Fine Arts
“Let Thy Conscience Act Her Part”: Republican Motherhood in Civil War Popular Song
Presenter: Gianna Patchett, Caine College of the Arts, Music
Power and Patronage: A Study of Female Leaders in Early Italian Courts
Presenter: Paige Stephenson, College of Fine Arts, Music
In the Eye of the Storm: A Research through Dance on the Emotional Effects of COVID- 19
Presenter: Francesca DeMartino, School of the Arts, Dance Department
Designing for Trauma Recovery
Presenter: Mallory Bouchard, The College of Engineering, Applied Science & Technology, Interior Design
In Stark Exposition
Presenter: Rebecca Goates, College of Education, Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences
Vaughan Williams's 'The Lark Ascending' as an Elegy for Environmental Loss
Presenter: Kirsten Barker, Caine College of the Arts, Music
Reimagining Saint Francis in Art: Caravaggio’s Saint Francis in Ecstasy
Presenter: Alexander Coberly, School of the Arts, Art & Design
The Compositional Analysis of Two Cathedrals Separated by Time, Place, and Style
Presenter: Tressa Messenger, College of Engineering & Technology, Architecture and Engineering Design
The Community Ecology of the Music Canon
Symphony orchestras today have access to a musical canon stretching back at least four hundred years and play a critical role in its establishment. Most works by new composers, if performed at all, never get performance time and enter the canon, while a few become mainstays of orchestral repertoire alongside Mozart, Beethoven, or Wagner. Full symphony orchestras are expensive to operate and have limited performance time, which only allows a finite number of songs and composers to be considered canonical. Community ecology describes the structure and interactions of species that are competing for limited resources. The structure of the musical canon and its dissemination may lend itself to analysis using ecological methods and models. We currently have performance data for nine symphony orchestras from Utah to Zurich, stretching as far back as 1842. Treating composers or songs as species, we will use quantitative ecological methods to characterize the ways that music interacts in the canon, and we will particularly focus on the ways that composers and pieces enter and remain in the canon. The canon already appears to follow some common species composition patterns, where a small number of species constitute the bulk of the biomass in an ecosystem and most species are rare. In our data, over the performances of 207,000 pieces by 296 composers, 91 composers had less than 120 performances of their work while Mozart alone accounted for nearly 12,000 performances. This result lends us confidence that some ecological methods may be used to describe the canon. Other ecological tests we apply may give further insights into the nature of the canon in different locations. Species diversity measures called alpha, beta, and gamma diversity include a spatial element, and will allow us to draw conclusions about the difference in performance content between symphonies in different cities or countries. Our project will provide a cross-disciplinary analysis of the western canon of music using mathematical and ecological methods. The efficacy of ecological models in describing the behavior of the canon will lend insights into what processes occur in the field of music composition that cause a composer to either fade into obscurity or become enshrined through centuries of performance.
Prism - A Dance of Light
As humans we analyze the world around us, constantly asking questions and categorizing. Much as a scientist would ask questions and create hypotheses, so does a choreographer. We ask questions of our world and how it may be translated into cohesive movement form. Undertaken in this research project is the creation of a choreographic work, based on the way different wavelengths of light refract through a prism. The original Newton’s Prism Experiment explores the conundrum of white light refracting through a prism, as it manifests through as a rainbow. White light, property wise, contains colors that are not visible to the naked eye, but when the white light meets the prism - the different wavelengths of the different colors separates them. Violet, having the most compact wavelength, has more opportunities to refract through the prism, and thus comes out the other side at the steepest angle. Red on the other hand, has the least compact wavelength, giving the prism less opportunities to refract it, thus it comes out at the least distorted angle. Translating this into a choreographic work, each performer represents a different color of the rainbow. The process of abstraction is used to explore movement vocabulary based on the qualities of the colors and their wavelengths. For example, violet light is explored spatially through carving and twisting, and compact movement. As choreography is developed through experimentation, the white light representing the uniformity of the colors is embodied through the synchronized movements of flocking. Stage lighting is added to represent uniformity, individuality, and relationships between the colors. Abstracting the prism’s distortion, formations were created as spatial relationships of the dancers to each other, and to the stage. Found through this process of abstraction, are the parallels between scientific principles and methods, to the choreographic process. This thesis explores the relation of scientific principles to choreographic creation.
Soviets, Socialists, and the Spartacus Ballet
Russian choreographer Yuri Grigorovich in 1968 created a ballet in Soviet Russia that reflected and praised its communistic governmental leadership for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution by telling a Greek story about power, war, and victory. Critically analyzing this ballet titled “Spartacus” will show that this choreographic version was a form of propaganda to promote the Soviet political ideology and therefore Soviet culture during 1968. The post-modern critical theory of New Historicism will allow the ability to analyze the surrounding Russian culture and aid in understanding its influence of the production and movement choices found in the ballet. Analyzing “Spartacus” in this way will help see that this dance was used by the Soviet government to teach their belief to their people that Russia was the most powerful political force in the world during the Cold War. The methodology for this research paper will include a rigorous investigation of peer reviewed written source material as well as a focused critical analysis using Laban Movement Analysis, a system to analyze, interpret, and notate dance and movement, of a performance of Yuri Grigorovich’s “Spartacus”. This research concludes that the ballet “Spartacus”, through the story line and the movement, directly reflect the political culture and the political ideology of Soviet Russia in 1968.
Constructing the female gaze: a comparison of the careers and filmography of Sofia Coppola and Lucrecia Martel
What difference do women make behind the camera? I examine this question through the lens of two female hybrid writer-directors who have emerged as prominent voices within their respective film industries: Sofia Coppola in Hollywood and Lucrecia Martel in Argentina. First, I recognize the accomplishments of Coppola and Martel in their respective film industries which have historically been male-dominated and remain so today. Coppola stands in an elite group of only four women to have ever been nominated for the Best Director Academy Award and Martel is credited with ushering in the era of “New Argentine Cinema” which began around 1998. Through my study of their access to power, I explain how these women have been able to navigate the “old-boy” network within their respective film industries which have consistently displayed a strong hiring gender bias against women, resulting in female directors filling only 9% of positions in Hollywood for example. With their unique voices as auteurs in cinema, both writer-directors have rejected gender norms in the film industry and paved their own way through their own ambitions and as provided through the patronage of their families or other prominent industry celebrities. Secondly, I recognize the female perspective introduced by both directors in their work through the female gaze. In her famous essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”, Laura Mulvey pioneers the concept of the male gaze, which analyzes women as objects of male desire within cinema. Current research is identifying the female or feminist gaze which emphasizes the female perspective in cinema either through female protagonists or a woman behind the camera. My research builds on this scholarship, exploring how Coppola and Martel’s films carefully craft female perspective through cultural and cinematic expressions. My proposition is that female identity in cinema has historically been defined in relation to male-specific interests, and that by breaking with such visual and aural conventions of cinema, Coppola and Martel have forged a distinctly independent female gaze. Each director has transformed conventional cinematic perspectives, which either objectify or fetishize the female presence to cater to a voyeuristic male audience. In contrast to the male-centered tradition, Coppola and Martel offer a distinct female cinematic expression which I contextualize within their specific cultures and within the global conversation on female representation in cinema.
One Step at Time
King, Alise (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Soukhakian, Fazilat (Caine College of the Arts, Art and Design Department)
I emphasize the strength and grit of Ann H. Davis who had crippling feet deformities which caused her to walk on the outsides of her feet, and her determined ability to walk, what today would be a 1,320-mile drive by car. Ann H. Davis was born in 1823 in Wales and traveled to America in 1854. It is said that Ann insisted on walking the majority of the way, rarely taking time for a rest in the wagons. She came with her daughter to Logan, Utah in 1859 from St. Louis. She met and married David W. Davis in Wellsville, Utah and gave birth to two other daughters as well as twins. Ann was a dress maker and raised cattle and sheep. She was also a Relief Society worker for 9 years. I chose to focus my project on Ann H. Davis because of her courage and ability to accomplish something so mentally and physically daunting, in-spite of her physical challenges.
Four of the five prints are created from digital negatives and exposed on salt paper prints. Salt paper printing is a technique created during the 19th century. The larger fifth print is a digital image, portraying Ann H. Davis’ feet. All prints are mounted on aluminum backing. Information about Ann H. Davis came from the Daughter of Utah Pioneers Logan Museum.
Faculty Advisor: Soukhakian, Fazilat (Caine College of the Arts, Art and Design Department)
I emphasize the strength and grit of Ann H. Davis who had crippling feet deformities which caused her to walk on the outsides of her feet, and her determined ability to walk, what today would be a 1,320-mile drive by car. Ann H. Davis was born in 1823 in Wales and traveled to America in 1854. It is said that Ann insisted on walking the majority of the way, rarely taking time for a rest in the wagons. She came with her daughter to Logan, Utah in 1859 from St. Louis. She met and married David W. Davis in Wellsville, Utah and gave birth to two other daughters as well as twins. Ann was a dress maker and raised cattle and sheep. She was also a Relief Society worker for 9 years. I chose to focus my project on Ann H. Davis because of her courage and ability to accomplish something so mentally and physically daunting, in-spite of her physical challenges.
Four of the five prints are created from digital negatives and exposed on salt paper prints. Salt paper printing is a technique created during the 19th century. The larger fifth print is a digital image, portraying Ann H. Davis’ feet. All prints are mounted on aluminum backing. Information about Ann H. Davis came from the Daughter of Utah Pioneers Logan Museum.
Balancing Act: An Exploration of the Queer Religious Experience
Hogan, Jake. Omasta, Matt. James, Nicole. Sase, Tanner. Felty, Aubrey. Lewis, Cassidy. Nielson, Madi. (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Omasts, Matt (Caine College of the Arts, Theatre Arts Department)
The goal of this project is to create a devised theatre performance by and about LGBTQIA+ people in Cache County. The project is essential because it creates a sense of inclusion for participants, promotes a better understanding of LGBTQIA+ people for audience members, and creates the notion these individuals’ stories deserve to be shared, understood, and valued. This project will be accomplished through an artistic theatrical process known as Devised Theatre. Devising is a subgroup of the larger genre of Applied Theatre, which attempts to promote and bring about social change through theatre. By doing this project, members of the LGBTQIA+ population in Cache Valley will have the opportunity to speak about and perform intricacies of the issues that they uniquely face. Challenging and overcoming oppression on college campuses is important for members of the LGBTQIA+ community and society more broadly.
The central research question for this project is: “How do members of the LGBTQIA+ population in Utah’s Cache County understand, process, and interact with individuals and institutions they encounter on a regular basis?
Faculty Advisor: Omasts, Matt (Caine College of the Arts, Theatre Arts Department)
The goal of this project is to create a devised theatre performance by and about LGBTQIA+ people in Cache County. The project is essential because it creates a sense of inclusion for participants, promotes a better understanding of LGBTQIA+ people for audience members, and creates the notion these individuals’ stories deserve to be shared, understood, and valued. This project will be accomplished through an artistic theatrical process known as Devised Theatre. Devising is a subgroup of the larger genre of Applied Theatre, which attempts to promote and bring about social change through theatre. By doing this project, members of the LGBTQIA+ population in Cache Valley will have the opportunity to speak about and perform intricacies of the issues that they uniquely face. Challenging and overcoming oppression on college campuses is important for members of the LGBTQIA+ community and society more broadly.
The central research question for this project is: “How do members of the LGBTQIA+ population in Utah’s Cache County understand, process, and interact with individuals and institutions they encounter on a regular basis?
Context and Comparative Content in Aesop’s Fables
Davis, Kaily (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisory: Sand, Alexa (Caine College of the Arts, Art and Design Department)
Stories are often used to illustrate moral principles, and fables in specific do so through depictions of animals. Aesop's fables are some of the best known of these moral teachings, and have been in circulation since the late fifth century A.D. My research surrounds a 1711 edition of Aesop’s fables, titled “Aesop Naturaliz’d: in a Collection of Fable and Stories from Aesop, Locman, Pilpay, and Others”. This book was printed for Daniel Midwinter, a prominent English bookseller. I seek to understand both the context in which Midwinter was printing and selling books and the audience he was selling to. In discovering the audience intended to receive “Aesop Naturaliz’d”, I hope to understand the moral expectations placed upon that audience. In addition, I will compare the audience and morals taught by “Aesop Naturaliz'd” with modern re-tellings of the same fables, exploring the differences in moral expectations taught therein.
Faculty Advisory: Sand, Alexa (Caine College of the Arts, Art and Design Department)
Stories are often used to illustrate moral principles, and fables in specific do so through depictions of animals. Aesop's fables are some of the best known of these moral teachings, and have been in circulation since the late fifth century A.D. My research surrounds a 1711 edition of Aesop’s fables, titled “Aesop Naturaliz’d: in a Collection of Fable and Stories from Aesop, Locman, Pilpay, and Others”. This book was printed for Daniel Midwinter, a prominent English bookseller. I seek to understand both the context in which Midwinter was printing and selling books and the audience he was selling to. In discovering the audience intended to receive “Aesop Naturaliz’d”, I hope to understand the moral expectations placed upon that audience. In addition, I will compare the audience and morals taught by “Aesop Naturaliz'd” with modern re-tellings of the same fables, exploring the differences in moral expectations taught therein.
Movement
Huffcutt, Deanna (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Christensen, Brian (Brigham Young University, Art)
I was curious about the idea of movement within natural restraints. As women, we face natural restraints all the time. Most of our restraints are cultural and self-made, so this artwork explores that idea.
Faculty Advisor: Christensen, Brian (Brigham Young University, Art)
I was curious about the idea of movement within natural restraints. As women, we face natural restraints all the time. Most of our restraints are cultural and self-made, so this artwork explores that idea.
Traveling Through Conversations and Experiencing Through Painting
Harris, Anna (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Graham, Mark (Brigham Young University, Art Department)
I am a scholar, a future educator, and Utah woman exploring how to create a better future classroom. This last summer, I studied a person's influence on people and their relationship to the environment through traveling, painting, and talking to people in Scotland and the Faroe Islands. Through observation and communicating with local dwellers and other travelers, I learned more about the individual impact people have as well as the societal impact that can change landscapes. In the paintings: “Shetland Morning” and “Hillside Climbs”, I illustrated some of the subtle changes that we have made on otherwise natural landscapes giving both positive and negative impressions that we, as a whole, are leaving on the world. Traveling Scotland allowed me to have conversation after conversation with people of different socioeconomic status, different levels of learning, and in different stages of life. It taught me that I, a Utah Woman and teacher in the making, can make a difference.
Faculty Advisor: Graham, Mark (Brigham Young University, Art Department)
I am a scholar, a future educator, and Utah woman exploring how to create a better future classroom. This last summer, I studied a person's influence on people and their relationship to the environment through traveling, painting, and talking to people in Scotland and the Faroe Islands. Through observation and communicating with local dwellers and other travelers, I learned more about the individual impact people have as well as the societal impact that can change landscapes. In the paintings: “Shetland Morning” and “Hillside Climbs”, I illustrated some of the subtle changes that we have made on otherwise natural landscapes giving both positive and negative impressions that we, as a whole, are leaving on the world. Traveling Scotland allowed me to have conversation after conversation with people of different socioeconomic status, different levels of learning, and in different stages of life. It taught me that I, a Utah Woman and teacher in the making, can make a difference.
Utopianism in American Dance
Jessica Ketchum (Utah Valley University)
Faculty Advisor: Vanchero-Kelleher, Angela (Utah Valley University, Dance)
As dance has moved into the world of Academia, dance researchers have adopted various theoretical research models to support the idea that dance is a reflection of culture. In addition, postmodern critical theorists have developed evidence that proves that dance is a product of the culture in which it is created. The New Historicism theoretical research model also makes ties between past world history and the dances that were created at that time, and assumes that dance is a direct reflection of the era in which it was produced. For example, the aftermath of WW1 lead to a drastic change in culture, economics, and politics throughout the world.(Brown) The reconfiguration of world economies and governmental powers lead to the popularization of Utopianism throughout the world. Many Americans believed in the establishment and development of Utopian communities. Utopianism is a perfect visionary reform and idealistic view of a commonwealth. (Britannica) It is the idea that all members of a community can work together to support one another economically to create peace and unity. Correspondingly, many authors and artists began experimenting with ideas of utopianism. Artist, Doris Humphrey, integrated common phenomenons of the society into her choreography. (Hahn 1:55) She used ideas of unity and reinforcing community in Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor. This research analysis will discuss Doris Humphrey’s Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, from a New Historicism perspective and will argue that Humphrey’s choreographic choices for the piece were a direct reflection of the Utopian fixation in 20th century America.
Faculty Advisor: Vanchero-Kelleher, Angela (Utah Valley University, Dance)
As dance has moved into the world of Academia, dance researchers have adopted various theoretical research models to support the idea that dance is a reflection of culture. In addition, postmodern critical theorists have developed evidence that proves that dance is a product of the culture in which it is created. The New Historicism theoretical research model also makes ties between past world history and the dances that were created at that time, and assumes that dance is a direct reflection of the era in which it was produced. For example, the aftermath of WW1 lead to a drastic change in culture, economics, and politics throughout the world.(Brown) The reconfiguration of world economies and governmental powers lead to the popularization of Utopianism throughout the world. Many Americans believed in the establishment and development of Utopian communities. Utopianism is a perfect visionary reform and idealistic view of a commonwealth. (Britannica) It is the idea that all members of a community can work together to support one another economically to create peace and unity. Correspondingly, many authors and artists began experimenting with ideas of utopianism. Artist, Doris Humphrey, integrated common phenomenons of the society into her choreography. (Hahn 1:55) She used ideas of unity and reinforcing community in Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor. This research analysis will discuss Doris Humphrey’s Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, from a New Historicism perspective and will argue that Humphrey’s choreographic choices for the piece were a direct reflection of the Utopian fixation in 20th century America.
Astrolabes and their Interpretive Challenges
Brock, Olivia (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Sand, Alexa (Caine College of the Arts, Art and Design Department)
Astrolabes are astronomical computational instruments that developed in the Arabic-speaking world of the early Middle Ages. As both scientifically sophisticated and aesthetically beautiful objects, the astrolabe presents many interpretive questions regarding how historians of visual and material culture understand objects that exist across disciplines. My project seeks to understand how these historians have defined the astrolabe as an art historical and scientific object. Using a variety of methods, from examining the objects in a museum setting to experimenting with my own, homemade astrolabe, I have gained an understanding of the different identities of astrolabes. However, I found that these preconceived identities assigned to astrolabes has limited our understanding of the objects and thus controlled our subsequent research. Following this observation, I geared my research towards first, understanding the gap in knowledge that exists regarding the astrolabe’s complex identity, and second, working to fill this gap by creating a piece of literature that captures the astrolabe from all of its perspectives. My goal through this paper is to develop and portray a concept of the astrolabe as an artistic, astrological, religious, and scientific object, and interpret how all of these identities interact with each other to create an unusually specific and complex object. I hope that through the dissemination of my work I will be able to help scientists connect to art and artists connect to science through an object equally valuable to the history and development of both fields.
Faculty Advisor: Sand, Alexa (Caine College of the Arts, Art and Design Department)
Astrolabes are astronomical computational instruments that developed in the Arabic-speaking world of the early Middle Ages. As both scientifically sophisticated and aesthetically beautiful objects, the astrolabe presents many interpretive questions regarding how historians of visual and material culture understand objects that exist across disciplines. My project seeks to understand how these historians have defined the astrolabe as an art historical and scientific object. Using a variety of methods, from examining the objects in a museum setting to experimenting with my own, homemade astrolabe, I have gained an understanding of the different identities of astrolabes. However, I found that these preconceived identities assigned to astrolabes has limited our understanding of the objects and thus controlled our subsequent research. Following this observation, I geared my research towards first, understanding the gap in knowledge that exists regarding the astrolabe’s complex identity, and second, working to fill this gap by creating a piece of literature that captures the astrolabe from all of its perspectives. My goal through this paper is to develop and portray a concept of the astrolabe as an artistic, astrological, religious, and scientific object, and interpret how all of these identities interact with each other to create an unusually specific and complex object. I hope that through the dissemination of my work I will be able to help scientists connect to art and artists connect to science through an object equally valuable to the history and development of both fields.
Women By Nature
Ackerman, Kristin (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisory: Soukhakian, Fazilat (Caine College of the Arts, Art and Design Department)
This project showcases unity between homemakers and women in the work force. I photographed women from all over Utah with different lifestyles to create a series that showcases the identity, power, and impact that womanhood has. Examining the natural qualities in women that unite them while also recognizing them each to have a unique set of strengths. During this process I photographed and interviewed women of different beliefs, backgrounds, ethnicities, age, and occupation in order to let them tell their story and understand what empowers them. This project goes beyond the empowerment of working women or homemakers, it allows all women to stand together as a community and union empowered in their identity celebrating their strengths.
Faculty Advisory: Soukhakian, Fazilat (Caine College of the Arts, Art and Design Department)
This project showcases unity between homemakers and women in the work force. I photographed women from all over Utah with different lifestyles to create a series that showcases the identity, power, and impact that womanhood has. Examining the natural qualities in women that unite them while also recognizing them each to have a unique set of strengths. During this process I photographed and interviewed women of different beliefs, backgrounds, ethnicities, age, and occupation in order to let them tell their story and understand what empowers them. This project goes beyond the empowerment of working women or homemakers, it allows all women to stand together as a community and union empowered in their identity celebrating their strengths.
How We Move When We Feel: Kinesthetic Empathy through Mirror Neuron Systems
Bennett, Amelie; Mattingly, Kate (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Mattingly, Kate (College of Science, School of Dance)
This work examines the commonly accepted notion of dance/movement therapy that mirroring another person’s movement will increase both participants’ levels of empathy. Mirroring involves a participant creating expressive dance; in a therapeutic setting, the therapist mirrors their movements to establish a relationship and gain insight into their physical and emotional experience. This connection most likely results from the activation of mirror neurons in the premotor and parietal cortices. In this study, I examine the relationship between the mirror and the dancer, specifically regarding the relative increase in their empathy levels. I also examine how a participant’s empathy level changes when the participant has dance training. The purpose of this factorial structure is to determine under what circumstances a participant has the best chances of improving their empathy. This study is ongoing and will conclude in December 2019; I expect to see the greatest increase in empathy from mirroring participants who have dance training, although all participants should increase in empathy from pre- to post-testing. Although my sample size is small enough that this is a case study, and is not clinical, it lends insight into understanding under what circumstances a dance/movement therapist and patient pair have the best chance of optimizing the patient’s empathic growth. By studying the relationship between empathy and dance training, I also begin to examine whether preemptive treatment can be taken before signs of social-emotional deficits present; that is, if a specific form of dance training and mirroring improves empathy in a non-clinical or pre-clinical population.
Faculty Advisor: Mattingly, Kate (College of Science, School of Dance)
This work examines the commonly accepted notion of dance/movement therapy that mirroring another person’s movement will increase both participants’ levels of empathy. Mirroring involves a participant creating expressive dance; in a therapeutic setting, the therapist mirrors their movements to establish a relationship and gain insight into their physical and emotional experience. This connection most likely results from the activation of mirror neurons in the premotor and parietal cortices. In this study, I examine the relationship between the mirror and the dancer, specifically regarding the relative increase in their empathy levels. I also examine how a participant’s empathy level changes when the participant has dance training. The purpose of this factorial structure is to determine under what circumstances a participant has the best chances of improving their empathy. This study is ongoing and will conclude in December 2019; I expect to see the greatest increase in empathy from mirroring participants who have dance training, although all participants should increase in empathy from pre- to post-testing. Although my sample size is small enough that this is a case study, and is not clinical, it lends insight into understanding under what circumstances a dance/movement therapist and patient pair have the best chance of optimizing the patient’s empathic growth. By studying the relationship between empathy and dance training, I also begin to examine whether preemptive treatment can be taken before signs of social-emotional deficits present; that is, if a specific form of dance training and mirroring improves empathy in a non-clinical or pre-clinical population.
Feminism and Women's Suffrage in the Work of George M. Cohan
Filip, Sofia (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Titrington Craft, Elizabeth (College of Fine Arts, School of Music)
During the early 1900s, the rise of the American women’s suffrage movement coincided with a rise in contemporary theatre across vaudeville and Broadway stages. The work of George M. Cohan, an Irish American playwright, actor, producer and composer, grew to popularity throughout the United States during this time. With his emphasis on comedy and contemporary plots, Cohan’s plays, musicals, and songs revolutionized theatre and continue to influence modern artists. Much of Cohan’s work reflected social change and historical events such as feminism, immigration, political movements, World War I, and the Women’s Rights Movement. Although his portrayal of war, patriotism and immigrant identity is clearly stated throughout a number of Cohan’s plays, his messages about women, feminism and women’s suffrage are less obvious and change drastically throughout his career. Considering the popularity and extensive career Cohan held, examining these works for the portrayal of women enhances how we see the impact of Cohan’s work on society and vice versa. Specific pieces for this research were collected from the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, and various university archives. Manuscripts such as Little Johnny Jones, The Whispering Friend, and Little Nellie Kelly were examined for elements of women’s suffrage, feminism, and sexism, and span the length of Cohan’s career. Other materials such as interviews and sheet music were also analyzed for these elements. This research will examine the contextual portrayal of women, feminism and the women’s suffrage movement throughout the plays, musicals, and songs written by George M. Cohan. Lastly, it will also present any patterns and shifts in Cohan’s messages about women throughout his career.
Faculty Advisor: Titrington Craft, Elizabeth (College of Fine Arts, School of Music)
During the early 1900s, the rise of the American women’s suffrage movement coincided with a rise in contemporary theatre across vaudeville and Broadway stages. The work of George M. Cohan, an Irish American playwright, actor, producer and composer, grew to popularity throughout the United States during this time. With his emphasis on comedy and contemporary plots, Cohan’s plays, musicals, and songs revolutionized theatre and continue to influence modern artists. Much of Cohan’s work reflected social change and historical events such as feminism, immigration, political movements, World War I, and the Women’s Rights Movement. Although his portrayal of war, patriotism and immigrant identity is clearly stated throughout a number of Cohan’s plays, his messages about women, feminism and women’s suffrage are less obvious and change drastically throughout his career. Considering the popularity and extensive career Cohan held, examining these works for the portrayal of women enhances how we see the impact of Cohan’s work on society and vice versa. Specific pieces for this research were collected from the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, and various university archives. Manuscripts such as Little Johnny Jones, The Whispering Friend, and Little Nellie Kelly were examined for elements of women’s suffrage, feminism, and sexism, and span the length of Cohan’s career. Other materials such as interviews and sheet music were also analyzed for these elements. This research will examine the contextual portrayal of women, feminism and the women’s suffrage movement throughout the plays, musicals, and songs written by George M. Cohan. Lastly, it will also present any patterns and shifts in Cohan’s messages about women throughout his career.
Collaboration and the Environment: Music as a Model for Social Change
Barker, Kirsten; Wheeler Roderer, Laurana (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Scheer, Christopher (Caine College of the Arts, Music Department)
The collaborative nature of music, where individual action is essential to the success of the whole, provides a model which can affect viewpoints on climate change. This model has already been utilized in global environmentalist movements such as Greta Thunberg’s Fridays For Future. The collaborative approach taken in the creation of new pieces of music can be used to address climate change. We commissioned a chamber opera for three voices and string quartet that addresses the systemic issues surrounding the global climate emergency. The topic of our presentation will be the collaborative process involved in this project, specifically how we have reconciled the abstract nature of music and the technical jargon associated with scientific concepts.
Opera can highlight and expound on the dramatic message of a text and also enhance its emotional undercurrent. For centuries, the powerful and elite considered opera to be a “high art” form because of these communicative abilities. By turning this context on its head, we used the genre to comment on the consumption-based systems that have led to and perpetuated our current climate crisis. This is especially relevant given the traditionally close ties between the fossil fuel industry and the fine arts in the United States (for example, the long sponsorship of New York’s Metropolitan Opera by Exxon-Mobil). In focusing on the idea of collaboration, this new piece of music becomes an exemplar of the efforts required to create a sustainable world.
Faculty Advisor: Scheer, Christopher (Caine College of the Arts, Music Department)
The collaborative nature of music, where individual action is essential to the success of the whole, provides a model which can affect viewpoints on climate change. This model has already been utilized in global environmentalist movements such as Greta Thunberg’s Fridays For Future. The collaborative approach taken in the creation of new pieces of music can be used to address climate change. We commissioned a chamber opera for three voices and string quartet that addresses the systemic issues surrounding the global climate emergency. The topic of our presentation will be the collaborative process involved in this project, specifically how we have reconciled the abstract nature of music and the technical jargon associated with scientific concepts.
Opera can highlight and expound on the dramatic message of a text and also enhance its emotional undercurrent. For centuries, the powerful and elite considered opera to be a “high art” form because of these communicative abilities. By turning this context on its head, we used the genre to comment on the consumption-based systems that have led to and perpetuated our current climate crisis. This is especially relevant given the traditionally close ties between the fossil fuel industry and the fine arts in the United States (for example, the long sponsorship of New York’s Metropolitan Opera by Exxon-Mobil). In focusing on the idea of collaboration, this new piece of music becomes an exemplar of the efforts required to create a sustainable world.
Perspective
Huffcutt, Deanna (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Christensen, Brian (Brigham Young University, Art)
How does our perspective influence us? This piece, created out of wood and metal, is a walk-around piece with three different sides. Each side has a different perspective, though each piece is identical and only appears different due to placement. Our perspective greatly impacts our lives. As a woman living in Utah who did not grow up in Utah, I find that my perspective sometimes varies from the women around me. I am interested in the multitude of perspectives that exist in women in Utah, as I do not think it can be defined in one work of art.
Faculty Advisor: Christensen, Brian (Brigham Young University, Art)
How does our perspective influence us? This piece, created out of wood and metal, is a walk-around piece with three different sides. Each side has a different perspective, though each piece is identical and only appears different due to placement. Our perspective greatly impacts our lives. As a woman living in Utah who did not grow up in Utah, I find that my perspective sometimes varies from the women around me. I am interested in the multitude of perspectives that exist in women in Utah, as I do not think it can be defined in one work of art.
Dance, Dreams and Psychoanalytic Theory
Paraso, Raven (Utah Valley University)
Faculty Advisor: Banchero-Kelleher, Angie (Utah Valley Univeristy, Dance)
A critical analysis of Dreams by Anna Sokolow from a psychoanalytical perspective, focusing on Freud’s Dream Theory, will demonstrate how the Holocaust played a role on the unconscious of Sokolow and her chorographic choices.
On January 30, 1933 Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany. In America around the same time, a Jewish dancer named Anna Sokolow was making a name for herself in the dance community. This research will demonstrate how the Holocaust had an impact on Sokolow’s unconscious and her chorographic choices in her work titled Dreams. The psychoanalytical perspective, specifically Dream Theory invokes the idea that the unconscious can influence and motivate behavior through dreams without the conscious mind being aware. Anna Sokolow’s unconscious could have been affected by the events of the Holocaust, which could have influenced her to create Dreams without her conscious mind knowing what Dreams is truly about. Anna Sokolow’s unconscious mind could have been affected by the Holocaust because she is a Jew living during a time of Genocide to her people. Dreams was choreographed by Anna Sokolow with the original intent of showing the horrors people see in their dreams because she was experiencing terrifying dreams at the time. She was unaware of the underlying meaning of these dreams until later when she realized her dreams were a personal response to the events of the Holocaust.
Faculty Advisor: Banchero-Kelleher, Angie (Utah Valley Univeristy, Dance)
A critical analysis of Dreams by Anna Sokolow from a psychoanalytical perspective, focusing on Freud’s Dream Theory, will demonstrate how the Holocaust played a role on the unconscious of Sokolow and her chorographic choices.
