Student and Alum Research
Deana Craighead, MA, History/Art History, Graduated May 2021 - Deana's thesis Mexico as a Crossroads: Mexican Artistic Influence Influence on Elizabeth Catlett and her Contemporaries focused on the significant number of artists, including the African American Catlett, who spent time in Mexico in the period immediately following WWII, as the Cold War was taking hold and the civil rights movement in the United States was in its infancy. It explored issues of race and gender, the interconnectedness of their relationships, their contributions to the artistic climate of Mexico and, reciprocally, the influence that Mexican culture had on their larger bodies of work.
Alexis Torres, MA, History, Graduated Dec. 2020 - Her thesis “Metamorphosed into Men”: Women Boycotters of the American Revolution explored how the participation of women during the boycott movements of the American Revolution played a catalytic role in the transition of American identity regimes.
Michaela Wegman, MA, History/Art History, Graduated Dec. 2020 - Michaela's thesis Community, the WWII Homefront, and POW Art: The St. Mary’s Project in Umbarger, Texas explored the various contects of the project, including a close art historical analysis of the artwork and examined the interactions between the German-American citizens and Italian non-collaborating POWs during a period of global conflict. It highlighted specifically the role of the women in the church and community as the keystone for the project and its legacy.
Nicole Stewart, MFA, Studio Art, Graudated Dec. 2020 – Her thesis Reconstruction of the Soul investigated the transformation of negative emotions into positive results through the act of painting and weaving. This work also explored several dualities—craft/art; image/object; and masculine/feminine, for instance. By combining these opposing dualities together in her work, Nicole aimed to transcend the binary and dualistic ways of thinking.
Stephanie Boyd, MFA, Printmaking, Graduated Dec. 2020 – Stephanie explored the comfort and dysfunction as well as the fragility and strength of familial relationships. She made her images using traditional printmaking techniques that represented behavior and gender roles within the family unit, especially families of mixed-heritage cultures and the power relationship between siblings of different genders.
Heather Hancock, MFA, Painting, Graduated May 2020 –Heather's thesis found ways that domestic tasks could become works of art, and examined how the gendering of art production often leads to women holding the role of “maintenance artist” rather than creator.
Recent Faculty Research
Research by Department
Events and Talks
Misty Gamble, Assistant Professor of Art, presented a discussion as part of the Visiting Artist Series in 2021 at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Her work deals with issues of gender and femininity, challenging accepted norms and offering innovative interpretations of womanhood.
Dr. Amy Von Lintel presented on March 2, 2021 a book talk on her O'Keeffe's Wartime Texas Letters for The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe.
