http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/topic/4/visual-arts Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Fri, 29 May 2026 11:05:24 -0400 Fri, 29 May 2026 11:05:24 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1955/look-me-in-the-eyes-witkacys-portrait-gaze-as-a-critique-and-anticipation-of-culture-industry By Natalia Stanusch - This paper analyzes the construction of ‘portrait gaze’ as a visual device that orients, manipulates, and challenges the gaze of the viewer of Witkacy’s portraits. Witkacy (1885-1939), often compared to Marcel Duchamp, was one of the most controversial and complex figures of 20th-century Polish art. This paper focuses on one of the least explored and convoluted phases of Witkacy’s career, especially in international literature, namely the portraiture he made starting in 1925. In that year, Witkacy set up the S. I. Witkiewicz Portrait Firm, where he whimsically took on the... Fri, 06 May 2022 10:38 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1955/look-me-in-the-eyes-witkacys-portrait-gaze-as-a-critique-and-anticipation-of-culture-industry http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1948/fragile-aesthetics-the-problematics-behind-thomas-gainsboroughs-landscape-paintings By Connor E. Yen - The 17th and 18th centuries saw a wide proliferation of aesthetic discourse through which the picturesque emerged to capture the type of beauty derived from the exchange of in vivo vigor for the spirit of artistic medium. While the metaphysical project of 18th century aesthetic theory masquerades as apolitical, placing Thomas Gainsborough’s landscape paintings in dialogue with picturesque beauty reveals an underlying anxiety of peasant encroachment and class conflict. This paper parses the complex interplay between the “smooth” and the “rough” in Gainsborough&rsquo... Fri, 01 Apr 2022 01:04 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1948/fragile-aesthetics-the-problematics-behind-thomas-gainsboroughs-landscape-paintings http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1943/lesbianing-together-images-of-incarcerated-women-in-orange-is-the-new-black By Anna Curtis - Using content analysis, this article focuses on the portrayal of female prisoners in the first two seasons of the Netflix show Orange is the New Black (OITNB). There are two main findings. First, the word "lesbian" frequently signals homophobia rather than a self-claimed sexual identity. That is, the word "lesbian" primarily appears in scenes that highlight various characters' homophobia. Throughout the first and second seasons of the show, the scriptwriters show no mercy to homophobic characters, a characteristic of the show that differentiates it from earlier women-in-prison novels and... Fri, 11 Mar 2022 02:07 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1943/lesbianing-together-images-of-incarcerated-women-in-orange-is-the-new-black http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1923/medusas-blood-on-the-ovidian-assertion-of-fame-in-cellinis-perseus By Hannibal De Pencier - Cast in one piece of bronze in 1554, Benvenuto Cellini'sPerseus with the Head of Medusa representeda monumental feat of artisticvirtuosity. Viewers marvelled at the imposing size of the bronze, the sense of liquid tactility in the blood pouring from either end of Medusa's neck, and—most importantly to Cellini himself—they marvelled at the artist's skill. Ostensibly meant to allude to the political mastery of Grand Duke Cosimo I de Medici, the sculpture's Ovidian iconographic program is demonstrably concerned with aggrandizing Cellini's generative power and asserting the artist... Tue, 30 Nov 2021 09:27 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1923/medusas-blood-on-the-ovidian-assertion-of-fame-in-cellinis-perseus http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1876/cultural-misrepresentation-of-the-east-in-nicholas-roerichs-art By Arundhati Kalyan - Nicholas Roerich was inspired by the mystical concept of “Shambhala”—a utopian expanse of endless truth, knowledge and peace—and his paintings of Asia in the period 1923-1947 attempt to portray the pursuit of this utopian land in diverse Eastern traditions. While several scholars have praised his work for its unconventional style and unique message, I argue that his art fails to live up to the true nature of Eastern cultures and religions and instead distorts them. Through a detailed analysis of a selection of Roerich’s paintings from this period, I show that cultural... Fri, 12 Feb 2021 11:12 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1876/cultural-misrepresentation-of-the-east-in-nicholas-roerichs-art http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1857/hans-bellmers-dolls-and-the-subversion-of-the-female-gaze By Hannah J. Wetzel - Hans Bellmer’s Die Puppe (The Doll) photographic series is perhaps one of the most bizarre works to come out of the surrealist group in the early-to-mid twentieth century. Of every peculiar aspect of the photographs, perhaps the most striking is his treatment of vision. Bellmer always poses his dolls, which he disassembles and reassembles into various unnatural shape, so they face away from his camera. Sometimes, he removes their eyes altogether. Bellmer himself wrote extensively about his doll, which was also featured in the surrealist magazine Minotaure. Many of the themes his doll project... Tue, 05 Jan 2021 03:35 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1857/hans-bellmers-dolls-and-the-subversion-of-the-female-gaze http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1838/felix-gonzalez-torress-portrait-of-ross-beyond-form-and-content By Julianne Miao - Félix González-Torres’s Untitled (Portrait of Ross in L.A.) [1991] uses its unconventional medium and presentation to reveal