I will suggest is the practical manifestation of the theoretical issues plaguing the philosophical community, and one which I intend to utilize to critique postmodern theory in a more general sense. Therefore, I will begin by establishing a loose definition of modernism as a historically unique set of values. Against this backdrop I will pursue the question, is folk art postmodern? by juxtaposing the interviews that I have conducted with the work of John Dewey and Martin Heidegger. From this question I will argue that folk art provides the occasion to help us distinguish the modem from the postmodern by highlighting both the ways that folk art has clung to specifiable modern ideals and the ways that it has departed from the

No description available.

This thesis redresses the lack of scholarly attention paid to painted circus banners produced in the United States during the first half of the twentieth century by exploring the extent to which American folk art painting scholarship, methodologies, and objects can be used to articulate the meaning and significance of banner painting. This study expands the disciplinary treatment of banner painting by introducing domesticated art as a means of representing non-academic art produced in the U.S. The thesis also presents a model for exploring banner painting after identifying traditional American folk art painting methodologies, which fail to investigate banner painting style, format, and artistic training associated with banner work.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes special report study entitled: The pedestrian street & urban space. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes special report study entitled : The pedestrian street & urban space. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Maori art forms are replete with symbolism entrenched in Maori cosmogony, as well as with political issues arising from the relationship of colonizer to colonized. This interdisciplinary project examined the core symbols, issues and stories present in Maori traditional and contemporary art and dance to determine the way in which the content present in these art forms acts as an active agent in the formation and perpetuation of Maori cultural identity in New Zealand. A secondary aim of the project was to examine the relationship of Maori to the greater Aotearoa/New Zealand culture thereby identifying common and contrasting themes and issues present within both cultures. Aotearoa/New Zealand is unique in that the indigenous society has equal rights with the British, now New Zealanders, who colonized them and, through the arts, Maori have gained tremendous ground in becoming a vital partner in the ongoing creation of New Zealand's cultural identity. One of the central issues that repeatedly appeared in all the art forms analyzed was the push and pull that exists for Maori struggling to retain a Maori identity and compete in the non-Maori world. Identity for Aotearoa/New Zealand Maori and Pakeha, or non-Maori, alike is created in response to, in conflict with, in tandem with, and in spite of their respective cultures, thus creating yet another aspect of push and pull dynamics in New Zealand. / Within the context of dance ethnology and visuals arts methodologies several methods were employed including: archival reviews; in situ examination and visual analysis of the meaning and value of these Maori art forms; information exchange sessions, which have been presented individually within the text, with Maori elders, educators, traditional and contemporary choreographers and performers, traditional and contemporary visual artists, and other knowledgeable individuals; the identification of recurrent themes and symbolism, which provide the basis for the synthesis of the information collected. The project involved nine years of research prior to a two-month in situ examination of Maori art, dance and culture. / by Cynthia Louise Zaitz. / Vita. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture