Markets Rising is a thesis that incorporates video and the Internet to communicate with viewers, engage them, and inform them of the socially relevant topic of the 2007+ economic crisis. I intend to visually interpret the crisis in an artistic and accurate manner.

In our everyday lives we are bombarded with thousands, even millions, of images. Suffering information overload, we filter out the vast majority of these impressions the person we pass on the street or sitting in the car next to us at a stop light. We only see those people, places and things that matter, all else becomes noise; filtered into the background of consciousness vaguely familiar, yet simultaneously foreign, creating a manageable paradigm or construct of the world we inhabit. I take photographic portraits every day. Not of the important in my life, but the nondescript, often overlooked and unknown individuals we each encounter daily. These portraits may not be newsworthy, but are tributes to those steering their lives through the everyday, the ignored moments, and the places they pass. What I present invites the viewer to take an interest, to notice, and ultimately to acknowledge the people depicted. Photography has afforded me a reason and the luxury to approach complete strangers which I find interesting and ask if they would allow me to take their portraits, and while doing so, tell me a little about their lives. Most of these encounters last for a relatively short time, the memories, however, surpass what is caught on film.

I took a journey home to Western New York and turned the cameras lens on both my family and myself. 

 This thesis is a story about my family and me. I photographed my family to confront the tragic car accident that took my brothers life and my moms sanity. I also acknowledged the present state of my family with these photographs by exploring the root of many of my fears and anxieties that stem from the tense and stressful atmosphere within my home as a result of this car accident.

Known for his industrialized furniture, Jean Prouvé is recognized as an innovative and idealistic designer. Yet it was the recent sale of one of three Maisons Tropicales prototype houses built for the French colonies in Africa, that he gained real notoriety. Made entirely of aluminum and steel, these flat pack houses were built light enough to be transported by airplane from Europe to remote locations in Africa to address the 1950s housing shortage in the French colonies. To understand the evolution of these houses from their design to their current resettlement and restorations, this thesis investigates Prouvés background and influences that drove him to innovate. Furthermore, as a designer and factory owner, it illustrates how the business and economic challenges he faced played a significant role in directing his designs and manufacturing processes. Rather than being a colonial condescension as some have claimed, this thesis proposes that the initial designs for the Maisons Tropicales incorporated vernacular architectural characteristics, which indicate a desire, on the part of Prouvé, to combine European and African design elements. Finally the resettlements and restorations of the houses speak to those qualities, which are currently admired and those, which are overlooked. In doing so, they highlight the wide-ranging views that exist concerning colonialism and post-colonialism today.

My intention is to focus on human flesh concentrating both on its imperfections as well as its beauty. Beauty is seen in the marks of age and imperfection as time forms the deepest wrinkle to the darkest mark. Cycles come in and out growing dark to light as cleansing takes place. Veils of material cover and hide inner feelings and thoughts as a shape unfolds itself in my hands. The forms soften and grow from one small stitch to a more complete shape. Successive layers of marks, represent hidden truths and human growth through the passage of time. Memories are fragile and impure and can easily become abstracted. I use layering of material to abstract and distort human forms. Through this exploration I hope to gain a better understanding of the nature and scope of human fragility and the mystery of existence.

My paintings are about the short span of human existence in comparison with the rhythms of the eternal cosmos based on Christianity. To illustrate this, I explored the icons of the moon (soul) and the iceberg (physical body). The painting technique used is the juxtaposition of passages of heavy impasto with thin glazes of earthly monochromatic colors, which represent time and age. I am seeking a depth of spiritual space. My works consists of ten large-scale oil paintings on masonite/canvas, and a series of small oil paintings on panels. In order to represent the unpredictable fate of human beings, I sometimes work on separate and bendable panels.

The Erechtheion, the temple dedicated to Athena Polias on the Athenian Acropolis, was an extraordinary structure. The temple was situated on three different levels and had at least six cults worshipped in the complex. Little is known about the interior of the building or the purpose each room served, but the Ionic frieze that would have adorned the temple is the avenue in which this thesis will explore. The Ionic frieze is believed to be the sole figural decoration on the Erechtheion other than the Porch of the Karyatids, and there is no evidence of pedimental sculpture or statuary akroteria adorning the roof of the building. However, the only extant remains of the frieze are mere fragments of figures and groups of figures. My thesis will explore the possible interpretations of the frieze by first examining the political climate in which the temple and its frieze were created. The myths associated with the gods and heroes included in the sanctuary of the Erechtheion will be considered in my analysis. Lastly, the Erechtheions frieze will be regarded in relationship to other fifth century buildings and sculpture in order to determine the friezes content and context.

Very few bronze original Greek sculptures from the fifth-century BCE are extant today. It is through marble Roman copies that lost Greek originals are studied today. Along with the Roman copies, other media and ancient literary sources can be used to study Greek sculpture. My goal for this thesis is to study the previous scholarship and Roman copies of the Tyrannicides and the Amazon Group. When studying copies, scholars must first answer: Is it a copy? Of what is it a copy? If it is a copy, what can the copy tell about the Greek artist? To better answer these questions, I will look to connoisseurship as a possible solution. Ancient literature and other media also present new context in which to understand the lost originals. I will illustrate how all the sources mentioned above aid in the understanding of original Greek sculpture, particularly the Tyrannicides and Amazon Group.

Ephemeral. Nostalgic. Absence. Transient. Transformation. Movement. Temporary. Skeleton. Momentary. Fleeting. Landscape. Cityscape. Southern Landscape. Baton Rouge. Louisiana. I paint the feeling of wearing time and the earth on my skin. The scars on the landscapes tell stories and truths marked by past generations. The imagery in my work is inspired by local places and reveals the wavering condition of the natural landscape and civilizations. Everyday places and repetitive acts make up the components of miracles. As I create, I examine ideas beyond the current condition of a specific location. Through my imagination I bring the unseen into the artworks. The ephemeral landscape is not painted in its true form, it transforms with moving colors, lines, and shapes. It is still identifiable, but is transitioning into the unknown element. This element could be a geological event, or a movement from the physical to the landscapes inner spirit. This body of work conveys a spiritual longing inspired by the temporary nature of everyday surroundings.

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