Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item A linear development(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 1984) Hoke, Carey Laurence; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Richard HelzerJewelry provides a framework with a long historical tradition. I work within that tradition and find it both comfortable and challenging. While submitting to the functional restriction of the brooch (that it pin), there remain many possibilities to be explored. In this group of pins, I have tried to allow that function to remain unconcealed while still dealing with aesthetic considerations. There is a technical challenge inherent in the making of jewelry which fascinates me. The possibilities for mechanical inventions as well as manipulation of the image are unlimited. Sometimes I emphasize these technical solutions, while at other times I prefer to hide them as much as possible in order to play logic against the illogical. In many cases, the properties of the materials themselves suggest solutions to technical problems, thereby contributing to the aesthetic development of the piece. Tantalum, for example, is a malleable metal which maintains strength and integrity even when drawn out to thin wire. It cannot readily be silver soldered, however, and this has led me to develop other means of connection which then become a part of the visual content. All of the pieces in this group deal with line in some way. In some it is the literal spring tension that is emphasized. The line is pulled around and then restrained. In others, it is a playful disappearance and reappearance of the line that is important. I choose different metals for their color, their degree of strength and resilience, and their ability to support and maintain a quality of precision and elegance. I am concerned also with subtle variations in surface texture and pattern. The hollow forms and packaged shapes possess a sense of mystery because they are enclosed, encased spaces. Many of these soft forms have their source in rock shapes - the solidity and softness, and intimations of an interior space within, as of an egg. These forms contrast with the straight-forward, obvious lines that compose the rest of the piece. Playful and sensuous shapes are juxtaposed with sharp, dangerous looking ones. Patterns are often imposed on or into the surfaces of these organic or less controlled forms. Essentially logical human structures, patterns act on the form in much the same way that the intrusion of man-made structures on the environment can often be very beautiful and mysterious. The word 'jewelry' evokes many images. Fashion, personal beauty, and wealth are most frequently brought to mind as associated with the possession of jewelry. In part, I make jewelry in order to dispell these cliches about the function of jewelry. Jewelry, properly worn, is for the wearer, not the spectator. It has a character and implications, disturbing or pleasant, for the wearer. It should stimulate a sense of intimacy and affinity between person and object. It should contain a sense of mystery and magic, if only in the imagination of its owner.Item The use of patterns and pattern-making objects in painting(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 1982) Svehla, Rudolf; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Francis J. Noel IIIThe object of my work is a combination of intellectual and emotional activity. With the intellectual part, I work with the most simplified Euclidian spatial format of grid character which, in my opinion, has carried man's scientific and investigative quest from Egyptian architectural accomplishments through the rest of history to the complexity of today's technology. The intellectual activity could be defined in some specific ideas; however, the emotional part of my art deals with intuitive color selection and construction of my particular forms from established symbolism. Pressing these issues into the grid form becomes a mysterious alchemy of my reaction to given information that I absorb from other informative media and through my personal experiences. The series of paintings in my thesis show is based on my research into the variety of patterns and pattern-making objects. These patterns are complex electronic communication equipment schemata interwoven with patterns underlying knitting, crocheting, or weaving. The colors are selected according to the theme of a painting and composed in a somewhat rational order of an established color theory. To a certain extent, I am trying to invent my own personal forms to show how I perceive the world around me. I am fascinated with the power of communication produced by radio and television which influence's the activities of our world in a positive or negative way. This seems to be a reason why I call these paintings 'Radio Series' and try to make them as complex and mysterious as the electronics and their influence that they have on our lives.