Our lives (hopes, ideologies, ambitions) are shaped by what we remember. Personal change stirs our memories and enforces our belief systems and our behaviors. Therefore, our memory can predict who will we become in the future. As an artist, I am constantly observing the world around me. However, with my own transition into adulthood, I became more aware of the changes occurring within myself. In preparation for my own family, I am overwhelmed with wonderful memories of the two communities that support me: my mother’s Filipino family and my Southern one. Even though the two communities are on two different coasts, both carry a strong sense of community that encompasses much more than blood relatives. As these memories surfaced, I found that the strongest similarities between the two lie within the individuals and how my memory selectively produced an image of each person in a unique way.

PARABLES by ERIN DIXON Under the Direction of Joe Peragine ABSTRACT This is a thesis about my most recent paintings. This work represents a quest for a real understanding of what painting means to me, as well as an exploration of fictional narrative and allegory which is derived from my life experience. Yet despite all the associations I have with these paintings, even with the most auto-biographical ones, they are meant to be open-ended. It is not necessary to know anything about me upon viewing them. Parables fictitiously illustrate a moral principle, and this work celebrates what I have learned in life and school.

This PhD introduces new ways to configure the archive as a source of knowledge. This is because it is based in an art practice whose field of interest is institutional critique which determines that knowledge is both contingent and uncertain as different social and political factors come into play. The project pursues a line of inquiry which absorbs the artist, where the artist is seen to affect and be affected by the materials of an existing archive. The inquiry produces new connections and layers of meaning in relation to the archive whilst exposing and recording the precise methods and motivations of the artist whose project is to re-imagine what an archive might be. This PhD project is triggered by a small act of transgression, where the artist manifests early intent by purloining a slide transparency from the archives of The Martin Luther King Memorial Library in Washington DC. This action determines the future trajectory of the project: a project which has its origins in the political and social upheavals in Washington during 1968; specifically in relation to Martin Luther King's Poor People's Campaign, the civil disturbances which followed King's assassination and the subsequent construction of the MLK Memorial Library which opened in 1972. The method of the inquiry is based upon the condition that the materials of the archive be extricated from institutional constraint and are re-deployed within an artistic practice, a practice which is situated in the present and is directly influenced by the effects and characteristics of the everyday. Consequently, archival materials are explored through a process of displacement and distraction, where a close examination of the oblique, mundane, arbitrary, overlooked and peripheral is brought into play. A future archive is imagined which expands upon previous models proposed by a number of artists emerging during the late 1960s such as Marcel Broodthaers, Mel Bochner, Robert Barry, Robert Smithson, Douglas Huebler and Allan Ruppersberg. The relevance of these artists' practices in relation to the field of knowledge that this project contributes to, is demonstrated in the manner in which specific histories are reassembled through a layering of past and present, fact and fiction, artist and subject. Equally significant is the way in which each artist employs documentation as a primary method and outcome within their practices. The project takes the form of an exhibition and several interconnected texts. The primary text 'Oriented Strand Board' (Section 2) employs a diary-like, first person narrative which unfolds over a single day. This text should be read first. Two accompanying satellite texts: 'Classified' (Section 3) - an expanded transcription from The Washington Post Classified; and 'Resurrection City' (Section 4) - a diary account by the late architect John Wiebenson - are meant to be considered during or after reading 'Oriented Strand Board'. In this way, official documents of the time are set next to a single day exposing the researcher's methods of placing disparate materials together to signal a resistance to certain or accretive knowledge. The 'OSB Manifesto' (Section 5) takes all the raw data from this Abstract (Section 1); i.e. the text itself, and reconfigures each word and punctuation mark in order to produce an alternative field of communication. A further text 'Viva Voce' (Section 6) accompanies the material described above. This additional text is a transcription from an audio recording of the Viva which took place om 25 January 2012 at Kingston University. The production and inclusion of this text serves to support and expand upon the transcribed material existing throughout the research. This PhD makes an original contribution to knowledge in the area of research into specific archives as it foregrounds the role of the artist researcher as protagonist within the research itself. The movements and preoccupations of the researcher embed themselves within an enquiry that conflates the historical with the imagination, where the bond between the author and research is exposed as one directly affected by the unfolding events of the present.

<p> My thesis work, which consists of a series of small scaled, mixed media constructions, is inspired by the beauty and complexity of the natural world in which we live. There is beauty in the harmony and balance found in the intricate arrangements and order of a variety of living systems such as the rising and falling tides, human DNA structures, life cycles of plants, and the orbits and rotations found in our galaxy. Each work is intended to reveal the density and sophistication of these networks through layers of information and intricate detail. Found wooden cases, drawers, wire, reclaimed metals and recycled plastic, found glass objects, thread, monofilament, and mylar are just a few of the materials I work with to create my sculptures or assemblages. </p><p> The beauty and sophistication of the diverse elements in the natural world have inspired me to create these small scale assemblages or microcosms. Using science and nature as a foundation, I allow my interest in the reuse and transformation of found objects to direct the construction of these intimate environments. I hope the size of the work and layers of visual information entice viewers to explore the spaces and consider the numerous associations evident from my unique orchestration of elements.</p>

Thesis (MA) -- AUT University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references. Also held in print (66 leaves : col. ill. ; 22 x 30 cm.) in the Archive at the City Campus (T 709 ZHA)

Superhero comic books are not art, and middle-aged, non-white women are not superheroes. I seek to disprove both of these assumptions, and I use the "Alias" comic books from 2001-2004 for my argument.

A study in four parts of the development of Art and Design Education in the nineteenth century. Although the 1835-36 Select Committee on Arts and Manufactures is cited as the starting point the actual scope of this study predates 1835 and Part I looks at the important antecedents that led up to the setting up of this Committee, being the point at which Design Education was perceived as an important necessity to support the country's industrial growth and ward off the threat of foreign competition. Part 11 looks at the outcome of that Committee and the setting up of the Metropolitan and Provincial Schools of Design. Part III covers the Oepartment of Practical Art/Department of Science and Art, and how the South Kensington System created by Henry Cole controlled Art and Design Education. The final Part IV looks at the forces that eroded South Kensington particularly the influence of the Fine Arts, and Art and Craft Movement, and the increasing control of municipal authority. The finishing point of the study is the 1902 Education Act.

Musculoskeletal disorders are a chronic and debilitating issue; these injuries can result in pain and disability that affect daily life and the ability to work in certain careers. Visual artists are no exception to this reality. However, reliable research is scarce regarding this population. The purpose of this study is to examine the level of experience and awareness of visual artists regarding the subject of musculoskeletal disorders and ergonomics within their chosen career field. The methods employed for this paper involved a survey where participants answered questions about workplace ergonomics, movements, and experience of muscle pains. Further indications of research may result from this study involving the assessment, diagnosis, implementation, and intervention in the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders among visual artists.

The purpose of this thesis is to explain some of the historical and personal developments in the painting of portraits. For this project, eleven models were selected all of whom showed a wide range of emotional types and were painted in oil on canvas. The subjects were placed in shallow space, and color was explored as an emotional element. The personal experiences were evaluated and ideas for future development were suggested.

This thesis includes the work of Vicki L. Clarke for a Masters in Fine Arts.