holes in the limited language of the traditional art historical narrative. Composed of a pile of metallic-wrapped candy, the work of art ideally weighs 175 pounds, but its mass depletes as visitors are invited to take pieces from the pile. Exhibitors of the candy pile replenish the candies when deemed necessary. The artwork serves as a portrait of the artist’s passed lover, Ross Laycock, who died from AIDS-related complications. The installation... Tue, 17 Nov 2020 08:49 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1838/felix-gonzalez-torress-portrait-of-ross-beyond-form-and-content http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1791/terry-richardson-and-the-celebration-of-porn-chic-a-critique-of-fashion-photography By Yasmeen Sabet - In On Photography, Susan Sontag derides photography for generating a sense of false objectivity. Focusing on the moral implications of taking a photograph, she explores the relationship between artist and subject, exposing photography as a medium contingent upon violating its subjects.[1] Engaging with Sontag’s text, the following analysis studies fashion photography as a site embodying this exploitation, revealing the disturbing power dynamic between a defamed fashion photographer and his underage subject. In deconstructing Terry Richardson’s 2011 image of Lindsey Wixson (fig 1),... Mon, 07 Sep 2020 10:51 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1791/terry-richardson-and-the-celebration-of-porn-chic-a-critique-of-fashion-photography http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1774/the-aftermath-of-agent-orange-combating-slow-violence-necropolitics-and-stigma-in-vietnamese-communities By Dan N. Dinh - Although the Vietnam War officially ended in 1975, the long-term effects of the toxic contaminant, dioxin, found in Agent Orange continues to be a large public health issue. Throughout this paper, the theoretical framework of slow violence will be utilized to highlight the effects of the temporality of toxins within bodies and how toxins act as agents to affect human bodies transgenerationally. Moreover, the theoretical framework of necropolitics will be utilized to analyze how marginalized communities are deemed expendable by large power structures that keep bodies in a constant state of injury... Mon, 02 Dec 2019 09:28 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1774/the-aftermath-of-agent-orange-combating-slow-violence-necropolitics-and-stigma-in-vietnamese-communities http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1771/hyperreality-and-the-consumption-of-the-subject-as-object-in-black-mirror By Megan Kirkwood - Jean Baudrillard’s essay ‘The Precession of Simulacra’ from Simulacra and Simulation (1981) is a key postmodern text to understanding the contemporary technological Western world. ‘The Precession of Simulacra’ explores Baudrillard’s central concepts of simulacra, simulation and hyperreality. Baudrillard argues that we now live in a world of signs, that ‘just about everything is a matter of signification, […] obviously connected with an explosive growth in media, but related also to changes in the conduct of everyday life’.[1] In ‘The... Wed, 09 Oct 2019 08:45 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1771/hyperreality-and-the-consumption-of-the-subject-as-object-in-black-mirror http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1737/mindfulness-based-art-therapy-a-review-of-the-literature By Liza M. Hinchey - The concept of mindfulness, which originated from early Buddhist practices, historically encouraged an enlightening meditation that focused on awareness of one’s emotions, sensations, and consciousness (Smalley & Winston, 2010). Today, mindfulness practice continues to be defined as “an awareness of self and a capacity to reflect” (Smalley & Winston, 2010), but has branched out from its roots as a Buddhist meditation method to become integrated into psychology as a means of coping with a variety of conditions including anxiety, eating disorders, substance abuse, and other... Wed, 09 May 2018 05:27 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1737/mindfulness-based-art-therapy-a-review-of-the-literature http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1730/native-design-in-modern-fashion-the-transformations-of-native-american-flower-beadwork By Jianing Zhao - What happens to flower beadwork when its application is transformed from traditional clothing decoration, to painting on the wall, and back to embroidery on high-end fashion garments? What happens to Native women, when their bodies are lost, violated, and heal; when their art is celebrated, stolen, and reclaimed? This paper traces the movement of Native American (particularly Métis) flower beadwork through time and space, from the traditional beadwork in moccasins in the Walking with Our Sisters project, to experimental uses in paintings such as Water Song, and eventually to the problematic... Tue, 13 Mar 2018 11:41 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1730/native-design-in-modern-fashion-the-transformations-of-native-american-flower-beadwork http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1518/communicating-meaning-in-bioart-the-temporal-strength-of-living-media-and-the-impact-of-longevity By Alex J. Maben - BioArt is a modern art-form born from the marriage of biotechnology and human inspiration. I argue that the longevity of the art pieces, referred to as BioArtworks, plays an essential role in communicating meaning. As living, breathing creatures, humans are designed to best interpret messages that develop in real-time. BioArt is uniquely optimized for this fluid process. I discuss the temporal strength of living media by examining BioArt construction, maintenance, termination, and reincarnation, while also incorporating