On January 30, 1933 Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany. In America around the same time, a Jewish dancer named Anna Sokolow was making a name for herself in the dance community. This research will demonstrate how the Holocaust had an impact on Sokolow’s unconscious and her chorographic choices in her work titled Dreams. The psychoanalytical perspective, specifically Dream Theory invokes the idea that the unconscious can influence and motivate behavior through dreams without the conscious mind being aware. Anna Sokolow’s unconscious could have been affected by the events of the Holocaust, which could have influenced her to create Dreams without her conscious mind knowing what Dreams is truly about. Anna Sokolow’s unconscious mind could have been affected by the Holocaust because she is a Jew living during a time of Genocide to her people. Dreams was choreographed by Anna Sokolow with the original intent of showing the horrors people see in their dreams because she was experiencing terrifying dreams at the time. She was unaware of the underlying meaning of these dreams until later when she realized her dreams were a personal response to the events of the Holocaust.
Representation and Interpretation: Understanding Text Through Images in the Romance of the Rose
Jackson, Erin; Root, Jerry; Kelly, Jessen (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Root, Jerry (College of Humanities, Department of World Languages and Cultures) Kelly, Jessen (College of Fine Arts, Department of Art and Art History)
Approximately 250 extant manuscripts of the Romance of the Rose contain illuminations. The depicted scenes and motifs within these works follow established patterns, a notion that created several iconic scenes from the Romance that can be seen in nearly every illuminated manuscript. Issues of representation and interpretation of the Old French text come to light through the depictions in the images. Inversely, the conversation created between these aspects of the manuscripts emphasizes the ways in which the illuminations inform the understanding of the text. Scholarship focuses predominantly on the former of these visual-textual relationships, and considering the influence of the images on textual understanding will provide new insight into the creation of one of the most highly-produced manuscripts of the Medieval period. These relationships are examined through the depictions of the reoccurring Narcissus scene within the Romance. This research will result in the completion of an interdisciplinary Honors Thesis for both French and Art History. The Romance research focuses on the analysis of series of images throughout the manuscripts available in the Digital Library of Medieval Manuscripts run by John Hopkins University. This is accomplished through a combination of literary and art history approaches to form a more holistic understanding of the visual-textual relationship within the Romance of the Rose manuscripts.
Faculty Advisor: Root, Jerry (College of Humanities, Department of World Languages and Cultures) Kelly, Jessen (College of Fine Arts, Department of Art and Art History)
Approximately 250 extant manuscripts of the Romance of the Rose contain illuminations. The depicted scenes and motifs within these works follow established patterns, a notion that created several iconic scenes from the Romance that can be seen in nearly every illuminated manuscript. Issues of representation and interpretation of the Old French text come to light through the depictions in the images. Inversely, the conversation created between these aspects of the manuscripts emphasizes the ways in which the illuminations inform the understanding of the text. Scholarship focuses predominantly on the former of these visual-textual relationships, and considering the influence of the images on textual understanding will provide new insight into the creation of one of the most highly-produced manuscripts of the Medieval period. These relationships are examined through the depictions of the reoccurring Narcissus scene within the Romance. This research will result in the completion of an interdisciplinary Honors Thesis for both French and Art History. The Romance research focuses on the analysis of series of images throughout the manuscripts available in the Digital Library of Medieval Manuscripts run by John Hopkins University. This is accomplished through a combination of literary and art history approaches to form a more holistic understanding of the visual-textual relationship within the Romance of the Rose manuscripts.
Between Earth and Atmosphere: Leveraging Place, Medium, and Metaphor to Address the Global Climate Crisis
Marissa Devey (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisors: Vigneault, Marissa (Caine College of the Arts, Art and Design Department); Winward, Robert (Caine College of the Arts, Art and Design Department)
To those of us who are privileged enough to pad ourselves from the immediate consequences of global climate change, its reality remains an abstract and intangible problem. In the tropical cloud forests of Costa Rica, however, the effects of global warming are readily evident. My research aims to provide a narrative of climate change in the uniquely diverse and delicate cloud forest ecosystem, where I work in partnership with Ph.D. ecology student Jessica Murray. While Jessica uses sensors and datasets to quantify an intricate network of plants, animals, and microorganisms, my intent is to help non-scientists to visualize the implications of Jessica’s findings. My purpose is not to simplify or re-tell Jessica’s research, but to help the viewer connect with unfamiliar, abstract ideas in a visceral, internal way. I leverage paint, poetry, infographics, and abstraction to construct a metaphor for climate ecology: the human body. Working within this metaphor allows me to channel the viewer’s own physical, bodily experiences into an intimate portrait of ecological systems and their vulnerability to climate change. My goal is for viewers to become more conscious of their own ecology-- more aware of their dependence on the environment and more compassionate towards its components.
Faculty Advisors: Vigneault, Marissa (Caine College of the Arts, Art and Design Department); Winward, Robert (Caine College of the Arts, Art and Design Department)
To those of us who are privileged enough to pad ourselves from the immediate consequences of global climate change, its reality remains an abstract and intangible problem. In the tropical cloud forests of Costa Rica, however, the effects of global warming are readily evident. My research aims to provide a narrative of climate change in the uniquely diverse and delicate cloud forest ecosystem, where I work in partnership with Ph.D. ecology student Jessica Murray. While Jessica uses sensors and datasets to quantify an intricate network of plants, animals, and microorganisms, my intent is to help non-scientists to visualize the implications of Jessica’s findings. My purpose is not to simplify or re-tell Jessica’s research, but to help the viewer connect with unfamiliar, abstract ideas in a visceral, internal way. I leverage paint, poetry, infographics, and abstraction to construct a metaphor for climate ecology: the human body. Working within this metaphor allows me to channel the viewer’s own physical, bodily experiences into an intimate portrait of ecological systems and their vulnerability to climate change. My goal is for viewers to become more conscious of their own ecology-- more aware of their dependence on the environment and more compassionate towards its components.
Inspiration and Brahms
Patchett, Gianna (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisory: Bayless, Anne (Caine College of the Arts, Music Department)
The definition for the word “inspiration” is ever changing and has various meanings depending on the individual, culture, and time period. My goal is to compare the ideas about inspiration from the 19th century and the modern day. As an example of this I will look at Johannes Brahms’s Cello Sonata No. 1 in E Minor and, using what I have learned about inspiration, search for possible sources of inspiration for that particular composition. I will also discuss the way in which this research influenced my own interpretation and performance of the work.
Faculty Advisory: Bayless, Anne (Caine College of the Arts, Music Department)
The definition for the word “inspiration” is ever changing and has various meanings depending on the individual, culture, and time period. My goal is to compare the ideas about inspiration from the 19th century and the modern day. As an example of this I will look at Johannes Brahms’s Cello Sonata No. 1 in E Minor and, using what I have learned about inspiration, search for possible sources of inspiration for that particular composition. I will also discuss the way in which this research influenced my own interpretation and performance of the work.
Mamo Airlines
Trounce, Mitch (Utah Valley University)
Faculty Advisor: Smith-Johnson, Amber (Utah Valley University, English)
I've noticed an increasing number of people wearing articles of clothing that sport the name of companies that focus on an entirely different product. It's funny and interesting to me seeing people so fixated on wearing a vintage Pepsi or Marlboro jacket. My art piece is my foot in the door to this trend of wearing non clothing brands as a form of fashion. I want to further explore this idea by creating an entire portfolio of faux non clothing brands.
Faculty Advisor: Smith-Johnson, Amber (Utah Valley University, English)
I've noticed an increasing number of people wearing articles of clothing that sport the name of companies that focus on an entirely different product. It's funny and interesting to me seeing people so fixated on wearing a vintage Pepsi or Marlboro jacket. My art piece is my foot in the door to this trend of wearing non clothing brands as a form of fashion. I want to further explore this idea by creating an entire portfolio of faux non clothing brands.
