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Publication between Gods & Dogs(University of Kansas, 2020-05-20) Heesacker, Bryce; Rosenthal, Benjamin; Rosenthal, Benjamin; Velasco, Maria; Hartman, Tanya; Haaheim, Bryan Kipbetween Gods & Dogs is an exhibition, comprised of two installations, that raises questions about belief, authority, knowledge, and power. The Word That Binds Them is an interactive installation involving books that have been put in positions of authority or treated as sacred by religions, political parties, academic institutions, and other communities. As viewers navigate the work, they are faced with questions surrounding power and ideological belief. The project involves consultations with the Internet Sacred Text Archive, research of citation rankings, and discussions with followers of various belief systems to inform the selections of books. All of these texts play an important role in historical and present-day power structures. The work demonstrates how art—specifically interactive art—is rich territory for questioning and deconstructing systematic ideologies and our interactions with them as humans. While The Word That Binds Them questions the beliefs, knowledge, and power we acquire from books, Most Retrieved Words questions what we might learn from an unexpected source—our canine companions. The project began by engaging the general public in order to collect sounds of their dogs barking and short writings describing what they have learned from their dogs. What can dogs teach us about freedom, play, curiosity, love, forgiveness, risk, danger, and other important concepts? The collected sounds are altered so that they embody qualities of sacred choral music. Visual content in the work is comprised of hundreds of videos of dogs that have been extracted from found footage. These individual videos are composited into an immersive four-channel video projection that contains thousands of dogs running in mass along the walls of the gallery. This paper outlines the methodologies used to create an art experience that inspects theological, political, academic, and nonanthropological sources of belief.Publication Human by Nature by Human(University of Kansas, 2019-05-31) Wright, Shantel; Burke, Matthew; Gross, Sarah; Bitters, Shawn; Westergard, GinaMy studio practice is based in ceramic and mixed media practices, and blurs the lines between sculpture and installation. It is strongly inspired by the remains of the current world around the human existence. I am interested in where human and nature intersect and diverge and am drawn to “natural” objects and beings that address similarities, differences and ironies present in the notion of being human. Through this writing I explain my thoughts on this as well as how my practice works to present related questions to the viewers of my work. I will discuss how these ideas informed the Master of Fine Arts thesis exhibition Human by Nature by Human, and how the work brought to light some of my own human tendencies.Publication Inherent Innovation(University of Kansas, 2019-05-31) Webster, Jodi; Hartman, Tanya; Stanionis, Lin; Velasco, MariaNative American people have relied on their inherent skills of innovation as a means of survival. As makers, they acquired new skills and traded for the most modern fabrics, beads, and metals to adorn themselves. As an artist, my motivation for acquiring new skills and applying them to my making is no different than what was done in the past. My goal is still the same; continued survival. As a means of facilitating the survival of regionally specific designs of the Upper Midwest, also referred to as Woodlands, I opt to use technology to reinterpret my designs. Rather than sewing and doing beadwork I resort to 3D CAD software and 3D printing to make my designs come to life. The use of technology serves to contradict the stereotypes of what is ascribed to be Native American. The works within Inherent Innovations are meant to challenge the assumptions and expectations inside as well as outside of a Native American perspective, as to what is considered to be Native American art.Publication FROM RAGS TO MORE RAGS(University of Kansas, 2019-05-31) SARMIENTO, EUGENE; Rosenthal, Benjamin; Nam, Yoonmi; Orr, JoeyFROM RAGS TO MORE RAGS is an exhibition consisting of large scale paintings and intimate, small scale drawings with the intent of establishing a visual narrative of the human soul in the moment of passing. The work explores the capturing of life’s sincerity through ideas of my own existential melancholia, interpreting experiences of life lost and using the rapid cyclical nature of flora as a transcendental study of existence.Publication For | Billions of Years | Now(University of Kansas, 2019-05-31) Lavergne, Brandon Joseph; Krueger, Michael; Westergard, Gina; Akers, Norman; Bitters, ShawnFor | Billions of Years | Now is a Masters of Fine Arts Thesis exhibition of seven prints, two metalsmithing sculptures and an x-ray film. There are five traditional intaglio etchings on the right side of the gallery. The back and left walls are each