There Is No Right Answer: Teaching as Exploration

A Final Portfolio Submitted to the English Department of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the field of English with a specialization in English Teaching

Vibrant colors, transient shadows : woman artists and the brushstrokes of impressionist sensibility in Kate Chopin's The Awakening and Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse

This thesis explores the artistic imperatives and internal struggles of women painters in two novels, Kate Chopin's The Awakening (1899) and Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse (1927). I identify Chopin's Edna Pontellier and Woolf’s Lily Briscoe as painters who exhibit Impressionist strains, both in how they paint and how they see their surroundings. Their paintings are driven by mood; their Impressionist sensibilities influence their compositional processes. Yet, they are caught within representational dichotomies. Edna approaches her canvas with Realist goals, but her sensory perception and mood lead to her creation of unrealistic likenesses: impressions. Similarly, Lily is caught within competing styles of representation. But rather than moving between Realism and Impressionism, Lily moves between her Bloomsbury Post-Impressionist painterly tendencies and her Impressionist strains. Reading these texts through an Impressionist lens--and giving heed to the representational dichotomies that Edna and Lily are caught within--provides the foundation for my reinterpretations of the ends of both novels: Edna’s suicide and Lily's completion of her painting more than ten years after she starts it. In Chapter One, I argue that Edna's Impressionist sensibilities influence her moods, perceptions, and sensations, causing her to render Impressionistic sketches when she creates, rather than the paintings of verisimilitude that she strives to capture as she paints by model and photograph. In my reading of the close of the novel, I claim that Edna’s suicide represents a moment of artistic success, the only moment of artistic transcendence in The Awakening. In Chapter Two, I offer a new reading of Lily Briscoe. Typically understood as a Post-Impressionist artist, I find that her Cubist strains are in competition with Impressionist strains within the novel. In a reinterpretation of the ending of the novel, I find that Lily forges a balance between these competing styles, melding a harmony between Cubism and Impressionism in her final painting

A New Approach to the Restoration of Cimabue’s Santa Croce Crucifix

On November 4, 1966 floodwaters submerged Cimabue’s late thirteenth-century Santa Croce Crucifix in Florence and stripped off nearly half of its original paint. Soon regarded as a key symbol of the flood’s catastrophic effects on the city’s rich artistic legacy, the crucifix was carefully conserved, but no attempts were made to hide the extensive scars left by the disaster. Instead, lead conservators Umberto Baldini and Ornella Casazza adopted an abstract approach to filling the work’s loss that claimed to honor the flood while providing a seamless viewing experience for the contemporary audience. This thesis shows that their theory and practice did not fully align. In four chapters I both examine and confront the challenges presented by the Santa Croce Crucifix and its conservation. I work chronologically, beginning with an analysis of the crucifix within its thirteenth-century context before moving to a discussion of its devastation in the flood of 1966. I then summarize the ten-year process required to restore the work to its current appearance, detailing the theories and techniques employed by Baldini and Casazza. Finally, I reflect on the conservators’ method through my personal experience in front of the work at its location in the basilica of Santa Croce and the creation of my own panel painting that suggests a new approach to its restoration. I lead the reader through my experience as I restored a replica of a detail of the work, outlining my goals, technique, and the challenges that I faced along the way. I ultimately present an approach that builds upon but challenges the technique of Baldini and Casazza. While my new restoration does not attempt to erase the memory of the flood, it succeeds in redefining the contours and forms of the original composition that are now lost in the color abstraction. In conducting my research, I have discovered an overwhelming gap in the scholarly record regarding the innovative and, in some respects, problematic approach applied to the Santa Croce Crucifix. My alternative restoration breaks this silence and encourages new dialogues in the field. In the end, this project draws a connection between the disciplines of art history and conservation, proving that comprehensive and honest evaluation of the past is essential for preserving a work of art for the future