Crude: 1965
Willes, Bailey (Westminster College)
Faculty Advisor: Kruback, Matt (Westminister College, Arts and Sciences)
Crude concentrates on the naturally occurring tar seeps at Rozel Point, Great Salt Lake. This is the site of past fossil fuel drilling, and recently of scientific research. Though capped after drilling ended, the seeps continue to affect the natural environment. Research on the seeps attempts to understand their behavior as well as the relationship that we have with them. Similarly, the physical production of Crude explores the processes by which we connect to the earth through dependence and the subsequent vulnerability that this creates due to volatility. Scientific inquiries are posited abstractly through the process of creation and working with varying viscosities and mediums, focusing on dilution and impurities – all of which achieve different textural results. The utilization of found objects from the seeps was integral to recall the historic and nostalgic, tying the stoicism of the seeps past with familiarity and personal memory. Dependence and comfort are dichotomized with the enigmatic threat of natural forces, and the destruction caused by the seeps is of expressed interest in this creation.
Faculty Advisor: Kruback, Matt (Westminister College, Arts and Sciences)
Crude concentrates on the naturally occurring tar seeps at Rozel Point, Great Salt Lake. This is the site of past fossil fuel drilling, and recently of scientific research. Though capped after drilling ended, the seeps continue to affect the natural environment. Research on the seeps attempts to understand their behavior as well as the relationship that we have with them. Similarly, the physical production of Crude explores the processes by which we connect to the earth through dependence and the subsequent vulnerability that this creates due to volatility. Scientific inquiries are posited abstractly through the process of creation and working with varying viscosities and mediums, focusing on dilution and impurities – all of which achieve different textural results. The utilization of found objects from the seeps was integral to recall the historic and nostalgic, tying the stoicism of the seeps past with familiarity and personal memory. Dependence and comfort are dichotomized with the enigmatic threat of natural forces, and the destruction caused by the seeps is of expressed interest in this creation.
Womanhood in Art
Richardson, Harriet (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: George, Daniel (Brigham Young University, Photography)
I am a Utah woman studying photography, and therefore many of my subjects are also Utah women. As I have gotten to research, interact with, and create art with so many unique women, I have come to learn of their stories and experiences. Woman are not only beautiful, but strong and capable beyond comprehension. In my little corner of Utah, many people come and go and presence can be fleeting. Despite this, the similarity between all these women, including myself, is that no matter how much or how little time we spend here, Utah becomes a part of our story and our womanhood. What we learn here, who we meet here, what we create here comes together to enhance us as individuals and the community as a whole. Whether it be through politics, arts, family, or just general life experience – being a Utah women sticks with us and our stories.
Faculty Advisor: George, Daniel (Brigham Young University, Photography)
I am a Utah woman studying photography, and therefore many of my subjects are also Utah women. As I have gotten to research, interact with, and create art with so many unique women, I have come to learn of their stories and experiences. Woman are not only beautiful, but strong and capable beyond comprehension. In my little corner of Utah, many people come and go and presence can be fleeting. Despite this, the similarity between all these women, including myself, is that no matter how much or how little time we spend here, Utah becomes a part of our story and our womanhood. What we learn here, who we meet here, what we create here comes together to enhance us as individuals and the community as a whole. Whether it be through politics, arts, family, or just general life experience – being a Utah women sticks with us and our stories.
The Representation of Gender Role in Contemporary LDS Church Visual Culture: An exploratory study
Sommers, Taryn; Veon, Raymond (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Veon, Raymond (Caine College of the Arts, Art and Design Department)
A literature search of research and academic journals suggests that there are few critical examinations of LDS visual culture in visual culture research. The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine the types of gender roles portrayed in contemporary LDS visual culture, the visual codes used to represent these gender roles, and the degree to which the representations of gender used in LDS visual culture align with findings in related visual culture studies. The result of this study will be a description of the current visual strategies used by the LDS church to represent gender roles, a thematic analysis of these visual strategies, and suggestions for future research into the ways that the LDS church visually defines gender in relation to existing trends and themes in visual culture research. The scope will include: “Mormon Ads,” images used in the LDS magazine, “Ensign,” and conference memes used during the years 2016-2019. This will contribute to the field of visual culture and gender studies by examining the visual codes used by the LDS church to portray the role and status of males and females as represented in current LDS visual culture, determining the strategies used in these representations, and discussing the potential research implications of these findings in light of themes in visual culture gender studies. Some research questions are: What visual codes are used in the representation of males, females, and mixed-sex groups in current LDS visual culture? What types of roles and status do these visual codes convey pertaining to the representation of males, females, and mixed-sex groups in current LDS visual culture? What extent do the results of investigating the above research questions align with other research findings in gender and visual culture studies? The methods used in this research will be 1) an inventory of discrete visual codes (e.g. color use, affect/expression, clothing/dress, setting, etc.) used in the LDS visual culture samples, and 2) a separate thematic analysis of the sample will also be conducted. The results of both methods will be compared, analyzed, and discussed in light of current trends in visual culture gender research. While the results of this research are expected to demonstrate that LDS visual culture will emphasize and reinforce traditional gender roles of females as mothers and homemakers and males as leaders and providers, it is hoped that this study will reveal strategies related to gender role representation unique to LDS culture.
Faculty Advisor: Veon, Raymond (Caine College of the Arts, Art and Design Department)
A literature search of research and academic journals suggests that there are few critical examinations of LDS visual culture in visual culture research. The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine the types of gender roles portrayed in contemporary LDS visual culture, the visual codes used to represent these gender roles, and the degree to which the representations of gender used in LDS visual culture align with findings in related visual culture studies. The result of this study will be a description of the current visual strategies used by the LDS church to represent gender roles, a thematic analysis of these visual strategies, and suggestions for future research into the ways that the LDS church visually defines gender in relation to existing trends and themes in visual culture research. The scope will include: “Mormon Ads,” images used in the LDS magazine, “Ensign,” and conference memes used during the years 2016-2019. This will contribute to the field of visual culture and gender studies by examining the visual codes used by the LDS church to portray the role and status of males and females as represented in current LDS visual culture, determining the strategies used in these representations, and discussing the potential research implications of these findings in light of themes in visual culture gender studies. Some research questions are: What visual codes are used in the representation of males, females, and mixed-sex groups in current LDS visual culture? What types of roles and status do these visual codes convey pertaining to the representation of males, females, and mixed-sex groups in current LDS visual culture? What extent do the results of investigating the above research questions align with other research findings in gender and visual culture studies? The methods used in this research will be 1) an inventory of discrete visual codes (e.g. color use, affect/expression, clothing/dress, setting, etc.) used in the LDS visual culture samples, and 2) a separate thematic analysis of the sample will also be conducted. The results of both methods will be compared, analyzed, and discussed in light of current trends in visual culture gender research. While the results of this research are expected to demonstrate that LDS visual culture will emphasize and reinforce traditional gender roles of females as mothers and homemakers and males as leaders and providers, it is hoped that this study will reveal strategies related to gender role representation unique to LDS culture.
Beast – A Performance Guide
Beast is a marimba solo written by American composer and guitarist Steven Mackey. In recent years Mackey has been commissioned by groups such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic,the Kennedy Center, Sydney Symphony and New World Symphony. The central premise and intent behind creating a performance guide for Beast is that, as Mackey is an important American composer, understanding the processes and principles of his music is beneficial. Also, the value of studying marimba techniques employed in performance of the piece is important. The process and methodology of the research included a harmonic and rhythmic analysis of Beast in addition to preparing a performance. The process of identifying each element and comparing and contrasting it throughout the entire piece of music is paramount in research of the nature. Mackey uses compositional elements and utilizes performance techniques i a way that it introduces it well to the intermediate marimbist. With this knowledge, a musically mature and coherent performance is possible. Performance guides are effective and significant in the music field and this guide to Beast is no exception. As Mackey’s music continues to be performed by the leading symphonies and percussion students have a desire to learn, Beast will increase in stature in the canon. And as Beast was written with the intermediate marimbist in mind, the amount of in depth performance guides for that niche market are not readily available.
Do Androids Dream of Literary Theory?
