Call number: LD2668 .T4 1978 A46 / Master of Science

Master of Science / Department of Apparel, Textiles, and Interior Design / Sherry J. Haar / The overarching goals of the project were to acknowledge both traditional and modern aspects of Turkish culture, inform designers and researchers of natural dye and screen printing methods, and advance the developing practices of sustainable design. Mixed methodologies of scientific and practice-based research guided the project. A collection of 25 prints inspired by the Anatolian region of Turkey were screen-printed with thickened natural dyes onto sustainable fibered fabrics. The research of traditional Turkish art and culture led to the inspirational concepts and brought the textile prints to fruition. Understanding the dyeing practices, regional traditions, and political rule of this nation informed the design process and directly influenced the composition and imagery of the designs. The final outcomes were exhibited at the Kansas State University student union art gallery. Research was conducted on the use of natural plant-based dyes madder, weld, and woad for screen-printing by determining the most effective thickener and thickening method. Thickening agents gum tragacanth and gum arabic were tested for fabric hand and the printed natural dyes were tested for colorfastness to light. Gum tragacanth at a ratio of .9875 g agent to 10 ml water emerged as the most smooth and pliable when evaluating fabric hand. Colorfastness to light was as expected for madder and woad with excellent to good fastness. Weld had an unexpectedly low rating indicating further study is needed. The developing practices of sustainable design were advanced as I used sustainable materials (natural dyes, natural gums, naturally fibered fabrics) and methods (hand screenprinting) throughout the project. The information from this project may be valuable to artisans to further develop their natural dye and screen-printing techniques; to researchers to provide a foundation for testing additional thickened dyes; and to industry professionals to modify their practices.

This thesis examines the effects that the religious changes heralded by the Counter Reformation and the decrees regarding religious imagery and the Eucharist promulgated at the Council of Trent had on the decoration of Venetian churches from the close of the Council in 1563 until the first years of the seventeenth century. Although politically Venice shielded her independence from the power of the Papacy, she nonetheless responded in conformity to the Tridentine decrees and played an important role throughout the Cinquecento as a centre for religious renewal. In turn this had an important impact on the fabric and decoration of the city’s churches, particularly in the last two decades of the Cinquecento. Focusing on four Venetian churches that were the objects of extensive decorative programmes during the late Cinquecento; San Giacomo dall’Orio, Santa Maria dell’Umiltà, the Redentore and San Giorgio Maggiore, this thesis combines archival and visual evidence to reach a deeper understanding of how the decoration of the Venetian church changed in this period. The central tenet of this thesis is that Venice made an important and early contribution towards developing the ‘ideal’ visual response required by the Council of Trent. In the immediate aftermath of the Council of Trent until the end of the century Venice enjoyed a period of important artistic renewal and achievement. This ‘golden age’ emerged in the years following Trent and in a period characterised by ongoing war and ravaging pestilence. Yet far from discouraging creative genius, the contemporary religious and political upheaval appears to have challenged artists and patrons to ever greater achievements. It thus appears that the conditions imposed by the Council of Trent created a framework within which artists could better represent the values of the renewed Catholicism of the late sixteenth century.

Master of Fine Arts thesis by Mackenzie Browning

Founded on the premise that the existing literature on Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel does not give a comprehensive, balanced and objective survey of the dress designs produced by the house from 1916-1929, the thesis ‘Reviewing Chanel’ provides a catalogue raisonné of the designs shown in British and French Vogue during this period. This representative sample of Chanel’s work facilitates the very necessary and overdue re-assessment of Chanel’s early career and contribution to twentieth century fashion. Part One of the Introduction includes a review of the existing literature on Chanel and explains the rationale behind the production of a catalogue of the dress designs reproduced in British and French Vogue. Part Two serves as the introduction to the twenty-eight essays which outline the principal developments in each of the dress design collections presented by the house between 1916-1929. Each essay provides an analytical summary of the key themes and developments of the collection and relates Chanel’s work to that of the other leading houses in Paris during this period.

This thesis argues that the ornament of Fatehpur Sikri, imperial city of the Mughal emperor Akbar, was created by and for a transcultural audience as a subtle means of unification. Scholars have largely characterized Fatehpur Sikri as a site that epitomizes the blend of Hindu and Islamic architecture. Inherent in this description is the assumption that these visual elements are distinctly religious and mutually exclusive, identified as solely Hindu or Islamic. Yet the integration of various types of imagery is indicative of more dynamic cultural interactions. I have used photographic documentation to classify and analyze the ornamental elements present in three structures at Fatehpur Sikri. My analyses of these elements’ usage and placement, in conjunction with those from surrounding Indian structures, suggest not only a unique Akbari repertoire but provides insight as to the structures’ purposes.

