Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.
Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.
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- All Subjects: art
- Creators: School of International Letters and Cultures
- Creators: O'Flaherty, Katherine
Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world and one of the most practiced today. It is full of fantastical myths and heroic legends, as well as undercurrents of feminism contrasted with misogyny and patriarchy. Hindu myths are contradictory as stories have evolved over time and have been retold with millions of differing perspectives.
In my thesis, I portrayed the 22 archetypes of the Major Arcana of the tarot through the lens of Hindu mythology as well as the broader pan-Indian culture. I include ancient stories and references to modern social issues. I visually communicated the connections between characters of Hindu mythology and the archetypes of the tarot with 22 watercolor paintings. This project was an opportunity to explore both the tarot through Hinduism, vice-versa. It allowed for the development of a deeper connection with spirituality and religion, along with a greater understanding of visual communication.
This thesis is concerned with the political implications of two of Jacques-Louis David's paintings: Oath of the Horatii (1784) and The Lictors Bringing to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons (1789). In this thesis, I argue that David’s pre-Revolutionary work contained political anticipations of Revolutionary France articulated in his Neoclassical forms, the classical stories he chose to paint, his own narrative innovations using light, color, gender, unusual scenes and the thematic conflict of the state vs the individual and family.
This thesis will encompass the chemical, social, cultural, and even religious significance and history of Henna. Henna is a natural paste made out of dried henna leaves which is then mixed with other ingredients such as lemon juice, tea, essential oils, and sugar. Depending on the region, everyone uses a different recipe and ratios due to the different climates. Henna has been used for celebrations such as weddings in Western Asia, the Middle East, and even Africa. Henna has also been used in religious celebrations for Muslims such as Eid. The practice of henna application has proven to be a uniting factor in multiple cultures, as women gather to get their henna done for celebrations and joyful occasions. Despite its cultural significance, henna was actually used medicinally in ancient times due to its cooling properties. People used to dye the soles of their feet, and hands during the summer in order to cool down their bodies. Slowly, henna became more of a beauty factor and women began to make designs with it to adorn themselves. Applying henna is a lengthy process. Henna must dry for about 30 minutes before one is able to continue with daily routine. Then the henna must be wrapped after being soaked in a lemon sugar solution. This must remain for 5+ hours in order to achieve the desired intensity of the stain. However, once the dry henna is taken off, no water must touch the premature stains for 24 hours since this is when the henna begins to oxidize and the color begins to darken. It takes 48 hours for the henna stain to fully mature. Due to this, chemical henna, otherwise known as “instant henna” has been created to make that dark mature stain in a matter of a few hours, sometime even minutes. There are two downsides: the first being that the stain does not last 1-2 weeks like the natural henna does, the second being it is a major health risk. Most of these prepackaged chemical henna cones contain additives that are used to dye hair. This dye is not meant to be used on skin, so many people have gotten chemical burns due to this. It can even lead to full-on allergic reactions resulting in hospital-stays. The use of chemical henna not only poses health risks, but it also diminishes the value of henna and what it stands for. This project will dive into the following questions: How does henna stain the skin? How has Henna impacted women throughout the world? What is the artistic significance of Henna? What aspects of Henna have allowed it to be integrated into cultures throughout the years? How can one avoid the use of chemical henna, and what kind of potential risks arise from this?
Allow yourself to rediscover peace. PAX is aimed to help college students find pockets of peace in their hectic day-to-day. Through art services, students will find avenues to relieve stress and anxiety via creative outlets. With directed art sessions, students will be able to express their creativity in a healthy and healing manner. Our vision is to introduce and instill a stress relieving outlet in the lives of college students.
AIR, being short for the Arts Initiative for Refugees, is a new, self-founded organization that provides refugee youth with sessions, programs, and opportunities to help them achieve artistic and personal success through teaching and mentorship. AIR strives to offer individualized and group mentoring programs to its students designed for their unique interests in the arts fields of their choice. The immediate objective of this organization, which my thesis was founded upon, was to introduce refugee youth at a newcomer school, Valencia Newcomer School, to various new art forms utilizing direct application, to play and have fun, to create a sense of community and support, to create a safe, inclusive environment, to help the students learn more about each other's cultures and backgrounds, and to allow the students to create art work that is genuine to them and their backgrounds. The ultimate goal of AIR is to branch out to become a small-scale, national/international non-profit organization.