Browsing by Subject "Myth"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4

Destabilizing myths of the American South : Allison Janae Hamilton’s haints and landscapes
(2020-08) Urbano, Rachel Patricia; Reynolds, Ann Morris; Chambers, Eddie
In this thesis, I examine the notion of myth in the work of Allison Janae Hamilton (b. 1984) who in the last several years has emerged onto the American art scene with great success. I argue that selections from her exhibition, Pitch, and her photographic series, Sweet milk in the badlands, facilitate a discussion on structures of myth and how they operate in Hamilton’s work overall. I contend that the simultaneous presence of dualities, such as familiarity and unfamiliarity, in Hamilton’s work complicates notions of the South as fixed and static. In addition, I go beyond identifying and explicating structures of myth in Hamilton’s work in order to address the problems of metaphor that surface when myth is destabilized. Throughout this thesis I also undertake a speculative exercise in thinking through the unique challenges of writing about a young, early career artist who is emerging into the art world in a temporal moment in which identity and place are especially charged. I use examples from Hamilton’s practice in the effort to grapple with the more general question of how to write about and theorize the work of a young artist who is still developing her voice and her practice
Star Wars And The Hero'S Journey
(2019-05-01) Butler, William Connor; Kevorkian, Martin
The Star Wars saga created by George Lucas was, by his own admission, influenced and guided by Joseph Campbell’s monomyth theory. The monomyth theory was outlined in The Hero with a Thousand Faces, written by Campbell. In the book, Campbell outlines the Hero’s Journey, a narrative cycle he developed from his research into mythologies and fairy tales from around the world.The Hero’s Journey consists of three distinct phases. The Departure, in which the Hero must embark on their adventure, discover the larger world, and confront new enemies. The Initiation, in which the Hero must undergo trials to prove their worth. Finally,there is The Return, in which the Hero returns to the world of the non-heroic in order to solve the crisis that instigated the journey.This paper examines how George Lucas uses the Hero’s Journey throughout the original Star Wars trilogy, consisting of ANew Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and The Return of the Jedi, and how George Lucas reinvents film and TV tropes.George Lucas’ stated purpose is to create a new mythology to address contemporary moral, spiritual, and cultural quandaries. Understanding his work and its legacy fosters deeper insight into current cultural mores
Texas Ranger, February 1964
(Texas Student Publications, Inc., 1964-02) University of Texas at Austin; Adkins, Lieuen; Brown, Pat; Shelton, Gilbert; Jackson, Jack
The beauty between
(2018-05) Graham, Caitlin Noel; Mickey, Susan E.; Maness, Karen L.
As a costume designer I am interested in exploring the beauty between commercial representations of beauty and narrative design. As a working professional I struggle between making people feel beautiful or appropriately costumed, and showcasing an genuine cohesive design. Are visible platforms like Broadway stages and blockbuster films our tool of measure for the entertainment industry? If so, I question how much responsibility a costume designer has in presenting authenticity over polish and the weight of their designs contributing to the social consumption and hierarchy of beauty standards. For my thesis I developed a series of portraits based on personal expression through narrative design. My thesis displays the process of painted portraiture based on modern reinterpretations of Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. Each of the following portraits developed from design collaborations around power and beauty. This was an effort to reexamine a popular and influential icon of a classical western representation of beauty by exploring personalization in presentation through costume design.