Digitized Theses and Dissertations (1940 - 2009)
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About UH Libraries' Digitized Theses and Dissertations Project
University of Houston (UH) Libraries is engaged in a multi-year project to digitize and deliver online its collection of print theses and dissertations dating back to 1940, making the full breadth of scholarship produced by UH students more readily accessible around the world. There is no cost to the author for this service.
Alumni and other readers will be able to view these works as they are processed and made available through UH's open access repository. Works that are presumed to be under copyright will be restricted only to users who have an active CougarNet ID.
Please note, text may be faint or difficult to read, and pages may be missing or misnumbered in the print copies of theses or dissertations. UH Libraries staff have made every effort to provide the highest possible quality representation of the original works. To protect privacy and other rights, some personally identifiable information and/or copyrighted material is redacted from the works in this collection.
Theses and dissertations will continue to be made available through interlibrary loan (ILL) to other libraries, as when they were only available in print.
Requests for withdrawing works (except electronic theses and dissertations) must be directed to the online Takedown Request Form. Any other questions about this project may be directed to cougarroar@uh.edu.
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Browsing Digitized Theses and Dissertations (1940 - 2009) by Department "Art, School of"
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Item An analysis of Piero della Francesca, The Flagellation(1979) Kaniaris, Peter John; Hickman, David; Bunker, George R.; McDermott, James M.Piero della Francesca's Flagellation contains for me, a painter, ideas that are important. This paper is a way of collecting, and reminding myself of, these ideas. Piero is a realist. He is also an abstractionist. That is, his realism and abstraction are inseparably braided into one critical image. Moreover, Piero's synthesis of reality and abstraction enables us to see the objects as real and complete in themselves and as symbolic expressions of higher meanings. It is a complex although balanced equation. The Flagellation has provided me a standard by which I can measure my ideas. My paper is specifically concerned with The Flagellation in four areas. They are: 1) Classicism and Architecture, 2) Composition and its Sources, 3) Literary Meaning, and 4) Plastic Content. Each contributes to the whole and it is their union that contributes to the density of meaning in The Flagellation. In this manner I have attempted to include both Piero's cultural and formal influences. Also, not ever having personally seen The Flagellation my comments rely entirely on the direct observation of those before me. Finally, I hope this writing might encourage the joy in seeing The Flagellation.Item An investigation of color theories and the teaching of color theories in selected private art schools, state supported institutions, and public schools in the United States(1952) Vigus, Robert Edward; Donner, Arvin N.; Kearney, Milo E., Sr.; Cook, Wilton W.; Gardner, Martha H.; Stovall, Franklin L.An analysis of the literature in the fields of Physics, Physiology, and Psychology, utilizing the descriptive Method of research, reveals a body of knowledge relating to several theories concerning color which are based upon scientific experimentation; chief of these are: the theories of Newton, the Young-Helmholtz Theory, the Hering Theory, the Duplicity Theory of Konig and Von Kries, the Ladd-Franklin Theory, the Ostwald Color System, and the Munsell Color system. In order to obtain information concerning the teaching of color in colleges, universities, and art schools, a questionnaire survey was made of forty-seven four-year state supported liberal arts and teachers1 colleges, thirty-three state universities, and thirty- five art schools, representing a random sampling of these institutions throughout the United States. [...]Item Ceramic forms as an expression(1980) Evans, Dennis; Bunker, George; Beckham, H. P.; Guenther, P.; Link, ValThe content of this thesis developed from the concept that ceramic form is an expressive medium, and the direction that it took was one of consolidating a personal association with nature as it had been first encountered as a child and developing it as an adult to the present. It became evident that the forces in nature were the natural energies to be expressed in ceramic form, and in order to understand the scope of nature in the arts, an investigation into the historical and iconographic use of the sphere became an intricate part of the personal associations that developed. The sphere had developed here as the main image as a result of the study of many image possibilities. When an understanding of the sphere's total meaning developed, it became the natural object to represent forces in nature, and only the technical solutions had to be developed in order to present the findings. It must be noted however, that this understanding of the sphere and its ability to relay a message to the viewer only happened while the work progressed. When the pieces were finished, it was a matter of evaluating each work and developing the ideas further in successive works.Item Cloisonne enamel on volumetric form(1980) Diamond, Mark; Stack, Gael Z.; Link, Valentine J.; Lansdon, Gay E.This thesis contains three primary sections. The first will provide an insight into the reasons I use enamel. The second will discuss the cloisonne enameling process with mention made as to its use on volumetric form. The third portion will provide an insight into the material useage, imagery, and concepts dealt with in my work.Item Meta-realism : The tradition of power/magic in representational painting(1978) Curtis, Brian EdwardAlthough my formal study of art has been thorough, it has been incomplete. While it has given me insights by