audience-level impacts throughout. In doing so, I interweave themes and techniques... Sun, 08 Jan 2017 10:51 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1518/communicating-meaning-in-bioart-the-temporal-strength-of-living-media-and-the-impact-of-longevity http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1443/the-colonial-subject-seeing-the-unseen-and-the-construction-of-subjectivity-in-apocalypse-now-and-la-noire-de By Eric N. Hahn - The complex and multifaceted nature of cinema is further complicated by the unmistakable tension between the quasi-objective potential inherent in the medium—the camera merely operating as an observer—versus the unrestricted camera which functions as a metaphysical transport to the psychological and even physical experience of a distinct body. Upon close examination, it can be said that both of these modes of address are unique to cinema and arguing for the significance of one over the other is a fool’s errand. As such, this paper does not address this arguably problematic dichotomy... Fri, 09 Sep 2016 09:04 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1443/the-colonial-subject-seeing-the-unseen-and-the-construction-of-subjectivity-in-apocalypse-now-and-la-noire-de http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1449/analyzing-female-gender-roles-in-marvel-comics-from-the-silver-age-1960-to-the-present By Katherine J. Murphy - Comic books, a form of American popular culture, offer a window into the past, allowing researchers to track societal changes over several decades. The purpose of this study was to determine if, how, and how much female gender roles have changed in Marvel Comics from the Silver Age (1960) to the present (2014) to help understand how popular culture portrays and treats female characters. It was hypothesized that female gender roles in Marvel Comics in the last decade have become less stereotypical and more equitable as compared to the 1960s, as determined by the sevenpoint quantifiable rubric.... Tue, 31 May 2016 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1449/analyzing-female-gender-roles-in-marvel-comics-from-the-silver-age-1960-to-the-present http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1379/the-loneliness-of-digital-devices-examining-removed-photo-series-by-eric-pickersgill By Nicole Litvan - Through her observations, Turkle found that “we [people] defend connectivity as a way to be close, even as we effectively hide from each other” (Turkle, 251). She shows that the growing reliance on technology, which aims to connect and bond individuals around the world, instead creates moments of disjunction and being “alone together” in social settings. In these cases, people are physically together in a home, restaurant, or building, but avoid intimate conversation and interaction because they are mentally in different electronic worlds, thousands of pixels away from... Fri, 18 Mar 2016 12:36 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1379/the-loneliness-of-digital-devices-examining-removed-photo-series-by-eric-pickersgill http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1025/the-medicalization-of-blackness-rashid-johnson-and-the-diseased-connotations-of-race By Danielle Wu - "Rashid Johnson: Message to Our Folks" was a solo exhibition on view at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum from September 20, 2013 to January 6, 2014. The gestural painting Antibiotic (pictured below) differed from neighboring works because of its massive size, minimalist approach, and seemingly arbitrary title. This case study on Johnson's use of medium and semiotics reveals how the artist explores the parallels between germaphobia and xenophobia. Although he is often identified as "post-black" artist, Johnson refuses to allow the contemporary era pass as “post-racial,” emphasizing... Fri, 10 Apr 2015 08:30 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1025/the-medicalization-of-blackness-rashid-johnson-and-the-diseased-connotations-of-race http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/934/on-understanding-abstract-portraits-applying-cognitive-semiotics-and-psychophysiological-symbolism By William E. Wenger - Expression through artwork, representation, and interpretation are significant aspects of our human experience and key elements of the discipline of Aesthetics. Rarely do these concepts integrate a social science perspective into their approach. This is the goal of the present thesis: through discussion and literature review it aims to produce integrative theory that explores the social reality of artworks. Its parameters are set at the bounds of abstract expressionism with a focus on abstract portraits. This research reviews a wide variety of academic sources – including Social Constructivism... Sat, 01 Nov 2014 04:11 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/934/on-understanding-abstract-portraits-applying-cognitive-semiotics-and-psychophysiological-symbolism http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1699/a-beautiful-mess-the-evolution-of-political-graffiti-in-the-contemporary-city By Madeleynn Green - In 2003, Banksy was at the center of global attention when he painted an image on the West Bank wall in Gaza Strip that ingeniously criticized Israel's policies towards Palestine. Banksy often culture jams by subverting advertisements, material goods or even currency to proliferate his political views. In 2004 he managed to hang a doctored Mona Lisa that depicted her with a smiley face in the Louvre. In the same year he replaced 500 Paris Hilton CDs with altered versions that read "Every CD you buy puts me even further out of your league" and printed his own satirical money with the image of Princess... Sat, 01 Nov 2014 