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The Dolphin Show: A Story of Consensus in the Islamic Republic of Iran
No full textThesis (B.A. in Political Science)--John Cabot University, Spring 2019.The scope of this dissertation serves to analyze the Islamic Republic of Iran not as a distinctive formation of state processes and legalities, as it is typically categorized, but rather as a standard model of authoritarian state organization. Through the use of the revised-WZB model proposed by Carsten Schneider and Seraphine Maerz, this claim of Iran’s “uniqueness" is tested and exemplified in six frames of analysis to join the classic ‘hybrid structure’ that Iran is routinely classified as with to the more common authoritarian structure that is present in the majority of non-democratic states. This effort is conducted to establish how and why Iran utilizes public consensus-building techniques as a means to remain in power. The title of this work, The Dolphin Show, depicts the findings of this dissertation as an historical allegory from a brave journalist, Masoumeh "Masih" Alinejad-Ghomi. During the administration of Iran’s sixth president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005-2013), Masih wrote a groundbreaking article, Avaz-e Dolphinha (The Song of the Dolphins) published in the Etemad Melli (a former opposition newspaper that is now completely censored—including all copies Avaz-e Dolphinha). Masih claims that Ahmadinejad conducts his administration in the same manner a dolphin instructor would conduct training, handing out “food” (money) in exchange for a desired behavioral outcome. This example, although funny and equally individual, captures the complexity and accuracy of consensus-building-processes within Iran today
Eliciting Meanings in Ed Ruscha’s Course of Empire: Exhibition Conditions and Reception
No full textThesis (B.A. in Art History, Minor in Communication)--John Cabot University, Spring 2019.The representation of urban decay has become a distinctly American theme. Treated bymany artists, Thomas Cole notably made a cycle called The Course of Empire (1836) as atestament to the moral wickedness of empire. He righteously painted five stages of empire,drawing on his own experiences traveling through Europe. He wanted to warn Americanschampioning of Manifest Destiny and celebrating moving west, justifying expansion as“progress”. In 2005, Los Angeles-based artist Ed Ruscha introduced his own cycle of paintingsto these issues by appropriating Cole’s title. Painted between 1992 and 2005, the ten urbanlandscape paintings are called Course of Empire.Through his choice in title, Ruscha draws on the figure of Thomas Cole, one of the mostprominent figures of landscape art in America. Presenting his own cycle through a mediated,historicizing lens that inherently references the American landscape tradition, Ruscha draws ondifferent themes including time, empire and progress. This thesis aims to analyze the way inwhich the appropriation of Cole’s title lends meaning to Ruscha’s cycle; the reception ofRuscha’s Course of Empire in three different venues, and how curatorial choices elicit differentunderstandings of Ruscha’s work, and the function of the American landscape painting today
The Castellani Jewelry Workshop Under the Lens of Archival Material
No full textThesis (B.A. in Art History, Minor in Communications)--John Cabot University, Spring 2019.Three generations of Castellani goldsmiths were more than simple jewelers. They wereinventors, historians, antiquarians, and studied they the history, materials and techniques ofancient gold craftsmanship. Throughout the Nineteenth century, they revived and invented goldworking techniques, diffusing the taste for revival jewelry in Italy and internationally.This thesis will explore archival documents from the State Archive of Rome and the ArchivioFranchi, to discuss specific aspects of the workshop. Among the documents is AugustoCastellani’s (1829-1914) descriptive inventory of his antiquities collection. The thesis willreveal interesting ties between his written descriptions and jewels in Neoclassical artworks.Augusto’s inventory also provides information regarding the discovery of ancient techniques,and it highlights what he looked for when describing antiquities, as a scholar, and as anopinionated antiquarian. This thesis also introduces and unpublished drawing signed by DukeMichelangelo Caetani (1804-1882) and specific payments from the Mastrino Lante dellaRovere in the State Archive of Rome, tying the Castellani to contemporary artists and noblefamilies.Finally, Appendix I will provide the reader a description of Maria Pia of Savoy’s jewelscommissions given to the Castellani by the cities of Rome and Naples for her royal wedding.Appendix II presents a complete transcription of Augusto Castellani’s descriptive inventorymentioned above of his, “Collezione Storica d’Oreficeria Italiana.” This collection, todaypartly in the state Museum of Villa Giulia, was composed in the 1860’s, and can truly beconsidered one of the greatest collections of ancient archaeological jewelry. Thousands ofobjects from Prehistory to the Middle Ages were described by Augusto himself in 517handwritten pages, making this appendix a useful tool for historians, archaeologists and arthistorians
Amedeo Modigliani’s Reclining Nude (1919): A Case-study of the Temporalities and Geographies of the Return to Order
No full textThesis (B.A. in Art History, Minor in Business Administration)--John Cabot University, Fall 2019.In 1930, at the Venice Biennale, Amedeo Modigliani was exhibited for the second time. The works on display resumed his art career: there were drawings and sculptures; portraits, and nudes. They all shared the trace of Modigliani’s interest in the art of the Trecento and of the Italian Renaissance, as well as his avant-garde intentions without ever being part of any specific school. His works were replete with elegant bodies and suggestive deformations such as almond-shaped eyes and elongated necks. Those very features that from 1917 until 1930 had divided critics, both in France and Italy. Only in 1930 did critics recognize Modigliani’s style as a valid solution for the so-called Return to order. Reclining Nude, Head Resting on one Arm is useful as a case-study to understand the shift in the critical reception of Modigliani’s work and the different temporalities and ideological contexts on either side of the Alps. The thesis begins with an analysis of the 1917 exhibition at the Berthe Weil Gallery in Paris and follows with a critique of the 1922 Biennale exhibition in Rome. The thesis concludes with a study of the 1930 Biennale in Venice that represents a turning point in Modigliani’s reception and informs our understanding of the inter-war period.
