“ … Ann Mulfort, John Myers, Caleb Northrop, Emily Pastore, FrankRapant, … ”
Abstract
This exhibit catalog is the culmination of a generous multi-year grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), which is funded by the Mellon Foundation. The grant provided funds for the Schaffer Library at Union College to arrange, describe, and make accessible the archives of citizen activists John S. Apperson, Jr. and Paul Schaefer, whose work is featured in the exhibit. The roots of our national wilderness system, signed into law as the 1964 Wilderness Act by President Lyndon Johnson, run deep in the Adirondacks. Created in 1885 and constitutionally protected in 1894, the Adirondack Forest Preserve was the first wilderness area in the U.S. to be set aside as open space where resource extraction was prohibited. The vigilance and perseverance of environmental activists such as Apperson and Schaefer played a vital role in saving wilderness lands and preserving them for the future. The materials in this catalog are a sampling of the legacy of Schaefer and Apperson.
photograph of a page from photographer Abelardo Morell's book, A Book of Books, showing an image of a quote by Francis Bacon: "Some books are meant to be tasted,/ others swallowed,/ and some few to be chewed/ and digested."
photograph of a page from photographer Abelardo Morell's book, A Book of Books, showing an image of a portion of the poem "Ode to the Dictionary," by Pablo Neruda: "...ancient and weighty/....leather coat/ the Dictionary/ held its tongue,/ refusing to reveal its sec..."
A photograph of a page from photographer, Abelardo Morell's book, A Book of Books, showing an image of a quote by Stéphane Mallarmé: "Everything in the world exists in order to end up as a book."
“ … iv Drawing inspiration from George Segal, Alison Saar, Zoey Frank , Marta Pérez García and Dhruvi Acharya, I was able to … work was used for the narrative … were also shared with FrankRapant, the exhibition technician and supervisor. Overall, I … ”
Abstract
This thesis is an exploration of sculpture and installation. My project depicts a narrative of generational emancipation of women. The narrative was inspired by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's novel, 'Forest of Enchantments,' in which she rewrites the 'Ramayana' with Sita, the female character, as the protagonist instead. The Ramayana is a popular Hindu mythological story that revolves around Prince Rama's quest to rescue his wife Sita from the perils of the villain Raavana. This story encapsulates the undertones of the patriarchal culture in India. This My thesis installation stands as a symbol of generational transformation of love and what it means to be the woman in a marriage. The process of making this work has included steel welding, plaster modeling, woodshop tools, textile work, and installation.
The installation involves a model, representing myself, sitting at a traditional foot-pedal sewing machine. My grandmother's saree glides off the table and extends towards the ceiling; as if almost flying in the air. The saree is inscribed with one of Sita's golden statements, as written by Divakaruni, "I bless my daughters who are yet unborn, I pray that if life tests them, they will think carefully and understand when they need to compromise and when they must not." iv
Drawing inspiration from George Segal, Alison Saar, Zoey Frank, Marta Pérez García and Dhruvi Acharya, I was able to create an 'environment' installation. I used plaster strips to create a reproduction of my model; the process is similar to using paper-mâché. Welding and woodwork were used to build the environment for the figure and textile work was used for the narrative script.
“ … chairs within the gallery. After a brief discussion with FrankRapant, we … ”
Abstract
This thesis is a study of different chair concepts made with various techniques and
methods. Usually, when taking a seat, people do not take a moment to appreciate the architecture and design thinking incorporated into a chair. The objective of my project is to have the viewer take a moment to appreciate and feel a particular way before taking a seat. I am inspired by many different architects and designers who have created chairs within their artistic careers. The thesis work includes four different conceptual chair sculptures made from steel, plywood, expanding foam, bullet liner, and bungee. When bringing my ideas to life, I start with creating rough sketches, 3D modeled renders, and maquettes, before beginning the main process of crafting the chairs.
“ … have photo shoots in your places of business. Thank you to Frank Rapant for organizing and executing … ”
Abstract
I was originally inspired by a previous project in a 3D modeling class. For my final project, I designed two robots; male and female; who's naked bodied reflected the presence of technological communications in society and lack of face-to-face interactions. I displayed the robots in a variety of sexual positions, which appear cute or sweet to the viewer because of the toon-shader effect. The toon-shader effect makes the 3D models look like cartoons. I loved combining the idea of technology, robotics, and sex into one. To this day, the poster of the robots in my room always gets a response.
I took this idea and decided to expand upon it for my visual arts thesis by creating a more detailed female robot, which would embody my views on the perception of women in society and how I feel that I fit in to these perceptions. Aspects of the robot reflect my views on what I believe the perfect woman would be. In my mind she is strong yet feminine and delicate. She is powerful and takes charge of her own life. She is carefree and unaffected by the opinions of others. She is hardworking and street smart. These are all characteristics that I have and others I aspire to attain. The scenes I have created are parodies on gender roles, shared life experiences, controversial topics or genres, and otherwise taboo scenarios.
“ … Herrington, Kiana Miller, Frank Rapant , Nicole Theodosiou, Sandra Wimer, the … on general medical illustration. I researched Frank Netter, M.D., a distinguished medical illustrator … ”
Abstract
Integrating my two passions of the visual arts and science for my senior thesis, I created a collection of paintings that represent human organs and the parallels between plant biology and animal biology. Genetically, plants are just as complex - if not more - than many animals. They have intricate sensory and regulatory systems highly comparable to humans, and on a cellular level, we share many analogous features. In addition, every single carbon atom that makes up the human body was at one time fixed in a plant during photosynthesis. We also rely on photosynthesis to give us the oxygen we breathe. Embracing these facts, I used plants and flowers to create sculptures of human organs, and then painted the sculptures in watercolor. My work is a step aside from conventional medical illustration and into creative representation.
There is a delicate balance in using one specific type of nature to embody a superficially different form of life; this compelled me to take each step of the creative process methodically and with precision. In each sculpture, I focused on mimicking texture and shape of its corresponding human organ in order to create a realistic subject conveyed in painting. I deliberately incorporated shadow to give the impression that the subject is fully tangible. In each painting, I employed fine detail to capture the way that plant and human anatomy are equally sophisticated in structure. It is then left to the viewer's curiosity: if we are analogous in so many ways, then what exactly characterizes us as human?