broadening my base of information and experience, there is an issue in art to which I am particularly sensitive that was rarely mentioned, much less investigated. Specifically, I am interested in more fully understanding the expressive power of the image in mimetic or representational painting independent of its formal qualities. Mimetic images are characteristically concerned with direct translation of observable three- dimensional information on a two-dimensional surface. By their very nature these images focus on appearances of individual objects, but by doing so, paradoxically filter out and isolate that which lies behind appearances-the meta-real or ultimate reality. Like a butterfly whose beauty escapes us until it is pinned to the wall, reality must be isolated before it can be understood. The power inherent in mimetic images which enables us to deal more comprehensively with the intangible qualities of our environment and our experience is one I will term meta-realism. This paper examines this issue by first discussing why the expressive power of imitation has been neglected and then tracing through both ancient and ongoing traditions those levels of communication which are unique to mimetic images.Item Painting in black and white(1978) Elkins, TerryThe purpose of this thesis is to present the reasons why I work in black and white rather than with the spectrum of colors, the ideas I have about my work, and the actual finished paintings. Sometimes thoughts overlap. In this written body of the thesis, I have tried to divide into chapters the historical framework, physical and technical approach, philosophical attitude, and the symbolic meanings in reference to black and white. These different aspects work together to form a personal definition of black and white. The actual writing of the thesis has been most important in helping me to organize the many thoughts I have on black and white and to bring these thoughts together in one clearer picture.Item Portrait(1978) Pullini, Ada Pauline; Stack, GaelThe following written document is an attempt to verbally expand upon the visual imagery of my paintings and to. explain the process of art-making in my work. It is a totally subjective point of view and does not attempt to claim that all artists make their art from this perspective. This thesis is a statement on my belief that art can be personal and reflective of the artist's life and that through the metamorphosis of experience into art object, valid statements can be made about life and the nature of man. This is a belief that, within an individual's life experiences, universal meaning can be found. When applying for the Master's of Fine Arts program at the University of Houston, I wrote in my "Statement of Intent" the following: My objective as an artist is to learn, through painting, to communicate, but most importantly to have a command over my medium that will express in an exciting way my reactions to my environment and the time I live in. I hope to continue to grow through my work and to learn from it. As an artist, my most important goals are to continue to learn, to grow creatively, and to bring to my art the highest degree of skill and knowledge I am capable of achieving. My goals have not changed. I do feel I have progressed toward these goals; but, also, I realize that they are life long goals. Both my paintings and this thesis have given me an opportunity to reflect on my life and art experiences. In an attempt to explain my work, I have felt it necessary to describe my background, because I feel both my work and my life are closely related. As Alan Ginsberg wrote in "Transcription of Organ Music," "...to witness my existance..." I believe is inherent in the "...search for growth...;" and the search for growth is inherent in my art-making.Item Process art(1978) Lerner, Adele Steiner; Hickman, David C.The intent of this paper is to serve as a commentary on my paintings. The specific area of concern here is 'process art,' and the pages that follow are intended to aid the reader in understanding my paintings as well as to explain the reasons why certain facets of the work have remained the same and some others have changed.Item The personal aspects and effects of art as an idealistic reaction to contradiction in a material society(1978) Luce, Kenneth AllenThis paper, as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Fine Arts Degree, is a written documentation of my visual thesis which was exhibited from June 16th - July 28th at the Sara Cambell Blaffer Gallery, University of Houston in Houston, Texas. While the conclusions are provisional due to a lack of perspective of the recent past, I shall discuss tie more significant aspects of Houston, Texas, an architypical American city, and the decade of the sixties, as important role players in my artistic development, and aspects of these considerations as they relate to my art as a statement of reaction to contradiction in American society.Item The struggle for a personal statement(1978) Kaldis, Stephanie; Bunker, George; Hickman, David; Stack, GaelThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the ideas which have been developed by the writer in her own painting. This study is of a personal nature. It is based on the writer's reflections on and philosophical approach to her artistic growth during her years in graduate school. It represents the effort of one artist to come to grips with her particular problems in the hope of achieving clarity of thought and the ordering of ideas to strengthen her painting.Item Thesis documentation(1978) Smith, Susan Marie Hynes; Bunker, George; Hickman, DavidThe purpose of this thesis was to examine the thought, motives and influences that have affected my art.Item Through formalism to meaning(1980) Dugan, Charles Thomas; Stack, Gael Z.; Hill, Edward J.; Surls, James; Alexander, JohnIn this paper I will explain how my painting, while concerned initially only with formalism, came, over time, to increasingly concern itself not with system, but with meaning; and how television served as the vehicle for this change.