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Item Common ground: finding an American aesthetic in ceramics through the history of wilderness and ceramic art in America(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2021) Botelho Alvarez, Alejandro Manuel; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Josh DeWeeseMy quest to find a unifying principle that constitutes 'American ceramics' has led me to survey the histories of studio ceramics in America and Wilderness and Nature in America. I've discovered resounding similarities between the two: both were responses to a flagging sense of identity and a hope to (nostalgically) confirm and promote certain values and worldviews (over others). Both our relationships with nature and American studio ceramics are monolithic in their founding ideals and have persisted into the 21st century; both have been fundamental in my upbringing and have codified my own worldview. However, I've become sensitive to the fact these particular values are rooted in privilege, are fundamentally exclusionary, and are ripe for a reexamination. In this paper I propose that we revisit the bearing of the values that wilderness and the aesthetic judgements of ceramics in the early 20th century have on society today. It does not mean that these traditions should be totally abandoned. Instead, I am convinced that a more pluralistic and inclusive approach to both is a more holistic way forward. By appraising the histories of wilderness and ceramics in America I hope to uncover some of the unrecognized people and cultures that have been deliberately redacted from the history. In so doing, I expect to find similarities and trends within the existing canon that are commonly celebrated and introduce the forgotten traditions back into the fold, such that it might lead to a new vision for American ceramics. In conclusion, I hope that this rediscovered American aesthetic might be the framework in which I create my own body of work, with a particular appeal towards process rather than form, as a criterion of excellence. With an understanding that American studio pottery has many different traditions to pull from that are still being 'digested', but that these diverse inspirations is not a weakness, but a strength.Item Flesh as relic: painting early Christian female martyrs within Baroque sacred spaces(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2019) DuBois, Stormy Lee; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Todd LarkinMichelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio's Burial of Saint Lucy (1608) in Santa Lucia al Sepolcro, Syracuse, Domenichino Zampieri's Martyrdom of Saint Cecilia (1614) in San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome, and Giovanni Francesco Barbieri's Burial of Saint Petronilla (1623) in Saint Peter's Basilica, are remarkable Baroque depictions of Early Christian female martyrs which illustrate a tendency toward establishing a dialogue between the expiring or lifeless body of the saint and her own venerated grave or relic. Eschewing the requirements and textual authority laid down by the Council of Trent, which prompts the theatrical and violent imaging of saints and martyrs, each piece exhibits a juxtaposition of martyred female body, earth, and altar that transcends naturalist and classicist aesthetics. Rather than offering a dramatization of a saint's life or martyrdom, each artist chose to render a funeral scene directly and with minimal distractions. In the intersection of the traditional veneration of relics and Counter-Reformatory developments in the veneration of martyrs and gendered behavior in church, the following thesis will suggest that each artist rendered the transformation of mortal flesh to saintly relic in order to facilitate the contemplation of the martyred female body implicit in the veneration of saints without transgressing gendered relations within sacred spaces.Item Redefining la ofrenda: evolving conceptual elements in public institutions(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2017) Cottingham, Katrin Eril; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Todd LarkinLa Ofrenda, or the offering, is deeply embedded in Latino-American culture and is closely associated with Dias de Muertos, the Days of the Dead, a joyous celebration to commemorate the deceased. This thesis explores the history of La Ofrenda from its roots in ancient Mesoamerica to its subsequent merging with Spanish religious beliefs during the colonial Mexican period. Symbolic and ritualistic elements of La Ofrenda are examined to reflect the syncretic nature of the altar showing how it incorporates elements of both cultures. The thesis then analyzes the placement of La Ofrenda in the context of public institutions across the United States of America to discern if authentic characteristics remain when the altar is featured public venues. Each chapter addresses a different set of contrasting elements with the first chapter examining traditional aspects and materials vs. contemporary installations. Second, will consider the distinction between private and sacred displays and those featured in a public secular venue. Next, an effect on La Ofrenda by the very institutions that are trying to preserve the practice is examined with a look at contemporary artists who create highly conceptual Ofrendas reflecting the ever-changing aspects of Modern art, using a wide variety of nontraditional techniques such