Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item Chathamesque: Russell Chatham's Montana vernacular(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2024) Bishop, Storrs Myron, IV; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Melissa RagainPainter and lithographer Russell Chatham introduced a Tonalist aesthetic to Montana's art scene in the 1970s, making way for a new aesthetic relationship between humans and nature. His work is recognizable by its gray-and-brown palette, horizontally structured compositions, and his signature envelope of atmospheric haze. When Chatham depicted a scene with fog, snowfall or rain obscuring parts of the landscape, he evoked a quiet mood conducive to introspection. People familiar with his work, especially those living in rural Park County, Montana, might look out their window and call the view, "Chathamesque." This term--along with other commonplace statements like, "It's a Russell Chatham kind of day"--became tightly bound to his artistic style and public identity. In contrast to the romanticized mythology of C.M. Russell's Old West, or the sublime grandeur of Thomas Moran's panoramic landscapes, Chatham offered a depiction of the intermountain West as a place for private, transcendental intimacy with nature. This thesis will analyze two series of Chatham's works he created in the 1980s: The Seasons, a series of twelve paintings commissioned by the Museum of the Rockies (MOR) in 1990, and The Missouri Headwaters Suite, twelve lithographs he made between 1985 and 1987. Through three stages of comparative analysis of his paintings and lithographs, this paper will trace Chatham's aesthetic development from conventional California Tonalism toward his transcendental Montana landscapes. The first stage connects Chatham's style to the nineteenth century's California Tonalist movement and its Transcendentalist relationship with nature. The second stage traces his struggle and resolution with interpreting Montana's mountainous landscape. The third stage ties his development as a lithographer to the establishment of his aesthetic vernacular. Each of these stages was another step toward a distinctive style which came to be uniquely identified with Russell Chatham. By the early 1990s, his local audiences had internalized his approach to landscape, and the term "Chathamesque" became a vernacular way of expressing their relationship with Montana's changeable appearance.Item Twist and mess(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 1994) Filloux, Marianne IsabelleIn these paintings I have found it essential to create a two dimensional space which depicts the forest in a life-like scale. Landscape imagery which presents nature as miniaturized often depicts the natural world as diminutive and merely picturesque. I want to convey action within the forest These paintings are the product of my "re"action to the forests’ intimate and yet potentially dangerous interior. This reaction is dependent on my observation of nature as a force which easts in spite of my presence. The undercurrent of fear often felt in nature may have as much to do with feeling we are in a domain that ultimately falls out of our control, as it does with the undeniable physical dangers which occur in this territory.Item Multiple-stone lithography(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 1963) Aring, Lois HoefertItem Avian : of or pertaining to birds(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 1997) Brelsford, Kerry CorcoranThe autographic directness of black and white lithography allows me to express my ideas of avian energy and motion in the freest form possible. My earlier magpie prints were more representational and the birds had fewer human-like elements, my later works adapted more expressive qualities and the magpies began to develop different identities. Some prints have an apparent fullness while others are spindly and have an empty, boney quality. In certain compositions I contrast the physical bird with an image of semi-chaotic, unbridled energy expressed through spinning lines. These lines also allude to air waves and motions of flight. I try to create a sense of pushing and pulling or give and take between energy and biomechanical forces. My goal is to create a visual dialogue in which the birds appear to be moving in separate directions yet there is an overall sense of oneness or unity.Item Impetus, statement, media(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 1983) Sugarman, Matthew Lamoureux; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Francis J. Noel IIIThe overall idea/theme in my art is that of the search through imagery for the ways that consciousness works in the world, and beyond that, to discover what the true nature(s) of consciousness is and/or are. I often feel intuitively, as a momentary revelation, that the true nature of consciousness is that of one universal consciousness bonding man, nature, and even all matter together in some way. The connection to universal awareness is not the experience of my own consciousness in everyday life, but a missing link to be found hidden somewhere within myself and probably this missing link can be found in my own perception which is changeable. I find that through working in art one can probe different ways of perceiving, doing, experiencing, and discovering different states of awareness, including intuitive states of being in a now space, between past and future.Item Godander2mals(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2007) Harrison, Daniel Adam; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Rollin Beamish; Gesine Janzen (co-chair)As humans, we exist on the brink of solid matter (earth) and endless space (space) and are an incredibly small part of all that exists. My primary influences are the mystery of the universe that we are a part of, and the notion that outer space has no limits. A lot of my days are spent outside in extraordinary and unpredicted places observing and enjoying the simplicity of existing in a natural setting. The mental peace evoked by nature motivates my desire to create colorful lithographs depicting environments and creatures that are unknown in the natural world. These prints draw the viewer away from what they know and show them an experience that’s mystifying and exciting. I print an image using two different approaches: through a direct reference to an idea or picture in my mind, or by putting random marks of colored ink on paper which results in the determination of how the image is to develop layer by layer. Upon printing each subsequent color I am faced with a decision, is the print finished or does it want another color? The first method of creating a print shows effects of control and forethought, the second method of printing allows for a greater range of expression and a nonlinear impulsive thought process. The three dimensional pieces called xumert ancreon also express a spontaneous form of creation and were constructed from found objects. The use of found objects required that I act in response to the object for the completion of a piece resulting in an unplanned assemblage of the found parts. This was vital to the nature of the sculpture in two ways: finding objects from different locations infused energy from a large geographical area into their creation, and found objects were an environmentally friendly method for creating art. The prints and sculptures are visually compelling and may be experienced individually, however they were created in conjunction with a narrative text titled, “The Space Traveling Moon Monster.” A profound link was created between the text and artwork because they were generated simultaneously. The completion of a new print aroused perception for the next sequence of events or images. The ideas for this book were visualized as actual existing places but in a different time and space. The white of the paper depicted endless space and time was documented as a linear occurrence as well as a cyclical experience with no beginning and no end. In linear time, the more colors in a print, the longer it took to make. On a cyclical level, the individual experience of the viewer engaged with the print exists as soon as they first see it and continues on indefinitely from there I make largescale lithographs from stone because I like the effect I get with this medium. The effect extends from the visual experience through tactile properties achieved solely in lithography, such as shinny ink layers and solid blacks, and the ability to create an edition of prints that serve as an entire piece. I am expanding the boundaries of what is possible as a visual experience within an edition of lithographs by drawing nonvisual experiences such as laughter and confusion.Item Objective lens for a miniature endoscopic confocal microscope(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Engineering, 2005) El Ferradi, Nabil; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: David DickensheetsThis thesis presents the design and testing of a micro-objective lens for a miniature endoscopic confocal microscope. The advance of confocal endo-microscopy for in-situ imaging can lead to considerable improvements in inspection, analysis, and diagnosis, especially in the biomedical field. The dimensions of the objective lens developed are 4.0 mm long and 2.0 mm in diameter incorporated into a probe that is 2.0 mm in diameter and 10.0 mm long. The size of the probe will allow it to be inserted in some of the smallest channels in an endoscope. The objective lens features a 0.33 numerical aperture, a 4x magnification, and 200 æm field of view and a sub-micron spot size. The optical system is compensated at two wavelengths, 488 nm and 515 nm. Chromatic and spherical aberrations are minimized through the use of 3 refractive planoconvex elements and an 8-level fused silica diffractive optical element. Details of the lens design, its simulation using computer ray tracing software, fabrication of the diffractive optical element and experimental characterization of the assembly are presented.