Gerhardstein, Alan P., authorEnssle, Manfred J., advisorCoronel, Patricia D., committee memberDormer, James T., committee memberWilliams, Ron G., committee member2016-03-222016-03-221990http://hdl.handle.net/10217/171406Zip file contains 14 slides of artist's works.The direction of this thesis is one of personal expression, not intended to educate or direct the viewer, but to freely address concerns to which I am sensitive. The need to deal with my own values and those of the traditional world led me to ask questions about their parallels, relationships and validity. I realized I was influenced by a traditional ideology and needed to understand and evaluate its meaning. For me, tradition is a world already named, safe and comfortable; it provides the assurance that life is already explained and not unduly threatening. Tradition and training encouraged me not to question but to accept readily the ways I inherited. Among other things, those traditional concepts established the expectations of male and female. For example males are invested with a sense of power and authority which often prohibits their true emotions to be expressed. In such cases they are expected to "act like men". Their toughness is assumed to justify their power over the "weaker" sex. The female is expected to be an attractive homey, individual who compassionately nurtures those around her while expressing "soft emotional" characteristics. Because I questioned these stereotypes, I felt a need to establish my own definitions based on the basic structure of nature, avoiding cultural preconceptions. The basic structure of nature is void of human political, social and regional sexual preconceptions. At this level I am able to feel what it is to be human--not male or female. A parallel exists between the earth and humans in this regard, for the earth is neither male nor female but both. The earth is strong yet nurturing and, at the same time, powerful and weak. The power and violence of storms and other natural phenomenon are as intrinsic to the cycles of earth as are the calm and stable moments of a sunny day. To observe this in nature brought forth more evidence of the cyclical qualities of these characteristics.masters thesesZIPJPEGengCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.Metal sculptureText