covered by a 20 foot, black and white print of an alligator. The matrix for the alligator prints resides in the center of the gallery, curled and gazing back on its twin apparitions. At the intersection of stares is a choker fashioned in the image of the artist's mandible, formed entirely by hand and finished through electroforming. A panoramic x-ray image of the artist's jaw hangs above. Five smaller prints are hung in a line on the right and are inspired by the artist’s personal history. These are traditional intaglio prints with etching, hard ground, soft ground, aquatint, and dry-point. In addition, I used techniques of burnishing, electric engraving, and intaglio wiping. I use metaphors such as: inhabiting, haunting and being imprisoned within vessels. Spirits cling to homes, lamps, boats, and bodies as they make their way. Sensual and tactile processes like drawing, molding, scraping, stretching and inking are ways in which I create and maintain intimacy with the work. These techniques generally guide me more than words are able. I tend to scrabble through work, feeling for a way forward. Infusing energy into copper to create something somber and contemplative has become my primary way of working. Sinking, crushing, burying, disintegration and a two-faced nature are themes I explored in this work. There is also the situational theme of being trapped and striving for escape. This exhibition represents the converging of the outlined ideas, personal truths and emotions.Publication blooming pestiferousness(University of Kansas, 2019-05-31) Belangee, Jessica Lynn; Hartman, Tanya; Akers, Norman; Brackett, Davidblooming pestiferousness is an exhibition that discusses found organic object in tandem with both the physical body and hidden psyche. The exhibition consists of nine large-scale drawings and three smaller supplemental works. Each work is sensuous and ephemeral, alluding to the hidden mechanisms of the subconscious mind and intrusive thought. Spotlighting each, I intend for the viewer to become intimate with each work allowing for the detail and nuanced mark making to emerge slowly. Drawn flora and fungi, invented anomalies, and abyssal space support each of these elements within the exhibition.Publication This Is How We Walk on the Moon(University of Kansas, 2018-08-31) Kaulbach, Leigh Agnes; Nam, Yoonmi; Krueger, Michael; Rosenthal, BenjaminCopies of two books and a newspaper rest, ready for reading, on a white, squiggly bench in the center of the gallery below a vaulted ceiling. On two surrounding tall walls, animations flash on loop all the way to the top. To the right, a framed set of eight drawings illustrate wind in the night grass. On the far side there is a light on, shining twenty-four inches above an illuminated object: a tiny folded zine, placed lightly at the edge of a long, corner-curving shelf. For her MFA Thesis exhibition, This Is How We Walk on the Moon, Leigh Kaulbach uses drawing in various relational forms. The central subject matter are the parallel bonds between herself and her sister, and her two young nieces. Watching the little girls build their private universe inspires a realization that sibling bonds, which feel personal, special, and insulated between sisters, are in fact heirlooms passed down generation to generation. She honors and processes the ineffability, influence, and intimacy of sisterhood with drawing-based books and animations. These transmissive media formats, which include machine learning tools and print publishing, rely on cooperation. Lateral relationships are both the subject and method for making.Publication Alter E(c)o(University of Kansas, 2018-05-31) Shell, Marissa R; jordan, mary anne; velasco, maria; bitters, shawn; rankey, eugeneAlter E(c)o is a series of three large-scale sculptures that represent a futuristic, fictional, dystopic landscape. Each individual piece mimics land formations observed in the natural world. The use of synthetic and industrial materials is intended to be a bizarre depiction of telluric matter in millions of years to come. Through size and material, these fictional edifices are meant to allude to the fact that we can be the creators of our existence.Publication Seen not spoken(University of Kansas, 2018-05-31) Springer, Renee; Hartman, Tanya; Gross, Sarah; Rosenthal, BenjaminSeen not spoken is an exhibition that investigates the technology of pop culture (via the screen) and its influence within contemporary art and painting. The notable collapse of the separation between physical and digital/screen space that is becoming more and more integrated into contemporary life has become a key point of interest to me. This specific body of work explores the kinds of images and behaviors that reflect our relationship to digital space, and how those relationships manifest in day-to-day life.Publication Momentous(University of Kansas, 2018-05-31) Martinez, Antonio; Akers, Norman; Gross, Sarah; Hartman, TanyaThe work of Antonio Martinez uses functional ceramics to explore moments of intimacy. By navigating features of surface, color, and form, he creates