Thesis (M.F.A.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1974. / Typescript.

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio State University, 1949. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 30). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

Living and thriving in a diverse culture has allowed me to appreciate all that people have to offer, regardless of where they come from. It is my intention to portray an individual cultural sensitivity, while celebrating the qualities that unite all people. The four elements that are common in my work are scenes of livelihood, religion, entertainment, and family. Though some people may strongly identify with one particular culture, I have had the privilege of being assimilated and accepted in to many. I intend to show my affection and appreciation for them all, through detailed drawings, bold use of color, and expressive photography.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1984. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaf [17]).

My thesis The Exceptionality of the Usual consists of two parts, theoretical and practical. Practical part involves a set of sixteen still-life paintings in which a technic of dry pastel is used. Theoretical part surveys the art genres in still-life paintings of artists who created their opuses in the first half of the 20th century. At the beginning of my thesis I deal with and clear up the points of view that I take into account when examining artistic expressions and outlining historical development of still-life painting. Then I analyse particular periods of artistic life of modern artists in which they dealt with these topics. I observe and trace the effects that affected their work, their artistic intentions and work processing on the whole. The authors are integrated chronologically into continuity periods according to particular artistic streams. The illustrated appendix A. completes the text. At the end of my thesis I describe the technic of dry pastel and my work on my own still-life paintings that are enclosed to my thesis in the illustrated apendix B.

The diploma thesis entitled As long as I don't remember who is wearing trousers anymore consists of a series of large-format paintings. The work is the result of the author's long-term interest in figural painting and especially in the pastel technique and its possibilities of depicting the atmosphere. Through the atmosphere of the image, the diploma thesis creates a space for narration and mystery. In the textual part of the diploma thesis, the author deals mainly with formal aspects of painting.

Master of Fine Arts thesis by Alexandra Thiesson

En choisissant d’aborder l’œuvre de Sam Szafran par le biais du cinéma et de la photographie, cette thèse a une double visée : - D’une part, démontrer le principe séquentiel qui domine son œuvre. Szafran, qui a appris à voir au cinéma, ne se répète pas, mais crée des images arrêtées d’une séquence globale; et la photographie, de par sa contingence et sa fragmentation, constitue à cette fin un outil essentiel. - D’autre part, il s’agira d’aborder la question du montage tant du point de vue technique, rappelons que l’artiste est célébré comme le virtuose du pastel à travers le monde, que du point de vue cinématographique. Nous établirons que Szafran — homme de cinéma — emprunte la structure d’un plan-séquence pour composer ses images afin de poser le problème du regard, ou, pour le dire autrement, de rendre la caméra « visible ». Ainsi, en exposant Sam Szafran à ses influences clés, notre étude — qui constitue le premier travail de recherche universitaire approfondi sur l’artiste — entend multiplier les analyses autour des processus réflexifs et méthodologiques du travail du peintre. A partir de sources inédites, convoquant tour à tour l’histoire du siècle et la vie intime de l’artiste, elle ambitionne de jeter un jour nouveau sur ce que l’on considère comme « l’une des œuvres les plus secrètes et les plus poétiques de ce temps » (Jean Clair). Enfin, deux volumes d’annexes complèteront cette réflexion par un large corpus d’œuvres et de documents d’archives. / By exploring Sam Szafran’s work through film and photography, the aim of this thesis is twofold: - To highlight the largely sequential nature of his work: Szafran, who learnt to ‘see’ through the cinema, does not repeatedly create the same images - he creates ‘freeze frames’ in a global sequence; and photography, which by its nature is incidental and fragmentary, is an essential tool for achieving this. - To examine the notion of editing: from both the technical - Szafran is of course world famous for his virtuosic pastels - and cinematographic points of view. We will demonstrate that his images resemble sequence shots, as employed in the modern era by Orson Welles, in order to examine how things are seen, or, in other words, to make one aware of the camera’s presence. Hence, by highlighting Sam Szafran’s key influences, our study - which is the first in-depth university study of the artist - aims to analyse every aspect of the painter’s methodological and reflexive approach to his work. Based on completely new sources, relating to both the history of the 20th century and the artist’s personal life, the study’s main aim is to shed new light on the artist’s oeuvre, which is considered to be ‘one of the most mysterious and poetic of our time’ (Jean Clair). This study will be complemented by two volumes of annexes, comprising a large corpus of works and archive documents.

In the late nineteenth century, the use of pastels underwent a revival and many young British artists adopted the medium as a new means of expression. This surge in popularity was marked by three exhibitions dedicated to contemporary works in pastel held at the Grosvenor Gallery in London between 1888 and 1890. These shows attracted over three hundred participants and culminated in the formation of the Society of British Pastellists in 1890, which counted amongst its eminent members William Stott of Oldham (1857-1900), James Guthrie (1859-1930), George Clausen (1852-1944) and Elizabeth Armstrong (1859-1912). Despite its auspicious beginnings this movement was short-lived and the society disbanded the following year. This has caused scholars to treat the use of pastel by British artists as just a passing fad in the oeuvres of individual artists and in studies of contemporary stylistic trends. Yet, the varying involvement of these four artists with the most pioneering art movements in Britain would suggest that this medium formed an intrinsic part of their move towards a modern aesthetic. Thus, the diverse approaches of these artists will form a prism through which to examine the importance of materiality for the development of new subject matter and stylistic innovations. This study will involve not only a consideration of the formal properties of these works but also the culture in which they were produced, exhibited and critically received. Indeed, it is hoped that by situating these pastels within a wider cultural context that a further understanding of their long-term significance in the canon of modern art in Britain can be achieved. In this way, I believe that this study will contribute towards a new position for pastel as a modern medium that was essential for the invention of new artistic practices at this time.

Paintings and drawings are the physical representations of my dialogue with the world around me. Art is how I connect to what is too large, or too vague, or too personally meaningful to express in any other way. Space and its transformation by light and color have always been central to this dialogue. I am particularly intrigued by spatial ambiguity. Space exists for us only in how it relates to us and so, space changes. One viewpoint or state of mind might make space seem freeing, while another makes the same space feel confining. Barriers are sometimes delineated, sometimes obscured. At other times, they are broken. This has a political implication which appears in my work as fissures, fences, compression, and collapse.The space of my inner self, the space outside, and the space between the two are relationships that drive what I paint and draw. My art is the place where I acknowledge the cracks in the ice and where I try to keep from falling through when the ground opens up. Shifting planes are where I try to keep my balance while peeking through the cracks and over the edge.