as computer technology, video and performance. These new methods of artistic representation are challenging and changing not only La Ofrenda, but what can be perceived as an Ofrenda. The question of the future of the display of La Ofrenda in a public setting is examined through these nontraditional altar representations and addresses the ramifications they present to the authenticity of La Ofrenda in conceptual installations.Item The emergence of modernism in Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2017) Corriel, Michele; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Todd LarkinModernist art burst onto New York City's art scene with the Armory Show in 1913. However, it took nearly forty years for Modernism to take hold in Montana. Using Montana State College (now Montana State University-Bozeman) as my case study, I intend to examine the type of climate that allows a new art movement to develop as well as the impediments that prevented Modernism from taking root. In examining other factors contributing to Modernism outside of major urban cities I found two of these factors missing from the Intermountain West, and particularly in Montana. The factors missing were wealthy art patrons to encourage experimentation and/or art colonies to create a safe environment for artists. Digging further, I found an economic and cultural resistance to Modernism in Montana, which threatened the economic foundation of a burgeoning tourism industry. After World War II, with the G.I. Bill opening up higher education to a new kind of student body, pupils began requesting a serious academic art program. At the same time the expansion of Land Grant Universities enlarged their small art departments, creating both the monetary security an art patron might present, as well as the collegial and teaching community of an artist colony. At Montana State College, beginning in the mid-1940s three artists pioneered the Modernist movement in Montana: Frances Senska, Jessie Wilber and Robert DeWeese. Working together they created a sustained art movement able to overcome the cultural resistance to Modernism in the state. My goal is to give these artists a profile commensurate with other great Modernist artists by formal examination of their work, and applications of various art historical methodologies.Item Japanese woodblock prints of the Edo Period : origins, routes and destinations for travelers(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2015) Higgins, Chelsea Leigh; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Todd LarkinDuring the Edo period (1603-1868) in Japan the color woodblock print became a popular, localized art form among the merchant class of the nation's administrative center Edo (Tokyo). Ukiyo-e subject matter rose to prominence with its interest in depictions of contemporary entertainment, such as beautiful women, the pleasure district, and kabuki actors, and eventually grew to encompass poetic depictions of the nation's landscape. Representations of the popular Gokaidō highways (connecting the imperial capital Kyoto to the new governmental center Edo) in print imagery have thus far been identified in scholarship under the landscape genre. It is my goal to present a new way of looking specifically at these landscape prints that are not only "landscape prints", but can be further analyzed as "travel prints". By taking a closer look at 15 ukiyo-e prints from the Edo period, I have divided the genre of "landscape prints" into three categories of travel prints: Origins, Routes, and Destinations. The goal of this catalog is to bring awareness to the notion that these travel prints highlight valuable aspects of travel culture. I have found that these three categories present unique iconographical relationships among figures, architecture, and the landscape. These relationships can be described as Origins, Routes, and Destinations. In this catalog I have described each print in terms of how it uses the graphic composition as a means for understanding the travel culture through different social spaces of travelers in Japan during the Edo period.Item Montana industrial landscapes : reflections on place(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2004) Salix, Nolan G.; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Harold SchlotzhauerAs a painter I am intrigued with large scale industrial sites that have transformed or are transforming the Montana landscape. I am drawn to their monumental scale as well as the visible alteration of earth that occurs at such sites. Montana’s industrial history is easily visible in the presence of both working and abandoned old structures as well as in the physical alterations left by various extraction industries. The superfund site in Butte and the controversial tire-burning plant in Trident are both examples of natural places transformed into industrial landscapes. After observing these sites for hours or days, I begin to look past the negative content traditionally associated with such sites. My impressions instead become more deeply realized as I recognize the formal beauty inherent in the site itself. Many of these sites may be sources of harm or death to various life forms, yet they are also exquisite in color and captivating in design. My use of non-traditional media and technique is inspired by the industrial materials and processes used by the industries at the sites. I use these materials and techniques in order to simulate the history