Democracy, Distrust, and Presidential Immunities

This Essay sketches how Ely\u27s representation-reinforcement theory of judicial interpretation might frame presidential immunity doctrines and compares that frame to the Court\u27s current approach. To what extent might various forms of presidential immunity, or exceptions thereto, be grounded in principles of democratic accountability rather than presidential efficacy? I conclude that a plausibly constructed Elyan paradigm provides an argument for immunity in many settings but also for exceptions to that immunity in narrow but important circumstances. More specifically: immunity can protect the President\u27s ability to focus on serving her view of the national interest, without being unduly chilled or sidetracked by private burdens imposed by individual actors. On the other hand, certain litigation efforts to constrain presidential misbehavior can enhance presidential accountability in a different way, by deterring Presidents from (1) clogging the channels of [political] change through self-entrenching actions (think election interference) or by (2) failing to represent her constituents en masse through self-dealing actions (think steering government contracts for, or basing foreign policy decisions on, personal financial gain). In general these conclusions support, and in some instances helpfully clarify and strengthen, the Court\u27s current efficacy-based concerns; but the arguments for immunity exceptions are novel and weighty. Overall, in my view, the general Elyan approach and vocabulary offer a useful framework for immunity doctrine that should supplement if not supplant the prevailing approach. Part I of this Essay briefly canvasses the current doctrinal approach, illustrating how the Court has crafted immunity doctrine out of concern that various forms of civil or criminal process might impair the President\u27s ability to perform her duties effectively. Part II sketches an alternative Elyan accountability based approach to presidential immunity, reevaluates the Court\u27s pro-immunity arguments through this alternative frame, presents the two novel accountability-based reasons to override any erstwhile immunity, and finally sketches options for incorporating the arguments for and exceptions to immunity into doctrine. My analysis here is admittedly partial; thoroughly considering presidential immunity\u27s full contours would require deeply engaging other textual, historical, and functional considerations-as well as much more space. But I hope this preliminary exploration suitably celebrates both the analytical insights and staying power of Ely\u27s masterful book on the occasion of its fortieth anniversary

Femme au chapeau: Art, Fashion and the Woman's Hat in Belle Epoque Paris

This thesis examines the images of hatted women in the early 1900s among Paris-based artists, when the fast pace of the fashion industry and changing media revolutionised the image of a fashionable woman. The first chapter examines the hat in portraiture of the early twentieth century, in both academic and avant-garde art, with emphasis on the depiction of glamour, and how a woman’s identity might be altered by a hat. It draws a comparison between commercial portraiture, and portraits of women by avant-garde artists. The second chapter addresses the images of the popular Montmartre dance hall, the Moulin de la Galette, both in paintings and in print media. The focus is on the “fantasy,” whereby a temporary and alternative identity is created for a woman through her headgear. The final chapter examines the evolution of the hat to its largest and most elaborate state at Parisian horse-racing events, addressing the obsession with size, and the environmental impact of the millinery trade in its pursuit of ever-increasing grandeur

The life and work of Robert Paul

[From Introduction] When Robert Paul died in 1980, his daughter Colette Wiles gave her father's art materials to an artist who was very close to both Robert and his wife in their last years - Dian Wright. The materials consisted of five different pigments and brushes cut into different shapes to suit the artist. This is remarkable when one considers his proficiency in a variety of media and his accurate portrayal in the far reaching studies he executed of the Zimbabwean landscape. Yet, it is characteristic of his resourcefulness that Paul could make 'something out of nothing'. Paul welcomed the opportunity of new landscape when he arrived in Rhodesia in 1927. Against the backdrop of a chosen isolation from the British Isles, Paul developed his own personal tracks in spite of any early influence through John Piper with the English Southern Landscape idioms of the 1920s. This was a fruitful isolation where the creation of his art retained influences but were manipulated according to his needs and unleashed with a proficiency sometimes equal to his peers, who later found fame under the term 'Neo-Romantics'. Paul remained an individual in Africa. My intention in this essay is three-fold; first, to illustrate the effects and influences of 'chosen' and 'enforced ' isolation on his work. Secondly, I wish to determine the extent of the influence that Piper and the Neo-Romantics had on Paul and to illustrate mostly with anecdotes his life and life-style. He was no mean character. His life-long obsessions with art, alcohol and women were played out with a flair and dry humour which few emulated in his era. Although a strictly academic approach can be applied to the assessment of his work, his life followed thoroughly unorthodox lines. As Bradshaw noted when he wrote the forward to the Catalogue of Paul's Retrospective in 1976, he (Paul) had no historical interests in the accepted sense of the word.ABBYY FineReader 1

The Machine as Art/ The Machine as Artist

The articles collected in this volume from the two companion Arts Special Issues, “The Machine as Art (in the 20th Century)” and “The Machine as Artist (in the 21st Century)”, represent a unique scholarly resource: analyses by artists, scientists, and engineers, as well as art historians, covering not only the current (and astounding) rapprochement between art and technology but also the vital post-World War II period that has led up to it; this collection is also distinguished by several of the contributors being prominent individuals within their own fields, or as artists who have actually participated in the still unfolding events with which it is concerne

Beyond Sumi-e: A practice-led investigation into the influences of an ancient art form on contemporary artists,with reference to the artworks of Hiroshi Senju and Yoshio Ikezaki.