My quilts serve as a visual journal of some of my travels and experiences. Through my quilts, I remember the rich colors and memories of my European adventures. The methodical process of stitching quilts line by line is an important process for my recollection of the many steps taken during my trip abroad. Stitching fabric is the method that communicates the opportunities and experiences of my travel that I want to share with others.

Modernism is a plurality, not a singular concept. This project explores examples of Art Nouveau nudes to describe the particular expressions of the modern through varied and complicated allegorical bodies. The female nude as a nexus for ideals of gender, art, and beauty, is informed by and constructs the understanding of these ideals within society. Art Nouveau thus employed the nude to represent complex manifestations of modernity. Three diverse cases provide the subjects of each chapter. All explore modernism through objects and interiors, in public and private environments, and each connects the decorative arts with accounts of European modernism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The modernist movement, in these decades, is still predominantly understood through painting. This project draws its case studies from Paris, Glasgow, and Vienna, each a distinct cultural arena during the 1890s and 1900s: the sculptural furniture of François Rupert Carabin (1862-1932); the metalwork of Margaret Macdonald (1865-1933) and her sister Frances Macdonald (1873-1921); and the graphic motifs of Ver Sacrum, created by the artists of the first Vienna Secession (1897-1905). In conception and expression, these nudes articulated the diverse representational practices of different modernisms. They each embody drastically different histories, aesthetics, and social expressions. Their varied modernisms expose the prominent nationalism of Art Nouveau. Examination of these three very different cases expands and complicates current understandings of the nude, allegory, and the modern.

L’étude entreprise dans le cadre de cette thèse tente d’établir une synthèse sur l’évolution de la peinture murale romaine en Narbonnaise, sur une période chronologique allant du Ier s. av. J-C. au IIIème s. ap. J.-C. Elle s’appuie sur un catalogue recensant tous les décors connus jusqu’en 2011, soit 394 décors de parois et 29 décors de plafonds. Chaque décor fait l’objet d’une fiche synthétique qui replace chaque élément dans son contexte archéologique, avant de le décrire le plus précisément possible, en l’accompagnant des illustrations disponibles les plus pertinentes. L’analyse des décors a permis, dans un premier temps, de répertorier et classer tous les motifs existants. Le regroupement des motifs a été ensuite l’occasion de mettre en évidence des systèmes décoratifs (agencement des zones inférieure, médiane et supérieure) qui s’éloignent des styles pompéiens traditionnels. Enfin, la confrontation des systèmes décoratifs et des contextes architecturaux dans lesquels ils ont été trouvés, offrent la possibilité de s’interroger sur le rapport entre le décor et l’espace. / This PhD thesis presents a synthetical analysis and evolution of Roman paintings found in the province of Narbonensis from the 1st c. BC to the 3rd c. AD. It includes a catalogue of all the paintings known up to 2011: 394 wall paintings and 29 ceiling paintings. Each decorative effect is carefully described and placed within its archaeological context, and accompanied by the most relevant and best illustrations available. The subsequent analysis of the paintings allowed the reorganisation and classification of all the decorative elements. The resulting groups of elements demonstrate the use of various decorative systems (decoration of lower, medium and upper parts of the walls) which appear to be different from the canonical Pompeian styles. Finally, a comparison of these decorative systems with the architectural contexts in which theywere displayed allows a reflection on the relationship between decoration and its architectural setting.

This document provides an elaboration of the critical, contextual and methodological rationale for a practice‐based PhD research project undertaken at London Metropolitan University 2009-2013. This four‐year project was an exploration in identity, space and location. It looks at the transitions, journeys and stories of migrant women. Specifically this exploration has been developed through the language of the cultural practices of Iban women. The Iban are an indigenous group of people from Borneo, predominantly living within the Malaysian state of Sarawak. Significantly the Iban practices have migrated from the jungle, to urban areas, and globally, and inevitably the identity of these practices has developed as the locations have changed, much like the women performing them. My father is Iban and my mother white New Zealander, and I grew up in both Sarawak and New Zealand before coming to live in the UK in my 20s. My performance training has been within a Western context, both in New Zealand and the UK. This project has been a personal exploration, which has wider consequences in developing performance practice and understanding the discourses of home, belonging, migration and identity. This has led to questions around migrating Iban performance and cultural practices to a western contemporary context. These questions have been investigated through the cultural practices of the Iban pantun (chapter three), the Iban ngajat (chapter two), Iban weaving (chapter four) and the use of space in the Iban longhouse (chapter one). This project was an interdisciplinary investigation; in each chapter I pull together performance theory from western practitioners and post‐colonial feminist literature with the Iban performance practice. This project has asked the question: "Can Iban cultural and performance practices be ‘migrated’ to a contemporary western performance context in order to explore experiences of women’s migration?" My research question was central to the practice‐based research I conducted, the methodologies developed through practice as research, and are central to all the work covered in this thesis. Within this context the practice is submitted as an outcome alongside this written narrative. Additional details can be found on the website: www.fromthejungle.co.uk.