Can different literary theories be applied to the movie Bladerunner? The purpose of the research is to find common themes of literary theory and see if the themes of Bladerunner fit within these literary theories of post-structuralism and post-colonialism. I will be looking at two different Marxist theorists, Benjamin and his essay “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” and Jameson and his essay “Postmodernism and Consumer Society”. I will also be looking at Said’s essay “Orientalism” in regards to asserting that Bladerunner is also a post-colonial work. Within Benjamin’s essay I would be looking at the idea that humans are works of art and that androids are mechanical reproductions of said art and the implications of this in regards to originality. I will be looking at Jameson’s essay and the idea of consumerist society and how it ties in with Bladerunner as well as the novel that inspired Bladerunner, Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? The significance of this is seeing if this popular eighties cult classic is what it might reveal by looking at it with different literary theories. The concluding research will help illuminate how these theories can add a different viewing and reading in regards to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and Bladerunner.
Artistic Behaviors and Aggressive Tendencies in Childhood
Abstract Title: Artistic Behaviors and Aggressive Tendencies in Childhood Author: Ashlyn Judd Mentor: Michelle Grimes, Ph.D. Background: Art has been credited with assisting children in strengthening their sense of identity, self-esteem, self-expression, as well as aiding in trauma processing (Hashemian, 2015; Kramer, 1972; Parisian, 2015). Though the theoretical foundation for art therapy as an intervention for aggression has been discussed, little research is available to evaluate this claim. The available data consists primarily of case study methodology. To add to existing knowledge, we employed a correlational study to investigate if there is a relationship between visual arts engagement and aggressive tendencies in children. We hypothesized there would be a negative relationship between artistic involvement and aggressive behavior. Methods: 148 participants completed the study. Inclusion criteria included being the parent of a child between the ages of 4-12. The average age of the participating parent was 35.4 (SD=7.09). The average age of child was 7.5 (SD=2.99). Participants were recruited from the SUU SONA system and Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Participants completed a 16 item child aggression questionnaire, as well as a 10 art involvement questionnaire. Both questionnaires were developed specifically for this project. Participants recruited via SONA were compensated by receiving course credit. Participants recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk were compensated with $0.10. Results: We ran a Pearson’s correlation to explore the relationship between the Art Survey total score (M=28.22, SD=5.74) and the Aggression survey total score (M=26.83, SD=8.59). The results showed a non-significant relationship between these variables r = .080, p = .369. Conclusion: The negative correlation that we predicted was not found. There are a few possibilities to explain this finding. The first is that art and aggression do not have the inverse relationship predicted by the theory. Another possibility may be that the self-report methodology did not accurately measure art, aggression, or both constructs. Further experimental study is needed to address the effectiveness of art therapy with children. Implications and future directions of the research will be discussed further.
Recovering from noblesse oblige: The Awakening of a Social Justice Warrior
“Diary from Enisle Prison” is a short fiction narrative depicting privilege finally confronted with reality. In it, a reporter is temporarily imprisoned with society’s outcasts and records a few of the inmates’ tales. Internal dialogue carries this piece: by forsaking the traditional third person narration, the reader is allowed to follow the internal journey of the reporter from a view of social justice as a privileged man’s sport, to a realization of critical and urgent plight of those individuals arbitrarily deemed deviant. Modelling concepts established by the likes of Henry David Thoreau and George Orwell, this story takes political narrative to a fictional, dystopian setting to enable literary commentary on current issues. This story expresses my views on the importance of informing those voices who create policy, and was itself informed by the scholarship I have pursued as an aspiring author.
The Peaks that Beckon Me: My Story of the Utah Mountains
How do creative writers use research? I spent the summer of 2017 conducting personal research, a combination of imagination and hands-on exploration, on the Wasatch Mountain Range. I used works by Utah’s Terry Tempest Williams and Amy Irvine, who write about their love for and challenges with the region, as a backdrop for my own research. With funding from the Institute of Mountain Research, I chose to write about my own relationship with the Utah mountains. What do these mountains tell me about my life, family, history, and more importantly, how do they help me process trauma? My research included hiking along the Wasatch range, reading Williams and Irvine, taking pictures, and interviewing people. Sometimes I was alone, and other times I was accompanied by my fiancé, using the landscape to reflect on the death of his father. I turned a compilation of memories, reflections, and experiences into a long-form work of creative nonfiction, with multiple stories presented in vignettes. These are stories about people and nature, about trauma and healing, about loss and discovery. I hope to be given an opportunity to share these stories with an audience. You can view snippets of my writing here. The final product will be published on this website later this year: https://medium.com/the-mountain-commons/summer-2017-research-project-report-7a49e882f9e3
Escape: A Research through Dance on the Symptoms of Addiction
According to results from the 2014 National Survey and Health from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Association, 21.5 million people over the age of twelve had a Substance Use Disorder. This includes 17.0 million people with an alcohol addiction, 7.1 million with an illicit drug addiction, 4.2 million with a marijuana addiction, and 1.9 million with a non-medical prescription pain reliever addiction. These numbers represent 8.1% of the American Population. As an intellectual choreographer, I questioned if the physical and psychological problems that an addict experiences could be translated into the formative properties of dance. In this research project, several criteria that contribute to the Substance Use Disorder are explored through dance by working with the properties of time, space, and focus. The symptoms that are explored are withdrawal reactions, cravings, inability to cut down or control the substance use, and continued usage despite having persistent physical or psychological problems that are correlated with substance use. In this piece, I played with levels to create the up and downs that happen physically and emotionally to the users. I also experimented with circle and spiral patterns to show that it is a repeated problem that also bringing the person down. I also utilized two groups of dancers to further my intent. In one group were the dancers who were experiencing the symptoms of the addiction. These dancers are known as the users. The second group of dancers were the physical manifestation of the drugs control over the individuals, i.e. the addiction. In contrast, the individuals who represent the addiction have linear and direct movement pattern. In order to create a sense of uncertainty, the dancers also work with irregular accents while playing with very slow to very fast timing. It is my intention for the outcome of this piece to illuminate the struggles of an individual who is dealing with the Substance Use Disorder through dance by playing with properties of time, space, and focus.
Disability Awareness Using the Dolly Gray Children’s Literature Award
The Dolly Gray Children’s Literature Award recognizes authors, illustrators, and publishers of high quality fictional and biographical children, intermediate, and young adult books that authentically portray individuals with developmental disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD), intellectual disabilities, and Down syndrome. The Dolly Gray Children’s Literature Award was created to make an impact toward the general public’s recognition of the positive societal contributions of individuals with developmental disabilities, greater understanding and acceptance of teachers and school-aged peers of students with developmental disabilities, and encouragement of authors and illustrators to publish quality literature including characters with developmental disabilities. Eleven picture books and 27 youth and adolescent chapter books were found to be eligible for the award, and were analyzed. Preliminary results indicate a high proportion of characters with ASD compared to other developmental disabilities, almost twice as many males as females, and almost all characters who are Caucasian. Additional content analyses will be conducted and completed by January, 2018. Investigations will include: how the character with the developmental disability interacts with others, develops family relationships, and how exemplary practices are portrayed. Considering the eligible books for the 2018 award helps us come closer to conclusions regarding the trends of developmental disabilities throughout children’s literature. We will provide suggestions for using these books in K-16 classrooms.
Certainly Uncertain
In this non-fiction essay, I chronicle a rite of passage I went through in high school following the death of a close friend. A teacher encouraged me to write about my grief and pass it on to my friend's mother, a teacher at my high school in rural Utah. The essay, composed for an advanced writing course, bears the influence of Adichie, Sherman Alexie, and Virginia Woolf, utilizing elements drawn from fiction technique I have studied in other writing classes, e.g. symbol, dialogue, characterization.