of the site. For example in the Berkley Pit an image of a large copper mine, the site is represented by panels of copper that cover the entire painting surface. I mimic the historical practice of mining by chemically altering the copper with various patinas and violating the integrity of the surface by physically removing part of the copper. In the painting, Phillips\Exxon, motor oil and roofing tar give the artwork the aroma and texture representative of an actual oil refinery. My work demands that the viewer contemplates the Montana industrial landscape in a manner previously inexperienced. The scale of my paintings is large in order to present the materials in a manner that expresses the immensity of the place. Working on such large panels, often six by eight feet in size, demands a large amount of physical effort and skill when working outside in the harsh winter climate of Montana. Often, a natural weather pattern, such as wind, rain and snow, creates an effect on my paintings by physically altering my applications during the paintings development. Working in plein air has pushed my painting style to become more experimental and physically engaging which has resulted in a deeper understanding of the landscape. Both my chosen materials and my naturalistic approach to painting help to represent the physical essence of the Montana industrial landscape. Though these sites may be seen as dirty, and even ugly to some, there is an aesthetic beauty inherent in these landscapes that compels me to look deeper.Item Remarks(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2001) Breton, HopiReference to material culture is the key point of departure for my work. I explore human sensibilities by interpreting our interaction with our material world. Ambiguous allusions to human inventions, or constructs, set up a dialogue between the viewer and my work. I appropriate both utilitarian objects and language in order to trigger a memory bank of common forms and expressions. Like tools, human expressions respond to human needs. I believe material culture human history encompasses all human creations. My work references an impulse to record human history through the collection of common objects and expressions. I abstract these objects and written expressions in order to create a sense of wonder. Ultimately, I compose a sense of human history by eliciting recognition of material culture while creating a new context for common forms and expressions. Rhythm, letters, words, and other "marks" inspire much of my work. My uses of invented symbols and signs ambiguously suggest language. I push the relationship between object and language by compounding these two elements within individual works. The cast iron in Marks, allows letter-like forms to take on three-dimensional qualities. The cast iron gives these flattened marks a strong physical presence, and alluded to industrial culture. Because of their linguistic format and gestures these hybrid objects read as components of a sentence or word. Similarly, Notation, Keys, and Re-Make read as recognizable sequences of objects. The use of text and signs as surface treatment on other forms also response to the relationship between language and object. The signs and text also allude to industrial material culture, suggesting power lines. frequencies, codes, and standards. The marks insinuate a utilitarian meaning, but an unaffected disregard to function and formal concerns determine my intention beyond simply reproducing manufacture objects.Item The effect of limited palettes on the structuring of painting(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 1957) Foss, Ione AlphiaItem Parallel realities(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 1997) McDade, Karl VautrainBy combining reproductions of found industrial objects with ancient Greek pottery forms, I am attempting to build relationships with the past and the present. Ancient Greek vessels are a symbol of early industry and basic human needs to control and simplify life. Industrial objects are a metaphor for the advancement of our technology and the control we have gained over our environment. Combined, these objects symbolize a long history of technological advancement, attempts to control our environment, and ultimately, nature. In my eyes, true beauty is found only in nature, through natural processes of creation and destruction and no object contrived by human hands and logical thought can compete with natural phenomena. The man-made objects that I am most attracted to are those which are old and have been exposed to the elements for many years. With this exposure to the elements an object becomes subjected to the chaos and chance of nature which does not work in terms of logic and is ultimately a purely random process. In order to accomplish this quality, my work has become highly process oriented. Instead of precise manipulation, I set up events which allow for random and natural occurrences within certain parameters. This concurrently makes my work less concerned with the issue of traditional craftsmanship and more with the idea of emulating chaotic natural beauty in the form of an archetypal craft object; the pottery vessel.Item Perspective on business--a craftperson's tradition : a prospective business model for contemporary craftspeople based on the historical craftsperson's tradition in colonial America(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 1982) Goehrung, James LeRoy