Academic literature on the topic 'North American Art'

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the photographer Edward Sheriff Curtis and his primary photographic body of work, The North American Indian, within the context of the art and visual culture that informed and influenced Curtis in his image making process. Within the history of photography, an understanding of who Curtis was is complex. Depictions of Curtis have included various roles including photographer, businessman, philanthropist, artist, ethnologist, capitalist, and profiteer. Until the last twenty years, much of the scholarship surrounding Curtis was focused on his biography, without consideration to the similarities Curtis's work had to contemporary photographers or to American art depicting Native Americans prior to him. My research will examine this prior scholarship and focus on two different frameworks The North American Indian fits into in terms of how the Native subjects are depicted. The first framework is within the influential artwork of American painters and the Native American as incorporated into American art. I will compare Curtis's depiction of Native Americans to those by Benjamin West, Thomas Cole, and George Catlin. All three of these painters included Native Americans in their work at varying levels and for various purposes. While Curtis was working in a different medium, the ways in which he framed and posed his subjects exhibits his awareness in continuing the expected Native American image. The second framework considers The American Indian and its parallels to missionary albums (used to promote missionary work among non-Christian people) as well as a Carlisle School yearbook (used to promote the school's mission in educating and acclimating its students from tribes across the country). In addition to the three types of objects being created in the first two decades of the twentieth century, they also share a relationship through the use of photographs and words to convey a meaning the images alone could not accomplish. Native Americans have been used to symbolize the American continent since the first Europeans laid claim to the land. Curtis is only one of many artists who turned their attention to native subjects and attempted to create an understanding of who they were. A more nuanced understanding of Curtis and his work surfaces through acknowledging the ways in which The North American Indian functions similarly to other works depicting Native Americans.

Contemporary Chinese ink art is often seen as a part of an ongoing history in the Western art world, as opposed to a part of the contemporary. This thesis addresses the history of Chinese ink, the Westernization of the Chinese art world, and the major exhibitions of Chinese contemporary ink artwork that have been held in the Western world.

Doctor of Philosophy<br>Department of History<br>Bonnie Lynn-Sherow<br>American Indian material culture collections are protected in tribal archives and transnational museums. This dissertation argues that the Plains Indian people and Euroamerican people cross pollinated each other’s material culture. Over the last two hundred years’ interpretations of transnational material culture acculturation of the 19th - Century North American Plains Indians has been interpreted in venues that include arts and crafts, photography, museums, world exhibitions, tourism destinations, entertainments and literature. In this work, exhibit catalogs have been utilized as archives. Many historians recognize that American Indians are vital participants and contributors to United States history. This work includes discussions about North American Indigenous people and others who were creators of material culture and art, the people who collected this material culture and their motives, and the various types of collections that blossomed from material culture and oral history proffering. Creators included Plains Indian women who tanned bison hides and their involvement in crafting the most beautiful art works through their skill in quillwork and beadwork. Plains Indian men were also creators. They recorded the family’s and tribe’s histories in pictograph paintings. Plains Indian storytellers created material that was saved and collected through oral tradition. Euroamerican artists created biographical images of the Plains Indian people that they interacted with. Collections of objects, legends, and art resulted from those who collected the creations made by the creators. Thus today there exists fine examples of ethno-heirlooms that pay tribute to the transnational acculturation and survival of the American Indian people of the Great Western Northern American Plains. What is most important is the knowledge, and an appreciation for the idea that a transnational cross-pollination of cultures enriched and became rooted in United States history.

This creative project interpreted and applied the buffalo in Native American culture - its symbolism, significance and virtues - to woodcarvings for the lives of people today. The carvings explored a range of styles, media and symbols but all use buffalo imagery and each piece represents how I have applied the buffalo to my life. Some pieces are based on historical events while others explore personal emotions. Wood surfaces differ from natural or bleached to painted. No style unifies the body of work. In each piece realism and abstraction, positive and negative space is handled differently. Buffalo facts and myths were interpreted to convey what white people can learn from the buffalo. It was a spiritual link and messenger from Native Americans to the Great Spirit. The buffalo was revered and respected as a vital in the life cycle. White man destroyed the buffalo during the nineteenth century through the acts of greed, disrespect and ignorance. It seems to have returned with a message for people of all races. This message is one that must be found within each individual.<br>Department of Art

This dissertation provides a guide for appropriate use of North American art song settings of biblical psalms for solo voice written after 1950 in the worship services of Christian faiths. The songs analyzed are for all voice parts and a variety of accompanying ensembles. The placement of each song on a specific calendar day is guided by the individual church calendars and lectionaries, on the prevalent themes of the text, and the characteristics of the musical setting. Performance of these songs only in a concert setting limits their usefulness for singers, voice teachers, and music directors alike. A new and worthy performing context can be established by analyzing the text and musical settings.

John Gardner’s Grendel examines the ways in which humans make meaning out of their lives. By changing the original Beowulf monster into a creature who constantly questions the conflicting narratives set before him, Gardner encourages us to confront these tensions also. However, his emphasis on Grendel’s alienation helps us realize that community is essential to creating meaning. Most obviously, community creates relationships that foster a sense of moral obligation between its members, even in the face of the type of uncertainty felt by Grendel. Moreover, community cannot exist without dialogue, which perpetually stimulates the imagination to respond to the tensions contained in a plurality of viewpoints. Gardner encourages us to question narratives which no longer serve us and to use our imagination to tell new stories that cultivate positive ideals such as love and hope.