No description available.

This work examines an art movement that was a direct outgrowth of a populist civil rights movement of the late 1960’s in the Southwest United States. This art, the Chicano Murals created as part of el Movimiento in San Diego, California was intended primarily as a didactic communication medium to reach into the barrios and marginalized neighborhoods for the primary purpose of carrying a resistance message to the semiliterate mestizo population within. Its secondary purpose was to bring a message from within these minority neighborhoods outward to the privileged elite, both Anglo and Hispanic, that within the confines of the barrio there exists a culture and heritage that has value. The Chicano Murals were ubiquitous throughout the southwest United States with concentration of the art in those areas adjacent to the Mexican border. This work examines some of the murals, and the politics associated with their creation principally in San Diego, California, and some activities in Los Angeles, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. This dissertation posits that it has been well established that art in public space is often a contentious matter and when it also carries a contra message, as did the Chicano murals, it may be considered intrusive and abrasive. The social environment into which these murals were insinuated--the public sphere, the intellectual territory of high art and the elite system of private and government cultural patronage, are examined in the context of their effect upon the mural content and conversely, the effects of these murals upon diversity in the high art and museology of the United States.

Magister Artium - MA / This study focuses on how we can interpret political meanings embedded in Gladys Mgudlandlu’s work by concentrating on her landscapes, murals, and portraits during the period of the 1960s – 1980s. The core of my thesis is to question whether the artwork of Mgudlandlu was political. The thesis argues that Mgundlandlu’s talents and interventions have been overlooked and undermined. Engaging with a deep analysis of the context in which Mgudlandlu lived and worked, a visual analysis of her paintings and a discussion on the meaning of her life and work from various vantage points across time substantiates the above argument. The study engages with three fundamental approaches. Firstly it approaches Mgudlandlu’s work through how it is articulated and historicized as part of the struggle against apartheid in South Africa before 1994. Here I disrupt the idea that her work was out of touch with reality and that her work was of a naivety that isolated herself from the struggles of black people. I further argue that her work transcends the norms and expectations of black artists during this period. Her work in many ways challenges stereotypes and broke social conventions by painting landscape: something which was mostly associated with older white male artists. Thus I advocate for a reconsideration of her work by revisiting her landscape painting which carries most of the weight of my argument regarding Mgudlandlu’s political stand. My second approach is to explore the production and process of her work by concentrating on cultural workshops and their role in South African art during the apartheid period. Mgudlandlu’s creation and production process was very different from her counterparts which is explored through a careful analysis of Mgudlandlu’s paintings.

Giovanni Bellini (b. 1435/40-d. 1516) has long been considered a dominant figure in the Venetian painting of the Early-High Renaissance, his main reputation being a colourist. The distinctive optical and technical characteristics of his work have drawn substantial scholarly attention in the present century, but the studies in this subject have not been developed as a coherent theory with regard to changes in painting technique in the fiftenth-century Italy. The purpose of this dissertation, therefore, is to investigate Bellini's choice and application of painting materials, attempting to establish links between the technical qualities and the formal values of his work. In the process of establishing Bellini's position with regard to the use of paint media and support, this thesis also provides a substantial overview of the use of canvas and of oil pain in the later fifteenth century. The study is encouraged by recent discoveries about Bellini's technique that have emerged from conservation of his paintings. As well as addressing published conservation results, the thesis includes new observations on four canvases attributed to Bellini's father Jacopo, and two Madonnas from Bellini's workshop scientifically examined at UCL Painting Analysis. In order to investigate Bellini's colour and handling of paint within a broader socio-economic milieu, this study deals with the commercial documents such as tariffs, government records, and merchant account books, indicating that Venice was the centre of the international colour trade and that Venetians were widely engaged with this trade. The resulting advantages of Venetian painters who were active at this commercial heart, and the question of how deeply the pragmatic experience of colours that Venetian merchants obtained from the trade penetrated their aesthetic taste will be discussed. Using both scientific and documentary analyses in combination with visual analysis which integrates these findings, this study examines Bellini's translation of the skills of tempera to oil pain and the stylistic changes that occurred with the extensive use of oil medium. It looks at how Bellini developed canvas as a support for mural painting and the technique he employed on such an unconventional support. It will also study the methods in which he established the predominance of colour as an element of composition at the early sixteenth century. In conclusion, it will argue that Bellini's increasing choice of canvas and corresponding use of oil on it changed the general concept of picture-making and became a new format of painting that was to exert a crucial influence on Cinquecento Venetian painting.

