Graduate Work

Design Methodologies
Objective: illustrate the weather in my area using one word; also using personal design methodology	Objective: to visually and graphically represent a quote and its conceptual content intended by Ed Fella

Typography Studio I
Book Cover Objective: re-design an existing book cover using only typography
Digital Discrimination Objective: design an interactive booklet using an existing article	Echo Typeface Objective: design a typeface

Print Studio I
Objective: create a logo for a coffee house; includes styleguide/brand management and mailer

3-D Graphics Studio (package design)
Objective: create a package/brand for a fictional company that promotes and utilizes sustainability; includes original package design, point of purchase display and trade show booth

Contemporary Art Thesis Paper Excerpt (introduction of thesis paper)

Did Vietnam War Protest Art Have an Effect on the American Government?

"Throughout history, the United States of America has seen itself as a superpower with the ambition to save the world from negativity and oppression of any kind. During the 1960s, America never officially declared war on the country of Vietnam, but America couldn’t resist the pull of involvement to stop the spread of communism in Southeast Asia. It’s a decision that still haunts this country and Vietnam today. The psychological effect the war had on its citizens, politicians, soldiers, and the Vietnamese was and is enormous, since veterans today still suffer from their experience. Michael Page’s Pieta is a reference to the warm scene of the Madonna image but shines in an opposite light. A wooden sculpture of a GI (General Issue) cradling a dead Vietnamese baby, it represents the emotional pain soldiers endured along with the Vietnamese civilians and the pointlessness of war. The GI’s face says it all: his expression shows the horror of his position and the trap he is in, along with his enemies. A number of artists, veterans and not, turned to the Madonna image, like Page. Images of dead, wounded, mourning and terrified GI’s replaced those of Christ and Madonna, which is seen as a life-affirming image. With this piece and others during this era, the Vietnam War can be seen as an event full of controversy and indecision." 

Art Criticism Thesis Paper Excerpt (introduction of thesis paper)

The Jeff Koons Playbook

"The world of art has become so intertwined with kitsch imagery that the pair can be seen as inseparable. Rosenberg once stated, “Using kitsch is one of art’s juiciest devices, and a comic revenge for the looting of art by kitsch.” In the case of Jeff Koons, an artist whose work thrives on kitsch (a term popularized by Clement Greenberg), one could say the artist chooses kitsch imagery intentionally. This is one artist who has caused (and still causes) controversy among viewers and among critics…the controversy of being a true artist or an artist that sees no value in aesthetics or meanings.
Koons has established himself by focusing on reproductions of banal objects, which has been sold for high amounts of money. The artist uses objects that are already closer to art and are defined by their audience (their market). It’s this controversy that has critics divided in their views; some view his work as laying the groundwork for contemporary art and of having major importance, while others dismiss it as being based on consumerism and having no true motive. Koons has stated that there are no hidden meanings in his work, which further supports the opposing critics’ opinion. He has devoted an almost equal amount of energy in creating his public persona as he has in generating his works. Koons has been a mastermind using charm, cleverness and a talent for creating art that inspires critical debate. He would eventually be compared to Andy Warhol, an artist whom he admired and has mimicked in his practice by working out of a large factory and having assistants bring his work to life, a method known as ‘art fabrication.’ Therefore, it can be said Jeff Koons deliberately uses consumerism and kitsch imagery in his artwork to gain the upper hand and financial hold in the art world, which in turn causes critics to take sides on the playing field of his work."