opportunities for tranquility and reflection. This thesis paper discusses the body of work created for his show in April 2018. Specifically, this paper explores the evolution of the work, as well as the processes, concepts, and history that inspired him to create this current body of work.Publication heart of plush(University of Kansas, 2018-05-31) Ito, Fuko; Nam, Yoonmi; Jordan, Mary Anne; Rosenthal, Benjamin"heart of plush" is an exhibition of a series of large-scale drawings that imagines various scenes and narratives of a parallel universe inhabited by a community of naked, vulnerable, genderless creatures called fumblys. This work presents a fictional space in which violence, hostility, and aggression is softened through the formal use and manipulation of colors, textures, and portrayal of figurative gestures. My imagined utopianistic alternate universe exemplifies a hopeful and naive expectation of a potential future in which humankind can be as tender, negotiable, and forgiving as fumblys.Publication Phantom Thoughts, Surreal Dreams: A Journey Through Organizational Dysfunction(University of Kansas, 2018-05-31) Ehlers, Walter David; Hachmeister, John; Burke, Matt; Westergard, Gina; Maude, MarshallThe sculpture for my Master of Fine Arts exhibition represents some of the memories resulting from nearly thirty years of military service, and is inspired by observations of absurd, ironic and haunting experiences. My art interprets and repurposes imagery found in military heraldry, vehicles weapon’s and the mundane in order to create a visual narrative. It is partially inspired by dysfunctional units, toxic leadership and lack of soldier care, which is still found all too often in military organizations. The methods used to unify the works and to convey meaning to the viewer consist primarily of cast bronze, cement, the olive drab color of many elements, and the repetition of the phrase “Front Toward Enemy”, thereby rhetorically questioning just who the enemy is.Publication BETA CUCK(University of Kansas, 2018-05-31) Dickerson, Spencer; Rosenthal, Benjamin J; Hartman, Tanya; Stanionis, LinThe following is a written thesis of the concepts and visual elements that dictated Spencer Dickerson’s MFA thesis exhibition, BETA CUCK. The show was installed at the University of Kansas Art and Design Gallery from March 11th- 16th, 2018. It was composed of four handmade metal wearables, a sound piece with headphones in which the artist told stories of his childhood and life, and two 4’x8’ panels of frosted Plexiglas suspended from the ceiling on which the artist was projected wearing the handmade wearables. The artist mimicked poses of bodybuilders in one projection and classical greek sculptures in the other.Publication La Mano Izquierda: an Essay on Erasure(University of Kansas, 2018-05-31) Castano-Marquez, Juan Jose; Rosenthal, Benjamin; Hartman, Tanya; Nam, Yoonmi; Mesick-Braun, CassandraLa Mano Izquierda: an Essay on Erasure is an archival exhibition that utilizes video, installation, performance, alternative storytelling, and textiles to develop a multi-sensory space that incorporates strategies inherent to the museological and archival disciplines. All these elements come together to form a museological display of the hand-made remains of the lives and memories of a biomythographical queer guerrilla group called La Mano Izquierda. The artworks that compose the exhibition explore issues of identity, queerness, race, loss, memory, erasure, reclamation, and revival.Publication Brilliance of Silence(University of Kansas, 2018-05-31) Amiri, Nazanin; Jordan, Mary Anne; Velasco, Maria; Gerschultz, JessicaBrilliance of Silence is an installation made of fabric and paper which provides a contemplative environment within public space of a gallery. Brilliance of Silence advocates quietude and privacy as two essential missing elements of today’s hectic life. The installation is a reminder of what we are missing in the public environments and how vital it is to bring back alluring spaces to our lives. Brilliance of Silence explores the impact of cultural norms, religion, and gender in forming private and public spaces in various cultures. Originally from Iran, I am comparing residential spaces such as traditional courtyard houses and public architecture like mosques and bazaars (public markets) with my current living environment in the United States. As a female artist, I challenge the gendered and masculine spaces in traditional Iranian architecture. I reclaim the hard and masculine exterior spaces with the soft and feminine fabric and bring what is conventionally kept and covered inside to the public’s eye. Brilliance of Silence explores and examines various components of a space such as scale, material, pattern, light, color, and configuration to create an alluring environment. By providing a calming and quiet space, I hope to make my audience realize the necessity and vitality of silence and privacy which are gradually disappearing from our lives.Publication Memories to Objects: Taking Inspiration from Family Tradition(University of Kansas, 