Browsing by Author "Simons, Stephen R., committee member"

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Open Access
A timeless vision
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 1996) Niles, Kathryn M., author; Dormer, James T., advisor; Ellerby, David A., committee member; Mitchell, Carol A., committee member; Simons, Stephen R., committee member
Landscape and figure are timeless, universal, and venerable motifs that compel constant and continued examination. This group of works employs form, movement, and spatial relations that are elements evident in both themes. I approach my subjects with a history of memories, an awareness of my surroundings, and my psychological state at the moment. These portrayals of life as I experience it may, in a sense, all be seen as self-portraits.
Open Access
Adventures in roller derby
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2007) Link, Karen Lynn, author; Yust, Dave, 1939-, advisor; Sullivan, Patrice M., advisor; Tremblay, William A., committee member; Simons, Stephen R., committee member
In my thesis, I discuss why I paint images of roller derby matches and why, in particular, the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls. I show how I explore my subject through narrative, compositional space, and value. I write about the relationships between the figures, and between the figures and their environment, and how that relates to issues of narrative. I show how I explore my subject through acrylic and india ink and the materials that are used for my supports. I discuss how Henri Matisse and Richard Diebenkom have influenced my work and how my work functions differently from theirs. Also in my thesis, I discuss the use of photography and how it relates to the creative process of my painting. Lastly, the reasons and advantages of using photography in my process is explored including the malleability of digital photography.
Open Access
Dynamic expressions
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2004) Graham, Michele S., author; Twarogowski, Leroy A., advisor; Dormer, James T., committee member; Simons, Stephen R., committee member; Orman, Jack L., committee member; Bowman, J. P., committee member
To view the abstract, please see the full text of the document.
Open Access
Pool of forms: speed and painterly economy
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2006) Roholt, David, author; Yust, Dave, 1939-, advisor; Sullivan, Patrice M., committee member; Simons, Stephen R., committee member; Cooperman, Matthew, 1964-, committee member
This paper is a chronological examination of paintings, drawings, and prints of swimmers completed over a three-year period. Explanation is given on why swimmers have become a concrete fixture in my art making process. The topics of speed and economy will be discussed in the following ways: First, how time is placed on the overall completion of the work, and second, how speed functions as an aesthetic power, in addition to the emotive qualities of a raised tempo. The work proceeds to focus on painterly economy as defined by a simplification of structure and mark bending on the realm of abstraction. The balancing of clarity, in terms of referential detail, and ambiguity, as related to abstraction, is examined. The role of photography and how it can be an effective tool when employed as a catalyst for decision-making is examined and clarified. Additionally, high and low chroma colors combinations, used in developing a more personal visceral vision is discussed, and in conclusion, historical and contemporary influences, also insights on the positive nature I feel concerning the creative process.
Open Access
Recent prints: landscape and still-life
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 1998) Stack, Karin E., author; Dormer, James T., advisor; Orman, Jack L., committee member; Simons, Stephen R., committee member; Twarogowski, Leroy A., committee member; Ronda, Bruce A., committee member
My investigations of the landscape are tied to observation but equally informed by memory and imagination. I am fascinated by creating light, space, and illusion, however, these interests are countered by my interest in formal qualities. I hope to achieve psychological impact and expressive effect while exploring isolation, emptiness, and disquietude in the landscape. I am attracted to the intaglio medium because of the richness of the resulting images as well as to the process itself. Initially, I work from observation, then generalize, edit and invent. I also explore still-life subjects using lithography in which I investigate compressed space and abstract shapes. I sometimes include ambiguously scaled houses within the still-life to evoke architectural space and present a question or tension.
Open Access
Recent work
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 1997) Neuville, Melissa, author; Dormer, James T., advisor; Orman, Jack L., committee member; Simons, Stephen R., committee member; Dietemann, David L., committee member; Lakin, Barbara L., committee member
My art work is a means of exploring feeling. It is an involvement in a process which leads to personal expression and discovery of the unknown and hidden. My concern is about content and my search is for honesty and essence. My desire is that the work be authentic, personal and spiritual.