Moreover, the thesis attempts to explain historiographical trends in art criticism by analyzing the tendencies in and reasons for the Return to order in Italy and France. In other words, to study this specific work by Modigliani, Reclining Nude, Head Resting on one Arm allows to understand a radical change in the critics’ appreciation of this singular artists and his contribution to modern art. However, what scholars have failed to recognize is Modigliani’s appropriation of Trecento and Renaissance art, as well as the formal innovations interpreted from other avant-gardes – in particular Cubism, which provides reasons for the impossibility of identifying Modigliani with any specific movement of the 20th century
The Graphics of Albrecht Dürer: 1484-1500
No full textThesis (B.A. in Art History, Minor in Classical Studies)--John Cabot University, Fall 2019.The period from 1948 to 1500 is considered to be an early stage in the art of the Nuremberg artist and engraver, Albrecht Durer. This time marks one of the most famous self-portraits of Dürer at the age of 13. This fact alone gives us the opportunity to assume the importance of this artist for the development of Northern art. The atmosphere of Germany of the XV-XVI centuries influenced the young artist and his attitude towards religion, humanism, and art. Moreover, the influence of Dürer’s father, who was a craftsman, remains important, and from the workshop of his father he began his long journey in the history of art. After some time, Dürer began his apprenticeship with Michael Wolgemut, who was the first artist in Nuremberg to regularly produce woodcuts. During his apprenticeship, the style of young Dürer was influenced not only by his teacher, but also by other prominent engravers - Martin Schongauer and the Master of the Housebook. Already in the workshop of Wolgemut, Dürer understands the significance of line, and through studying the works of Schongauer he finally gains the purity and emotionality of lines, and then, with the help of the Master of the Housebook, he brings human ordinary atmosphere to his early engravings. After Durer returned from Venice in 1495, we can notice changes in his images, they became more naturalistic with a transition to the graphic technique of tonal relationships of light and dark, which were intended not only to create emotionally contrasts, but also to make deeper space. In 1498, Dürer began work on the Apocalypse series of woodcuts, in which he synthesized visions of Saint John with the real environment in order to reduce the distance between viewer and sacred events. Moreover, this synthesis is achieved due to the diagonal composition, which visually seems more emotional and connects the heavenly and earthly zones of the world. During this early period, Dürer brought a lot of pioneering engraving techniques that further influenced the development of this art genre
The Evolution of the Haunted House: Spatial Anxieties in American and English Ghost Stories
No full textThesis (B.A. in English Literature, Minor in Creative Writing)--John Cabot University, Spring 2019.This thesis explores the concept of spatial anxiety in American and English ghost stories from the 19th century to the 21st century. The five selected ghost stories are Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw, Oscar Wilde’s The Canterville Ghost, MR James’s “Number 13”, Stephen King’s The Shining, and the communal online story of “Slender Man.” With each ghost story, the manifestations of spatial anxiety change as the physical appearance of the haunted house setting changes. The psychological landscape of each ghost story fluctuates with the historical moment; each story draws on contemporary anxieties, which this thesis will locate by tracking the development of the appearance and function of the haunted house over time in both American and English ghost stories. A psychological approach is taken in this analysis, though historical contextualization is necessary to understand not just the evolving function and appearance of the haunted house in these five selected ghost stories, but also the sociopolitical motivators that contributed to each change. Through the five ghost stories of this thesis, I identify a progressive increase of activity and agency in the haunted space that corresponds to an increase of supernatural qualities within the physical haunted space
The Marian Reforms
No full textThesis (B.A. in Classics, Minors in Art History and History)--John Cabot University, Spring 2019.The Marian Reforms of 107 BC and the factors that led to an apparent radical break with tradition and likely a violation of Roman Law, and the exploration of the politics surrounding the lasting Reforms particularly with regard to the admission of the proletariat in the army and the reorganization of the military are known and well discussed in scholarship. However, the politics that allowed a Novus homo, namely Gaius Marius, to pass such reforms in light of direct or absence of open opposition by aristocratic factions is more ambiguous. The actual mechanisms and forces that facilitated the change led by or accredited to Marius are the main aspects under consideration, as well as, the political and social factors that allowed the longevity of these Reforms initiated by Marius to exist even after his decline, disgrace, and death. The manner of the investigation made use of the biographical analysis and textual analysis as the Life of Marius by Plutarch provided a wealth of information on the professed character of Marius though the nature of the text itself dictates caution in terms of the supposition of veracity. Moreover, close readings of Sallust especially pertaining to his writings of The Jugurthine War as the narrative declared by Sallust portrays a unique antagonist to Rome that eventually provided the political necessity for a man, such as Marius, to rise to prominence and yield a sense of practicality for the Reforms proposed.
Furthermore, other ancient sources, though written outside of the temporal considerations to the Reforms, still reflected certain social trends or political events that were either in the process of beginning or continuing in the time of Marius. Other sources served to ground this work in the context of the Reforms and their immediate and essential contribution to the Roman society, military, and state
Yves Klein and the Classic Blue
No full textThesis (B.A. in Art History, Minor in Psychology)--John Cabot University, Spring 2019.This thesis focuses on a development of works by Yves Klein focusing on his blue monochrome paintings, The Void, Anthropomètries, Blue Venus, and Nike of Samothrace. These are used in order to gain a sense of his stylistic development and rejection of any classical notion of traditional painting in his early years yet through this rejection, he ultimately returns to classical canons within his works. The main argument of this thesis is how an artist, who rejected all notions of the classical tradition of painting, ended up being so inherently classical in his works through figuration, colour, and replication of two sculptures from classical antiquity