Thesis--Catholic University of America. / Bibliography: p. 97-104.

Antrojo pasaulinio karo pabaigoje, gelbėdamiesi nuo antrosios sovietų okupacijos, į Vakarų Europą pasitraukė dešimtys tūkstančių Lietuvos gyventojų. Šių emigrantų banga skyrėsi nuo ankstesnių dėl to, kad šie emigrantai sudarė aukšto išsilavinimo, tautinėje Lietuvoje subrendusių bei tautiškai angažuotų tarpukario Lietuvos šviesuolių žiedą. Darbe nagrinėjami trys svarbiausi dipuku išgyventi laikotarpiai – tai Lietuva sovietų ir nacių okupacijų metu, gyvenimas ir kultūros padėtis pasitraukus į Vakarų Europos DP stovyklas ir tolimesnis etapas Vakaruose. Tiek senajai lietuvių emigrantų kartai – grynoriams, tiek – dipukams, gyvenant išeivijoje, ypač svarbi buvo religija. Religija jiems iš dalies asociavosi su tautiniu identitetu. Tik skirtingai nuo grynorių, dipukai, savo tarpe turėdami daugybę menininkų, savają tapatybę stipriai išreiškė vizualioje kūryboje. Matant, kad kai kurios lietuvių bažnyčios imamos griauti, yra aktualu kuo greičiau ištirti bažnytinėje dailėje, architektūroje ir jos dekoracijose dipukų paliktą tapatybės suvokimą. Sakralinė kūryba, pasireiškianti per religinius vaizdinius dailėje, stipriai pradėjo reikštis nuo pirmųjų dienų DP stovyklose. Vienas pirmųjų buvo plačiai imtas mene naudoti lietuvių tautodailės elementas – Rūpintojėlis, kuris tapo vienu iš pagrindinių simbolių, išreiškiančių lietuviškumą bei išeivijos patiriamus vargus dėl Tėvynės praradimo. Rūpintojėlį ikonografijoje lydėjo Lietuvos globėjas Šv. Kazimieras, Švc. Mergelė Marija... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / At the end of the Second World War, thousands of Lithuanians immigrated to the countries of the Western Europe, escaping the second occupation of the Soviet Union. This wave of immigrants was different because it consisted of persons who matured and acquired education in an independent Lithuanian state and were substantial in forming its intellectual elite. The thesis analyses three main periods of displaced persons: Lithuania under the Soviet and Nazi occupations; the life and culture of displaced persons after their escape to the camps in the Western countries; and their further life in the West. Both the older generation of Lithuanian immigrants and displaced persons had strong feelings towards religion. They associated religion with their national identity. The generation of displaced persons, which in its circles had a lot of artists, strongly expressed their identity in visual arts. Upon seeing that many Lithuanian churches are about to be demolished, it is very important to analyze the perceptions (still manifest in the sacral art), architecture and its decorations created by the displaced persons. Sacral art, expressed through religious imagery in visual arts, was present from the first days of displaced persons camps. One of the first widely used symbols in the art was the figure of Pensive Christ. It became one of the main symbols, expressing Lithuanian identity and the burdens of displaced persons who had left their native country. Pensive Christ was accompanied... [to full text]

The world is a fractured place, faceted and fascinating in variety but broken in strife. Artist Gerhard Richter, said “Art is the highest form of hope” and the thinker Martin Heidegger said that art is a “happening of truth”. Marc Chagall hoped his art connected with people’s lives and sufferings and would become infused with prayer for redemption. How does visual art (and thinking theoretically and theologically about art) contribute toward hope and truth that bring the fragments of society into personal and communal connection? This is a practice-based (or studio-led) thesis in stained glass making at the juncture of the interdisciplinary fields of visual culture and religion. Making the visual art of stained glass windows involves collaborating, selecting, breaking, combining – processes that embody the unifying of disparate pieces. There are three projects and three chapters included in this research that work cohesively to show how visual art can facilitate a shift in us to see with compassion that guides our actions to care, and the word “EidenSight” is introduced to give vocabulary to this. Research draws primarily from reflections on collaborative studio work, visual art and visual artists, aesthetic theory (especially of Heidegger’s essay “The Origin of the Work of Art”) and thinking theologically through these sources. Stained glass has been a profession of work and a profession of faith; here the ancient art is created for contemporary places and raises questions theoretically and theologically and identifies themes that contribute to an understanding of how art affects us. Over the centuries, stained glass has contributed to architecture, art history, and theological aesthetics, as well as viewers’ personal and social experiences, from ecclesial settings to public spaces. This research contributes three commissioned site-specific stained glass installations (two in the US and one for the University of Stirling’s Art Collection) that lead the written thesis which is embedded full of images and has a correlating website: www.eidensite.weebly.com. The results are visual and verbal: requirements for the practice-based thesis include a heavily documented practical element in correlation with a shorter written component (30-80,000 words). Within the limits of these parameters, this research offers completed stained glass windows and a written thesis that includes insights from those projects, plus three chapters on: the material of glass, the space of the window, and the implications of being stained and a main conclusion that ties those elements together contributing to the overall thesis question: can art help us see with compassion that leads to care. Three institutions now have an original work of art substantiated by written theory, and the submitted thesis is substantiated by works of art viewable on different continents.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the depiction of rainbows in the art of Frederic Church in relation to mid-nineteenth century scientific developments in order to determine Church's reliance on contemporary concerns with light and color. An examination of four Church paintings with rainbows, three oil sketches, and nearly a dozen pencil drawings shows that Church's rainbow art represents a response to mid-century cultural values connecting science and art. Changes within Church's rainbow depictions occurred as the artist explored the visual representations of light, synthesizing the scientific knowledge of light and color available to him, and reconciling that information with the requirements of art.

In the sixteenth century, Martin Luther's Protestant Reformation generated multiple reform movements and political transformations in Europe. Within this general period of reform, political and cultural changes from the Tudor era (1485-1603) created a separate English Reformation. The English Reformation evolved from the different agendas of the early Tudor monarchs and occurred in two distinct waves: an initial, more moderate Henrician Reformation and a later, more complete Edwardian Reformation. Henry VIII and Edward VI's attempts to redefine monarchy through a new State and Church identity drove English church reform during this period, giving these religious shifts distinct political roots. Cultural artifacts were prominent indicators of these differing political goals, and Henry VIII and Edward VI adjusted and removed images and texts according to their propaganda methods. These royal manipulations of culture are well-documented, but historians have overlooked important components in the communication process. Lay responses to imagery changes ranging from compliance to rebellion demonstrate the complex relationship of images, monarchy, and reform. Examining images' function as propaganda with questions of intent, reception, and comprehension in royal communication is imperative for assessing the impact of royal messages on Tudor culture. Analyzing Tudor art as a form of political communication that disseminated idealized political representation reveals a strong visual discourse between the King and the English people. Images held key powers within royal discourse to create and disseminate propaganda of a kingship.