Undergraduate Research Day Projects
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Organized by the University of Houston Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards, Undergraduate Research Day is an annual event showcasing exceptional scholarship undertaken by the UH undergraduate community.
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Browsing Undergraduate Research Day Projects by Department "Art, School of"
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Item Resituating Dorothy Hood in the Art Historical Canon(2023-04-13) Satterwhite, ErinArt history's rigidity is being challenged and dismantled in the 21st century. This allows us to reexamine the careers of significant, innovative artists that have been historically overlooked because they did not snugly fit into a certain genre, art movement, or other limiting form of categorization. One such artist is Dorothy Hood (1918-2000). She was a native Texan and a key bridge between the American and Mexican Modern art movements, as well as the genres of Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism. This paper examines the importance of Hoodï¾’s work and the unique challenges she faced in her career, most likely a cause for the lack of scholarship on her work. She was neither bound by geographical location (moving multiple times in her life: from Texas, to New York, to Mexico, then back to Texas) nor artistic movement (dabbling in Surrealism, collages, and large-scale abstract paintings). It was this two-fold fluidity between space and genre that inevitably hindered her from achieving the status of other artists who were more firmly situated in a particular genre or location. It is essential to continue to shed light on less-recognized female artists, like Dorothy Hood, not only because of their continued minority status in the larger scope of art history, but for the innovations they made in their own rights. With this paper, I hope to contribute more to the necessary scholarship on Dorothy Hood, as well as spark further exploration into the Texan art communities of the 20th century, specifically their female artists.Item The Ancient Colors in the Public Art of Tenochtitlan(2023-04-13) Santillán, GénesisThe goal of my research was to explore the significance color held in Aztec public art found at Templo Mayor in the city of Tenochtitlan. By studying the coat of paint the monoliths had been covered with in the past, I hoped to discover how color enhanced the experience and meaning of key rituals done in relation to the public art. This research was done to help the public understand how the Aztec's religious beliefs influenced their art and why they expressed it with color. My key source was the 2017 Templo Mayor Museum article “Nuestra Sangre, Nuestro Color: La escultura polícroma de Tenochtitlan'' by Leonardo López Luján which directly speaks on the science behind the new color research for monoliths. However, my project heavily relied on the research done by Diana Magaloni in her book “The Colors of the New World” where she takes a closer look at the Florentine Codex illustrations that reveal to us the indigenous paint-making process. Through my investigation I determined that the significance color has in Aztec art, from their drawings to their monoliths, is based on what raw materials were used and where they originate from. The paints can be categorized into two groups, those made from organic materials which then symbolize the masculine solar world, or pigments that are telluric and are associated with the feminine underworld. The Aztecs would choose which paints to use based on this significance to represent different elements of their religion through their art.Item The Harder They Fall and the Importance of Contemporary Black Storytelling(2023-04-13) Allen, ArreonI explored Black exposure and identity within film, and highlighted the importance of authentic, genuine expression of marginalized voices. I sought to unravel the revitalization of Black consciousness through pop culture in the digital age, as representation is integral for the cultivation of historically underrepresented artforms. American cinema has played a significant role in upholding a certain vision of the country's history, and for a people who've been so vehemently forced into the margins of society, the process of cultural reclamation is vital. Black cinema serves as an avenue for creative expression, cultural affirmation, and a redefinition of liberty in the face of racial discrimination. It has forecast, critiqued, and documented the ever present societal violence of today, while simultaneously challenging America's deeply ingrained prejudices. I closely analyzed Netflix's The Harder They Fall, as it combats otherness and embraces Black exceptionalism. Its art attempts to alleviate the pain from the echoes of oppression in a postcolonial world, shattering barriers placed by a dreadful history of stereotypes. The film is a Black Western: a fantastical revamp sporting a primarily-Black cast, with many of the characters based off of real historical figures. Under the direction of Jeymes Samuel, the film unapologetically bends and reassembles genres within a late 19th century setting. The Harder They Fall and other films of its ilk can't reverse the damage done by the removal of blackness defined by mainstream cinema, though their stylistic freedoms reflect the defiance of contemporary storytelling that is so desperately needed today.