Graduate spotlights: 3 thesis topics to inspire your inner art historian

This spring, as part of our virtual "Look/See" show, we're highlighting the capstone projects of recent Herron graduates whose creative practices involve research, teaching, and clinical approaches.

Capstones act as the culmination of academic experience in which students use their art/design skills to meet the challenge of a complex project. Most Herron students create original artworks and design solutions.

For art history students, however, thesis papers are the final capstone, allowing students to delve deeply into a subject and write extensively.

In the first installment of spotlights, we offer insights into the exemplary theses of three seniors graduating with Bachelor of Arts degrees.

"The concluding belief is that Hokusai sought to create his own visual encyclopedia of kaidan monsters that had been invented by the people of Edo, reflecting their new role as a source of entertainment — thus, replacing the outdated visual encyclopedia scrolls, when people had a genuine belief in such creatures.

"There is little to no scholarship devoted to kaidan themed artworks. Hokusai's 'Hyaku monogatari' prints are seldom acknowledged, particularly all five works together. Using an interdisciplinary approach consisting of historical, anthropological, folkloric, and art historical texts, as well as visual analysis, I aim to provide insight into Hokusai's variations and the role of this imagery in Edo society."

Using a socio-historical perspective, Pelc describes controversies about the influence of Native American art on the abstract expressionist movement, as well as Pollock's exposure to Native American art and culture while growing up in the American West. She also analyzes the notion of the artist's individual genius and the ethics of cultural appropriation. "Because Pollock has been questioned, the art world will be encouraged to challenge other works that may have been appropriated."