This thesis explores the life and work of Rex Whistler, from his first commissions whilst at the Slade up until the time he enlisted for active service in World War Two. His death in that conflict meant that this was a career that lasted barely twenty years; however it comprised a large range of creative endeavours. Although all these facets of Whistler’s career are touched upon, the main focus is on his work in murals and the fields of advertising and commercial design. The thesis goes beyond the remit of a purely biographical stance and places Whistler’s career in context by looking at the contemporary art world in which he worked, and the private, commercial and public commissions he secured. In doing so, it aims to provide a more comprehensive account of Whistler’s achievement than has been afforded in any of the existing literature or biographies. This deeper examination of the artist’s practice has been made possible by considerable amounts of new factual information derived from the Whistler Archive and other archival sources. Thus the sources of his ideas and influences, the creative stimuli to which Whistler responded have been documented extensively and mapped against the iconography to be found in his works, particularly the murals. Further consideration of the art, artists and culture of the time situates the artist amongst his contemporaries, drawing out the themes and inspirations that he shared with them and in so doing questions the idea of Whistler as an idiosyncratic artist working in a partially private ‘bubble’, cut off from wider currents of art practice. The artist’s diaries and accounts books have provided invaluable fresh information on his working practices, social and professional connections and the remuneration he received for different projects. This monographic concentration on Whistler’s life and art practice is seen as the necessary foundation for further analysis of his career and what his career, in turn, tells us about the inter-war British art world. The thesis argues that Whistler’s success as a muralist needs to be considered against the background of the English mural revival, the emergent enthusiasm for Baroque and Rococo style and the rediscovery of the Regency period. Equally, a case is made for Whistler’s understanding of the new area of advertising and design that developed in the 1920s and 30s, in which he played a substantial part. The thesis also argues that Whistler was complicit in the managing of his image during his lifetime, and was particularly astute in his understanding of the power of the press and media. With Whistler’s work in many areas governed by the commissioning process, an attempt is made to understand and assess the implications of patronage in the twentieth century and the concomitant effects upon an artist’s creative vision, voice and identity.

Groundswell, a New York-based nonprofit community arts organization, creates high quality public art with youth and artists throughout the five boroughs of the City. This study examines how the nonprofit utilizes mural making, a potentially democratic art form, to provide opportunities for individual and collective impact. I undertook key informant interviews and documents analysis to explore the complex model the nonprofit employs to create a collaborative and community-based art process for youth, while also developing a product that can both spark conversation and reflect resident's experiences. Overall the nonprofit's mural making process provided its youth participants with opportunities to reflect and develop personally and professionally. They worked collaboratively to accomplish a goal and learned to think critically about the role of gender and media as they considered their mural subjects. To create their art, youths needed to exercise empathetic understanding as well as creativity to craft a positive message and subsequently design a pictorial representation that reflected the experiences, interests and concerns of the community residents with whom they worked. Not only did Groundswell program participants undertake reflexive and developmental experiences, but the community of Coney Island also gained a mural that serves as a positive affirmation, a sounding board and a symbol of the community's resilience in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning

No description available.

Houve, durante meados do século vinte, diversos episódios de colaborações entre artistas e arquitetos no Uruguai, especialmente em Montevidéu, que contribuíram significativamente para a história da arquitetura e arte moderna no país. Estes episódios, marcados por alguns personagens em comum, porém de características distintas, se relacionaram à temática da integração plástica e culminaram em obras significativas dentro do panorama da arquitetura moderna Latino-americana. Diversos foram os arquitetos e artistas que de alguma forma ou outra colaboraram para estes episódios, porém se propõe analisar quatro obras de três arquitetos, que se aproximam, em alguns aspectos, através de determinadas características em comum: A Residência Mario Lorieto em Montevidéu, do arquiteto Ernesto Leborgne e colaborações dos artistas Francisco Matto, Manuel Pailós, Horácio Torres, Julio Alpuy, Edwin Studer e Manuel Otero (1964), a Residência do arquiteto Mario Payssé Reyes em Montevidéu e os murais de Edwin Studer, Julio Alpuy, Francisco Matto, Augusto Torres e Elsa Andrada (1954), o Seminário Arquidiocesano em Toledo (Zona rural de Montevidéu) do arquiteto Mario Payssé Reyes e os murais de Horácio Torres (1961) e, por último, o Urnário do Cemitério Norte de Montevidéu, do arquiteto Nelson Bayardo e mural de Edwin Studer (1959). Procura-se, através deste trabalho, melhor compreender as trajetórias de Leborgne, Payssé e Bayardo, a importância das obras destes arquitetos e suas contribuições à temática da integração plástica dentro da história da arquitetura moderna. Busca-se também entender as relações entre artes e arquitetura que integram suas obras e identificar as características que as aproximam. / There was, during the mid-twentieth century, numerous episodes of collaborations between artists and architects in Uruguay, especially in Montevideo, which contributed significantly to the history of architecture and modern art in the country. These episodes, defined by some characters in common, though of certain different features, were related to the theme of plastic integration and culminated in important works within the overview of Latin American modern architecture. Many were the architects and artists who in some way or another contributed to these episodes, though it is intended to analyze four works by three architects, which approximate, in some aspects, through certain characteristics in common: Mario Lorieto’s Residence in Montevideo, of the architect Ernesto Leborgne and collaborations of the artists Francisco Matto, Manuel Pailós, Horácio Torres, Julio Alpuy, Edwin Studer and Manuel Otero (1964), The Residence of the architect Mario Payssé Reyes in Montevideo and murals by Edwin Studer, Julio Alpuy, Francisco Matto Augusto Torres and Elsa Andrada (1954), The Archdiocesan Seminary in Toledo (Rural area of Montevideo) of the architect Mario Payssé Reyes and murals by Horácio Torres (1961) and, finally, The North Cemetery Ossuary in Montevideo, of the architect Nelson Bayardo and mural by Edwin Studer (1959). It is sought, throughout this work, to better comprehend the trajectories of Leborgne, Payssé and Bayardo, the importance of the works of these architects and their contribution towards the theme of plastic integration within the history of modern architecture. It is also pursued to understand the relations between arts and architecture which integrate their works and the characteristics which approximate them.

