This thesis paper is the supporting document for an exhibition that was held at the University of Waterloo art Gallery. The show consisted of a series of large scale acrylic paintings on canvas. Through my paintings I deal with the current role that pattern, ornament and decoration play in our society today. My work is also concerned with the concept of the painting as a decorative object in and of itself. Our understanding of the terms ornament, embellishment and decoration have changed considerably throughout history, being defined and re-defined time and time again. Moreover, we have yet to come to a definitive explanation for the existence of ornament and decoration. The persistence of ornamental motifs throughout time, as well as their continued presence in contemporary visual culture, evidences the fact that this subject requires further investigation. As such, I have chosen to explore this through my paintings. I alter the palette, composition and medium of my source imagery in order to re-present these familiar motifs in a manner that encourages the viewer to regard them anew. In doing this, I explore ornament’s potential as a relevant visual language within contemporary western culture.

This thesis paper is the supporting document for an exhibition that was held at the University of Waterloo art Gallery. The show consisted of a series of large scale acrylic paintings on canvas. Through my paintings I deal with the current role that pattern, ornament and decoration play in our society today. My work is also concerned with the concept of the painting as a decorative object in and of itself. Our understanding of the terms ornament, embellishment and decoration have changed considerably throughout history, being defined and re-defined time and time again. Moreover, we have yet to come to a definitive explanation for the existence of ornament and decoration. The persistence of ornamental motifs throughout time, as well as their continued presence in contemporary visual culture, evidences the fact that this subject requires further investigation. As such, I have chosen to explore this through my paintings. I alter the palette, composition and medium of my source imagery in order to re-present these familiar motifs in a manner that encourages the viewer to regard them anew. In doing this, I explore ornament’s potential as a relevant visual language within contemporary western culture.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-08T16:18:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 113559.pdf: 142323 bytes, checksum: 61a42313e795ee00ff15bb007c2ea94d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-07-26 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Em três capítulos o presente estudo sugere a transposição das fronteiras entre arte e design em prol de uma criação mais significativa, como propõe o trabalho do designer gráfico brasileiro Rico Lins. Para que isso seja possível, é preciso saber que fronteiras são essas, como se formaram e como elas estão sendo encaradas atualmente. Assim, no primeiro capítulo, realiza-se um levantamento histórico comparativo, procurando mostrar as antigas relações entre arte e design, que inicialmente eram de proximidade, mas que com o passar do tempo foram se transformando em distanciamento, principalmente depois da Revolução Industrial e da valorização da razão e da ciência. No segundo capítulo, analisam-se teorias e práticas contemporâneas que questionaram a racionalidade moderna com autores, artistas e designers que se concentraram em questões como a descontinuidade, a ruptura na linearidade do tempo, a montagem, a apropriação e a autoria. Nesse ponto percebe-se uma reaproximação entre arte e design, e chega-se ao trabalho de Rico Lins. No terceiro capítulo estuda-se então sua obra por meio de trabalhos apresentados em três exposições realizadas entre 2009 e 2012: a premiada individual ¿Rico Lins: uma gráfica de fronteira¿, e outras duas coletivas ¿Design brasileiro hoje: fronteiras¿ e ¿From the margin to the edge: brazilian art and design in the 21st century¿. Assim, percebe-se que mesmo diferindo-se entre si, arte e design podem compartilhar recursos e linguagens. Depois de pensar sobre o passado e o presente, sobre o que se fez e o que se faz em arte e design, finalmente, estudiosos, artistas e designers, podem então repensar os possíveis caminhos futuros para suas práticas e teorias com base em fundamentos das suas próprias experiências, suas histórias, suas memórias, seu repertório.

Context. Text rendering is useful in different contexts, and usually needs to be as sharp as possible. DirectWrite and Direct2D is a good choice when rendering for a 2D environment and can be used with Direct3D. Objectives. This study addresses the problem of aliasing with a study on FXAA or SSAA to find which is the better option to correct jagginess on text. Methods. A number of photos were set up where 26 test subjects had to answer questions about the blurring and jagginess in the photos. Results. The results showed that FXAA and SSAA perform relatively similar in jagginess in how jaggy the pictures is perceived and was significantly better than no anti-aliasing at all. Conclusions. It depends on how the images are displayed on the screen to detect any kind of jagginess or blur.

Pre-modern conceptualization of shifting borderlands and territories rather than fixed boundaries often allowed for the dynamic flow of peoples between polities. Until the late 1800s and the colonization of Burma in 1886 by the British Empire, this permeability of the borders of its territory was how Siam (currently Thailand) viewed its geo-political sphere (Thomson 1995:272). Britain extended the boundaries of its empire beyond India to guarantee the economic interests of the British Empire. With this push eastward, Siam abutted a polity that rejected the idea of shifting borderlands. The British ascribed to the modern concept of non-permeability of borders. This concept brought with it a rigidity of perception that extended beyond geographical frameworks to also psychologically limit the interpersonal connections of Siam's multi-ethnic minority populations and the Tai ethnic majority (Keyes 1979:54, Marlowe 1979:203, Thomson 1995:281). Ancient residents of what was once the borderland area, the Karen, lost their status as a valuable part of a symbiotic relationship with the dominant Thai polity and were placed within a discourse of opposing binary factions. The Karen, once respected as stewards of the remote forestlands, became part of a larger group of peoples all of which have been labeled as the "hill tribes" (Trakarnsuphakorn 1997:218). This paper addresses how globalization and these social and political changes have resulted in marginalizing a group of diverse peoples who are now viewed as a threat to the security of the nation-states in which they reside. The discussion continues with a look at how the narrative about the Karen has changed and introduces a proposal for constructing a new empowering for the Karen.