Master of Art in Fine Art. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.This study investigates the influence of traditional ink painting from Japan, Sumi-e, on the artworks of two contemporary artists, Yoshio Ikezaki and Hiroshi Senju. It also examines the impact of these influences on my own artmaking. This research included the identification and description of the key elements, characteristics and philosophy forming the basis of Sumi-e, as a framework of reference. The philosophy and aesthetics associated with traditional Sumi-e reflect Zen Buddhism as well as traditional Japanese culture. There is very limited literature available in English on Sumi-e. It has strict principles, one of which is ‘learn the rules and break the rules’. This principle has been a point of departure for my own art practice, and I explore the influence of this principle on the art practices of Senju and Ikezaki. This study used practice-related research methodology with a case study approach. These combined methods offered subjective flexibility through using personal experience of learning, teaching and practicing Sumi-e. In addition to a literature review, data was collected through questionnaires conducted with the two artists, and the analysis of their artworks. My own practice is captured visually in my workbooks where I have recorded and photographed my practice, together with swatches of materials. These ten workbooks form the link between my research and my art practice, and viewing these enhances the interpretation of both bodies of work. The case studies of the artists revealed that while Senju was not explicitly influenced by Sumi-e, elements of this aesthetic resonated in his work. The influence of Sumi-e on Ikezaki was more pronounced because his initial traditional Japanese artistic training included Sumi-e. Both artists expanded beyond these boundaries. New insights challenged my assumptions about Japanese culture and art practices. Breaking the rules of traditional Sumi-e and a nexus of other influences catalysed my artmaking, manifesting in the materiality of the works. Theories of materiality expand on the role of materials and material thinking in artmaking. Investigations of sites and contexts of display result in a shift beyond conventional modernist display of two-dimensional artworks hung vertically on gallery walls. Results vi included an installation of my artworks in a forest, and the evolvements of three-dimensional forms. The forest atmosphere enhanced and intensified the materiality through the movement of air, light and shadow. The final gallery exhibition titled “Beyond” recreated the ambience of the forest installation, using limited lighting, shadows, a breeze, the sounds of the forest, and film footage projected over the artworks. Key words: Sumi-e, natural materials, Japanese art, practice-related research, material thinking, materiality, holistic art practice

The brushstroke and materials of Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso combined in an authentication tool

Nowadays, authentication studies for paintings require a multidisciplinary approach, based on the contribution of visual features analysis but also on characterizations of materials and techniques. Moreover, it is important that the assessment of the authorship of a painting is supported by technical studies of a selected number of original artworks that cover the entire career of an artist. This dissertation is concerned about the work of modernist painter Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso. It is divided in three parts. In the first part, we propose a tool based on image processing that combines information obtained by brushstroke and materials analysis. The resulting tool provides qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the authorship of the paintings; the quantitative element is particularly relevant, as it could be crucial in solving authorship controversies, such as judicial disputes. The brushstroke analysis was performed by combining two algorithms for feature detection, namely Gabor filter and Scale Invariant Feature Transform. Thanks to this combination (and to the use of the Bag-of-Features model), the proposed method shows an accuracy higher than 90% in distinguishing between images of Amadeo’s paintings and images of artworks by other contemporary artists. For the molecular analysis, we implemented a semi-automatic system that uses hyperspectral imaging and elemental analysis. The system provides as output an image that depicts the mapping of the pigments present, together with the areas made using materials not coherent with Amadeo’s palette, if any. This visual output is a simple and effective way of assessing the results of the system. The tool proposed based on the combination of brushstroke and molecular information was tested in twelve paintings obtaining promising results. The second part of the thesis presents a systematic study of four selected paintings made by Amadeo in 1917. Although untitled, three of these paintings are commonly known as BRUT, Entrada and Coty; they are considered as his most successful and genuine works. The materials and techniques of these artworks have never been studied before. The paintings were studied with a multi-analytical approach using micro-Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence spectroscopy, micro-Infrared and Raman Spectroscopy, micro-Spectrofluorimetry and Scanning Electron Microscopy. The characterization of Amadeo’s materials and techniques used on his last paintings, as well as the investigation of some of the conservation problems that affect these paintings, is essential to enrich the knowledge on this artist. Moreover, the study of the materials in the four paintings reveals commonalities between the paintings BRUT and Entrada. This observation is supported also by the analysis of the elements present in a photograph of a collage (conserved at the Art Library of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation), the only remaining evidence of a supposed maquete of these paintings. The final part of the thesis describes the application of the image processing tools developed in the first part of the thesis on a set of case studies; this experience demonstrates the potential of the tool to support painting analysis and authentication studies. The brushstroke analysis was used as additional analysis on the evaluation process of four paintings attributed to Amadeo, and the system based on hyperspectral analysis was applied on the painting dated 1917. The case studies therefore serve as a bridge between the first two parts of the dissertation