Roots: They take hold; they grow, expand and change, creating networks and sub-networks as they start to break above the earth's surface and stretch up higher towards the sky day by day. Roots can be taken out (the stock, stem or trunk removed), but both the memory and the evidence of the roots' existence will continue to remain for a while to come. The idea of "roots" applies to so much: from artists taking inspiration from previous artists, even at times to mirror the change in the world which one artist had previously documented; from the places we establish our families and create our memories, to a good deal more.

Houve, durante meados do século vinte, diversos episódios de colaborações entre artistas e arquitetos no Uruguai, especialmente em Montevidéu, que contribuíram significativamente para a história da arquitetura e arte moderna no país. Estes episódios, marcados por alguns personagens em comum, porém de características distintas, se relacionaram à temática da integração plástica e culminaram em obras significativas dentro do panorama da arquitetura moderna Latino-americana. Diversos foram os arquitetos e artistas que de alguma forma ou outra colaboraram para estes episódios, porém se propõe analisar quatro obras de três arquitetos, que se aproximam, em alguns aspectos, através de determinadas características em comum: A Residência Mario Lorieto em Montevidéu, do arquiteto Ernesto Leborgne e colaborações dos artistas Francisco Matto, Manuel Pailós, Horácio Torres, Julio Alpuy, Edwin Studer e Manuel Otero (1964), a Residência do arquiteto Mario Payssé Reyes em Montevidéu e os murais de Edwin Studer, Julio Alpuy, Francisco Matto, Augusto Torres e Elsa Andrada (1954), o Seminário Arquidiocesano em Toledo (Zona rural de Montevidéu) do arquiteto Mario Payssé Reyes e os murais de Horácio Torres (1961) e, por último, o Urnário do Cemitério Norte de Montevidéu, do arquiteto Nelson Bayardo e mural de Edwin Studer (1959). Procura-se, através deste trabalho, melhor compreender as trajetórias de Leborgne, Payssé e Bayardo, a importância das obras destes arquitetos e suas contribuições à temática da integração plástica dentro da história da arquitetura moderna. Busca-se também entender as relações entre artes e arquitetura que integram suas obras e identificar as características que as aproximam. / There was, during the mid-twentieth century, numerous episodes of collaborations between artists and architects in Uruguay, especially in Montevideo, which contributed significantly to the history of architecture and modern art in the country. These episodes, defined by some characters in common, though of certain different features, were related to the theme of plastic integration and culminated in important works within the overview of Latin American modern architecture. Many were the architects and artists who in some way or another contributed to these episodes, though it is intended to analyze four works by three architects, which approximate, in some aspects, through certain characteristics in common: Mario Lorieto’s Residence in Montevideo, of the architect Ernesto Leborgne and collaborations of the artists Francisco Matto, Manuel Pailós, Horácio Torres, Julio Alpuy, Edwin Studer and Manuel Otero (1964), The Residence of the architect Mario Payssé Reyes in Montevideo and murals by Edwin Studer, Julio Alpuy, Francisco Matto Augusto Torres and Elsa Andrada (1954), The Archdiocesan Seminary in Toledo (Rural area of Montevideo) of the architect Mario Payssé Reyes and murals by Horácio Torres (1961) and, finally, The North Cemetery Ossuary in Montevideo, of the architect Nelson Bayardo and mural by Edwin Studer (1959). It is sought, throughout this work, to better comprehend the trajectories of Leborgne, Payssé and Bayardo, the importance of the works of these architects and their contribution towards the theme of plastic integration within the history of modern architecture. It is also pursued to understand the relations between arts and architecture which integrate their works and the characteristics which approximate them.