Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2020, Art/Art History

The CoBrA art movement (1948-1951) stands prominently among the few European avant-garde groups formed in the aftermath of World War II. Emphasizing international collaboration, rejecting the past, and embracing spontaneity and intuition, CoBrA artists created artworks expressing fundamental human creativity. Although the group was dominated by men, a small number of women were associated with CoBrA, two of whom continue to be the subject of debate within CoBrA scholarship to this day: the Danish painter Else Alfelt (1910-1974) and the Dutch sculptor Lotti van der Gaag (1923-1999), known as "Lotti." In contributing to this debate, I address the work and CoBrA membership status of Alfelt and Lotti by comparing their artworks to CoBrA's two main manifestoes, texts that together provide the clearest definition of the group's overall ideas and theories. Alfelt, while recognized as a full CoBrA member, created structured, geometric paintings, influenced by German Expressionism and traditional Japanese art; I thus argue that her work does not fit the group's formal aesthetic or philosophy. Conversely Lotti, who was never asked to join CoBrA, and was rejected from exhibiting with the group, produced sculptures with rough, intuitive, and childlike forms that clearly do fit CoBrA's ideas as presented in its two manifestoes. Examining Alfelt's and Lotti's individual roles within CoBrA through the feminist art theories of Linda Nochlin and Laura Mulvey, writings by scholars and art historians, and exhibitions and collections, I focus on individual and institutional influences, and patriarchal contexts that shaped these two artists' status in relation to CoBrA membership. In doing so, I also pose questions about who belongs in any art movement, and who gets to decide who belongs, and how all of this is defined complexly over time.

Committee: Katerina Ruedi Ray Dr. (Advisor); Mille Guldbeck MFA (Committee Member); Andrew Hershberger Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Art Criticism; Art History; European History; Gender Studies; Museums; Womens Studies

Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), Ohio University, 2012, Dance

This investigation integrates extensive multidisciplinary research concerning contemporary societal problems as well as theories regarding the significance of utilizing performance art as a means for social activism. The research for this study exposes political corruption, cultural manipulation, and spiritual indoctrination. Politics, culture, economics, and spirituality are disscussed as four major dominant power structures within contemporary culture. Another major component discussed in this essay is the initial stages and rapid acceleration towards a paradigm shift within modern culture. Evidence suggests the corruption of the ideals held by most institutions are obscuring and deterring workable solutions to our collective problems. Additionally, this paper articulates the characteristics of a new emergent planetary culture.

Committee: Marina Walchli Ms. (Advisor) Subjects: Art Criticism; Communication; Cultural Anthropology; Dance; Earth; Economics; Education; Environmental Economics; Environmental Justice; Ethnic Studies; Fine Arts; Mass Media; Music; Performing Arts; Pharmacology; Religion; Spirituality; Sustainability; Theater; Theology