Revising History: The Familiar Essay’s Transformation in the Podcast Industry
I plan to research the possibility of using the modern podcast as a medium to publish the familiar essay. Once thought of as a thing of the past, the modern essay permeates American culture more than almost any other format of writing. It can be seen in blog posts, newspaper columns, memoirs, and even social media posts. Although it is not normally advertised in these contexts as an essay, it carries the same exploratory characteristics that shaped social innovations and revolutions throughout the history of the United States. It was used to draw attention to social injustices by activists like James Baldwin and W.E.B. Du Bois. It was used to draw votes by political hopefuls like Theodore Roosevelt. It was even used to define and prescribe aspects of culture— including fashion, literature, media, and food— by magazines such as The New Yorker. Essays have long been influential to the middle class American. Podcasts have been taking advantage of elements of the essay without knowing it for the past several years. Popular shows such as Hidden Brain, This American Life, Invisibilia, and Revisionist History produce episodes that either are essays or contain various essayic elements that provide the same kind of charming, persuasive clout of the essay of previous centuries. In this project, I delve into this as-of-yet unexplored connection between a classic genre and a new, popular medium of delivery. I will test my hypothesis that the principles of an engaging, popular essay are also the principles that make an engaging, popular nonfiction podcast. I will do so by conducting research for, writing, and producing a podcast using essayic traits.
The Sound of Music, or the Content?
Music has been shown to be a catalyst for emotion and that many people use music to help regulate their emotions when in aversive situations (Thoma et al., 2012). Many other studies have been done within the realm of music and emotion, but little research has been done to show whether the music itself, the lyrics, or a combination of both are the cause of emotional change. Around two-hundred participants volunteered to be exposed to one of six random conditions: an original score of music, the original score without lyrics, an altered version of the original score, the altered version without lyrics, the lyrics without music, and finally a control condition where they were not presented with any musical elements. After the presentation of the stimuli, participants were given a survey which assessed their emotion as well as the participant’s emotional-awareness skill-set. Data collection will be completed November 2017 and results/implications will be analyzed December/January 2017.
Teens in Victorian Postmortem Photography
Postmortem photography is a phenomenon which both horrifies and fascinates. What seems a strange obsession with death, and troubling fixation on corpses, is more accurately understood as an obsession with memory – and the lengths people will go to in order to capture what they can of their lost loved ones. The most interesting information studying postmortem photography provides is not the facts of Victorian mourning and burial practices, but something less explored: how the Victorians formed attachments to their friends and family while alive. It is true that these photographs were taken due to the relative newness of photography at the time and families often possessed no image of the deceased while they were alive. Because of this, and high child mortality rates, the majority of post-mortem photographs feature infants and children. What then should catch our attention is the rarer images of teenagers and young adults. The photograph is often personalized to fit the character or interests of the individual, the name, age, and even cause of death of the person is often known, and the photographs were generally reproduced multiple times to be distributed to non-immediate family and friends. This reveals, quite simply, the level of investment that the mourners had in their deceased family and friends. Infant/child death was so prevalent that Victorians took steps to ensure they did not form strong attachments until the child had grown and come of age. The deaths of teenagers were, then, more devastating, as they had impacted the lives of many individuals, and their family and friends could usually expect to enjoy a long and happy life with them (the Victorian lifespan being relatively close to ours today, if infancy was survived). This paper observes the variety of post-mortem photographs available to us today, and uses them to illustrate what we can learn both about Victorian mourning practices and the way familial relationships were invested in before the death of their subjects. This is a unique approach to studying these photographs, as previously they have typically been used to draw conclusions about standard burial practices – when in fact they have so much to teach us about how the living Victorians protected themselves in a world of prevalent death.
Tom Stockham: The Father of Digital Audio Recording
“Tom Stockham: The Father of Digital Audio Recording” is a 30-minute documentary film about former University of Utah professor Thomas Greenway Stockham, Jr., who developed the first commercially viable method of recording sound digitally with extremely high fidelity and made it possible to edit sound and music using a hard drive. Despite the limitations of 60s and 70s computing technology, as well as a number of audio professionals who opposed to the shift to digital audio, Stockham believed in his ideas, persevered, and changed the way we listen to music forever. To this day, these innovations have dramatically altered the shape of the audio recording industry in music, television, and film. Despite Dr. Stockham’s many achievements, his story remains relatively unknown outside of the audio engineering world, even here at the University of Utah and in Salt Lake City, where much of his pioneering work was done. This film brings well-deserved attention to Dr. Stockham’s story. Sadly, Dr. Stockham passed away from early-onset Alzheimer’s in 2004, therefore I portray him by interviewing those who knew him best: his wife, his four children, and his colleagues. I situate Stockham’s life and work in a larger historical context by interviewing historians, musicians, and audio industry professionals, and by mining archival footage, family photos, voice memos, and magazines for relevant material. I travel from Seattle, to Boston, to Lake Powell, to Moab, to Salt Lake City. In homage to Stockham, I use the sound and music of the film, rather than images, as the locus from which meaning and emotional power are derived. The finished film serves as an important educational and historical resource and helps to preserve an important piece of the history of the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, and the State of Utah in general.
Bifurcate: Intersections and Photography
After studying the formal qualities of photographic production and the canonic narratives of art history for over three years at the U, I am still left with a pressing question: how can this medium of artistic self-expression also be considered evidence admissible in the court of law powerful enough to elicit felony convictions? How can these mechanical images which I have been trained to see as subjective representations of artistic sentiment in their contrast, tonality, and composition simultaneously be objective records of fact in judicial and scientific discourses? If the medium of photography does exist how is this single operation able to function in such heterogeneous and contradictory discourses? Through my works and research I investigate these and other questions concerning the photographic medium’s ambiguous nature as a simultaneously aesthetic and empirical object. By combining a vast assortment of photographic forms from contemporary GIFs to historical processes such as the Cyanotype, my work reveals the multiplicity of the photographic form and its dubious ability to function within seemingly contradictory systems of knowledge production. Interrogating the processes by which photography has been used and abused, my project does not propose to reveal the truth of photography, but rather underlines the importance of seeing photography in a new and radicalized fashion. The images that I create contemplate the liminal spaces of photography in which its factual, emotional, institutional, and narrative truths commingle; fragmenting not only the solidity of the photograph but also the cultural and institutional systems it predominates. More than just a series of art works, my research seeks to bring a broader discourse on photographic meaning into a serious academic engagement which does not treat it as a simple device for conveying meaning but as a specific and complex subject in its own right.
Mainstreaming EDM
Electronic Dance Music or EDM has grown from its underground club origins in the late 70’s to early 80’s to become a widespread phenomenon in pop music. Through out those years, EDM has been categorized in previous terms such as Techno, and Electronica. Today EDM can be heard in music festivals through out the world and is now widely experienced in the US. Much of the genres within EDM such as Dubstep, Hardcore,Trance, etc… were created and have evolved outside the US, however; House and Techno originates here in the US. In this presentation I will discuss the history of some of the popular genres in EDM, present how each of the genres started whether they were created on their own or their evolution from previous electronic music, the history of its origins, how the music evolved in Europe, and its move to the US as we hear the music today. I will present how wide-spread EDM has become and how diverse the various forms are within the genre. I propose that if EDM continues in the direction that it is moving now, EDM will continue to grow among all other forms of music in the world for years to come.
Maria Theresia von Paradis (1759-1824): A Blind Composer’s Place in Eighteenth Century Vienna
Early sources tell us women have traditionally played a background role in any event. It is only in recent decades that an interest in their historical role has taken place, and the field of musicology is no exception. Performers and composers that were well-known in their time have been forgotten as time moved forward. One such artist includes the Austrian composer and performer, Maria Theresia von Paradis. A contemporary of Mozart, Paradis was a traveling concert pianist and composer who is mostly remembered for being blind (Neuls-Bates 1982). Unfortunately, one of her most significant contributions to the field of music, namely her school of music for girls, has been forgotten and is left out of historical accounts almost completely. This school, which taught piano, voice, and music theory to girls, was innovative for its time (Fürst 2005). In this presentation, I will discuss the literature related to women in music in an effort to determine the extent to which these sources address Maria Theresia von Paradis and her contributions as a musician, composer, and pedagogue.
Exploration of Strengths and Limitations of Clay
My fascination with the process of distortion and my desire to bond with the transformative nature of the ceramic medium drives my exploration of its abilities and limitations. Making myself a part of the natural movement of the clay and helping each piece to find its abstracted balance is important during the creation process.