Open Access
Recent work: William R. Howard
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 1998) Howard, William R., author; Dormer, James T., advisor; Orman, Jack L., advisor; Simons, Stephen R., committee member
The work that I have accomplished during my graduate degree reflects an integration of traditional printmaking with some of the technological advancements in photography and computers. Although printmaking has not always been favorable to new and non-traditional techniques, current trends have broadened the definition of a print, embracing computer technology as one of the tools in intaglio printmaking. In my recent work I have combined traditional approaches with some of the newer technology. For example, in my prints a photograph is scanned on the computer where it is altered, then copied and transferred onto a zinc plate. It is then etched in a traditional manner and transformed into an intaglio plate. The distance from the photograph that is achieved through the etching process, enables me to attract audiences outside of photography such as printmakers and painters. The result is, I believe, a unique work of art that focuses on my own sensibilities as an individual and artist. In my work, collections of people, or groups of individual images, shown as a series, reflect the way that each individual relates to another to form a group or a "community." By bringing a group of individuals together, one begins to compare and contrast each individual, but at the same time is still able to see them as a whole. Although I am addressing social conditions, the idea of each personality figures into the perception of the work. The manipulated heads, hands, and bodies of the individuals reflect the idiosyncrasies of each subject allowing the viewer to isolate subtle differences between them. In the end what exists is a community of individuals rich with cultural associations and individual characteristics. My work is derived from the reconstruction of several photographs into an expressive whole. By reassembling individual photographs into a single piece, a statement about my own sensibiities as an artist comes through and the result is a taxonomy or set of people that has personal meaning to me. By looking at the set of individuals the viewers can make their own associations and leave with their own conclusions. These conclusions will be different according to each background and experience that the viewer has, and I assume will often be different than mine.
Open Access
Texture, reading and meaning: notions, nebulae and the numinous
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2007) Jensen, Justin M., author; Yust, Dave, 1939-, advisor; Sullivan, Patrice M., advisor; Chong, Edwin Kan Pin, committee member; Simons, Stephen R., committee member
The thesis is commenced by a development of a theory about art that encompasses what is referred to as the texture, the reading and the saying. The first refers to that of which the art is composed, the second refers to the referential aspect, and the third refers to the intended meaning. Each of these aspects has a value that is independent yet supported by the previous. This is the basis for my critical development in art. Within the texture level I discuss how the painting process is clarified as a push and pull between texture and render. The latter part of the thesis develops the key points for the saying aspect of my work. Sacred Time and real time is an idea used in mythological that clarifies the otherworldy nature of myth. This idea is carried into my thesis research and is developed by the dichotomy characterized as the numinous and the Weltschmerz. The numinous can be defined as sublime, or the feeling of the presence of the holy. Weltschmerz can be regarded as the feeling of the wrongness of the world. These two feelings come together in what C. S. Lewis describes as Joy, which is referenced in the appendix. The primary theme that I use to explore this feeling is the inclusion of deep-space celestial objects into terrestrial landscapes. This carries the symbolism of the mystery of the universe of that which is far seeming like it ought to be closer. It is the evocation of a moment of sacred time within real time. My intention in the sky-scape paintings is summarized in trying to create a place that is transcendent of time where we realize a truth about our own world. It is a myth that focuses a truth into clarity.
Open Access
Threads in common
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2001) Nakoa, Elizabeth J., author; Dormer, James T., advisor; Crow, Mary, committee member; Simons, Stephen R., committee member; Lundberg, Thomas R., committee member
There is a complex and alluring involvement resulting from the printing of reductive and multiple wood blocks that I am currently exploring. My imagery frequently involves the formal structural elements of the grid combined with the organic qualities and movement found in natural materials such as wood. Rather than representing literal or figurative images, I am more concerned with sharing a feeling or thought, inviting the viewer to have an experiential response to my work. I am exploring and utilizing the nature of different materials, which helps me to deal with my imagery in a gentle, thoughtful approach. I value the involvement of the processes of printmaking and the myriad possibilities that come with working with multiples. The elements of the spirit of the creative journey and the act of discovery are significant factors in enhancing the development of my imagery.