2017-05-31) Thierry, Alexander Joseph; Burke, Matthew B; Gross, Sarah; Hachmeister, JohnThe work of Alexander Thierry uses clay as the material to illustrate his feelings of the loss of family traditions. His memories are tied to furniture pieces from his grandparents’ home. By telling stories, this thesis describes traditions, people, and material to depict emotion and his thoughts on loss. This thesis directly describes his thesis exhibition that took place in April 2017 and how his current work was situated in the space. His thoughts on material choices and future projects are explored along with a brief look at past work leading up to the exhibition.Publication Culture Vulture(University of Kansas, 2017-05-31) Pursel, Sydney; Velasco, Maria; Akers, Norman; Rosenthal, BenjaminCulture Vulture was a one night only multisensory performative event held at TeePee Junction in Lawrence, Kansas on Earth Day, April 22, 2017. It mirrored Buffalo Bill’s Wild West by entertaining, educating, and engaging the audience through performance, dance, video, fashion, alternative storytelling, participatory, and interactive elements. It incorporated multiple senses including sight, sound, touch, and taste to give viewers memorable and uncomfortable first hand experiences. In contrast to Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, Culture Vulture urged viewers to ask questions about how colonization, religious influence, oppression, assimilation, American history, and uneven power dynamics, have contributed to a loss of cultural identity. In addition to historical events, it more subtly urged viewers to consider other factors that influence contemporary identity construction including geography, desire to belong, stereotypes, and cultural consumption. The event focused on my conflicting Native American and Irish Catholic identities. Culture Vulture was structured in two acts with a pre-show, intermission and reception. The first act addressed colonization and the continued repercussions of religiously oriented oppression and assimilation in both Native America and Ireland. The second act addressed events in American history, like the gold rush, that further disenfranchised Native peoples while providing opportunities for immigrants. Conflicting ancestral histories, stereotyping and a desire for culture all contribute to my personal identity confusion. The goal of Culture Vulture was to create conversations about identity formation, expose racism and discrimination, and celebrate diverse cultures.Publication altPersona: clusterTeratoma activeHomunculus reAnimation(University of Kansas, 2017-01-01) Morales Scholz, Erick Rodolfo; Stanionis, Lin; ; Rosenthal, Benjamin J; Swindell, Jon KaltPersona: clusterTeratoma activeHomunculus reAnimation is an art installation that uses the concept of a fictional artificial being to question our dark attraction that motivates the creation of alternative lifeforms. This thesis exhibition integrates elements of actual scientific and technological research to fabricate the fiction of a live cluster of tumor forms able to feel and respond to stress. Its uncanny aspect triggers a suspense in disbelief in the viewer as it is programmed to behave like a living organism, fearful of the bodies that surround it. The intention of altPersona is to trigger a visceral response to establish a form of empathy towards the illusion of an artificially fabricated being.Publication Underwater Forest(University of Kansas, 2017-05-31) Gong, Weifang; Jordan, Mary Anne; Bowman, Ruth; Brackett, David; Westergard, GinaMy Master of Fine Art thesis project, The Underwater Forest, is intended to remind people of the beauty of nature and the importance of taking care of our ecosystems. It comes from my own imagination of a utopian universe, and was created by hundreds of traditional plant-based resist-dye techniques. This installation is not only for preserving but also for the development and innovations of traditional plant-based dye techniques, to meet the needs of contemporary textile art. It is interdisciplinary in that it involves tie-dyeing, botany, chemistry, the environment, and contemporary art. The thesis statement will demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the relationship between traditional artisans and contemporary artists by talking about the installation, my creative process, and craftsmanship.Publication Everything Always-Already Ends(University of Kansas, 2017-05-31) Dunigan, Myles; Bitters, Shawn; Coburn, Daniel; Rosenthal, BenjaminThis project is an examination of the roles that visual technologies and history play in the contemporary landscape image. Specifically, the work focuses on using the failures of production and imaging to produce an analogue to ‘natural’ space, exploring how this failure can ultimately become a pathway to the sublime or beautiful. Conducted with a hybrid process that combined three-dimensional, digital modeling, photography, and printmaking, the work examines the visual impact and historical expectations that these media possess across a variety of formats and installation strategies.