Modern Classics : Andy Warhol and the Renaissance Masters

"This paper explores Warhol’s final and largest series entitled the Last Supper series in which the artist appropriated the work of Leonardo da Vinci’s original fifteenth century painting, replicating the image through repetition, radical cropping, and washes of neon color. While many scholars conclude this group of works is inspired by Warhol’s religious beliefs, others interpret these paintings as typical Warhol appropriation without religious association, but consistent with the artist’s interest in the cultural commodity of famous images"

Domestic architecture and furnishings of the Santa Fe region, 1750-1870

"The purpose of this study is to examine the &rchitecturai details and interiors of New Mexican dwellings between 1750 and :870. It concerns mainly the Spanish Colonial Period and the beginning of the Territorial Period"

Clarity, Light, and Logic : Parallels between Olafur Eliasson’s The weather project and the Gothic Cathedral

This Master’s Research Paper investigates Olafur Eliasson’s The weather project as a case study for the dialogue between Gothic artistic principles and prominent elements of contemporary art. A product of a post-modern mindset, weakened historicity allows us to examine these connections anew; past, present, and future blur and artists (and viewers) have the whole of time from which to gain inspiration and meaning in works of art. I demonstrate similarities through theories on phenomenology; the spatiotemporal relationship between viewer and artwork; the convergence of art and science; and the communal, quasi-liminal experience of pilgrimage. I embrace Eliasson’s belief in the self-reflexive potential of art and the importance of the viewer’s own values, memories, and methods of seeing. This new interpretive layer will hopefully offer a richer experience for future participants of both Gothic cathedrals and environments produced by Studio Olafur Eliasson.

Our Lady of Guadalupe : contemporary explorations of personal and cultural identity

Since it first appeared, the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe has remained relatively unchanged. In the last thirty-five years, however, this has been changing. Artists are creating new variations of the icon to represent and express their reinterpretations. In some of these more contemporary images, the figure of Guadalupe has changed dramatically, but still retains enough traditional elements to be easily recognizable. Some of these images have been received with mixed results and have even sparked major controversy. These new, and sometimes controversial depictions of Guadalupe, specifically those created by Ester Hernández, Yolanda M. López and Alma López, will be explored here. Although each artist has her own individual motivations and intentions, all of the images presented here explore personal and cultural identity, as well as seek in some way to honor ordinary, human women through the sacred iconography of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Samurai Son and Exploring Cultural Myths Through Fantasy Fiction

Samurai Son is a story that captures the beauty, wonder and imagination of Japanese legends and mythology with some modern-day sensibilities and morals against the backdrop of medieval Japan. The story blends Shinto religion and stories about the tengu, bird-like wind spirits with a modern plotline in a Japanese fantasy universe. This world is filled with magic, demons, kami (magical spirits), gods and goddesses, samurai, ninja and martial arts.