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1699/a-beautiful-mess-the-evolution-of-political-graffiti-in-the-contemporary-city http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/907/graphic-novels-preparing-for-a-mulitmodal-and-multiliterate-world By Katherine F. Rycroft - Graphic novels have become increasingly popular in the classroom as a means to engage English language learners (ELL) in new ways (Christensen, 2007). The accessible and diverse content of graphic novels can inspire critical discussions by encouraging students to become ‘agents’ of their own meaning-making experience (Boatright, 2010). Using both text and sequential art to tell what are often serious, non-fiction narratives, many graphic novels use intelligence and humour to explore sensitive issues of race, social justice, global conflict and war (Christensen, 2007). The wide range... Tue, 05 Aug 2014 06:17 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/907/graphic-novels-preparing-for-a-mulitmodal-and-multiliterate-world http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/902/depending-on-distance-mrs-ramsay-as-artist-and-inspiration-in-virginia-woolfs-to-the-lighthouse By Ben Beach - Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse is a novel of artists and within its pages appear two characters who are clearly labeled as such. One artist is Augustus Carmichael, the poet who spends his days reclining on the lawn. We are told that his work meets with success after the war: “He was growing old...he was growing famous” (Woolf, 1927/2005, p. 197). Beyond that we know little about him save the few thoughts by other characters about him. The other labeled artist is Lily Briscoe, who spends nearly the entire book either painting or thinking about her painting. Everything in her... Mon, 09 Jun 2014 01:09 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/902/depending-on-distance-mrs-ramsay-as-artist-and-inspiration-in-virginia-woolfs-to-the-lighthouse http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/968/film-production-design-case-study-of-the-great-gatsby By Kelsey Egan - The author examined the significance of production design in film. This paper reviewed scholarly articles on the evolution of production design and applied her findings to analysis of Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 rendition of The Great Gatsby. This study revealed that accurate and creative production design is essential to success in film. Analysis of The Great Gatsby showed that production design reflected an Art Deco style, the period of 1920s, and the representation of characters in the film. Without the intricate and well-planned production design, the themes of the F. Scott Fitzgerald’... Thu, 29 May 2014 06:36 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/968/film-production-design-case-study-of-the-great-gatsby http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/881/passing-time-in-the-garden-of-earthly-delights-by-hieronymus-bosch By Brittany R. O'Dowd - In one of his most famous triptychs, the Garden of Earthly Delights, Hieronymus Bosch uses a linear and chronological order to represent a gradual fall of man into sin. In a world where ‘bad’ has existed in small amounts since the creation of the world, man grows to indulge in earthly delights and physical pleasures, which over time leads to his eternal suffering and the loss of control over that which he once ruled. While many other great triptychs of the fifteenth century utilize the three separate panels and the outside image as just that – three or four separate images united... Mon, 31 Mar 2014 12:12 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/881/passing-time-in-the-garden-of-earthly-delights-by-hieronymus-bosch http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/816/art-hallucination-and-embodiment By Nick Davis - This essay will discuss visual perception as well as examine the relationship between art and hallucination. The paper is divided into three sections. The first section will explore phenomenological aspects of the Ayahuasca hallucinations described in Benny Shanon‟s book Antipodes of the Mind. In the second section, it will analyze certain aspects of abstract art. This art style will be used because it enables the viewer to form their own image from the constituent elements of the piece. With these two sections, the experience of hallucinations will be likened to viewing the world as an... Sun, 24 Nov 2013 03:27 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/816/art-hallucination-and-embodiment http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/768/the-visual-vocabulary-of-chitra-ganesh-femininity-sexuality-and-abjection-in-ganeshs-visual-art By Tausif Noor - Whence does the definitive understanding of the human body as a site of power, pleasure, and horror come? Is there at all a definitive notion of the extent of the body’s capabilities in the first place? The body, long established as an inspirational source for higher form and interpretation throughout the canon of art history, has become a source of contention within the realm of contemporary art. Though the body was previously the most immediate foundation for figurative art, it became more of a tool for manipulation and experimentation beginning with twentieth century modernism and this... Sat, 05 Oct 2013 09:12 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/768/the-visual-vocabulary-of-chitra-ganesh-femininity-sexuality-and-abjection-in-ganeshs-visual-art http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/959/sustainability-through-urban-gardening By Tami Ambury - Three visions of attaining sustainability through urban gardening – at the individual, community, and city level – are explored visually by MacEwan University Design Studies students–Molly Kassian, Nick Larson, and Sherece Burma–in their final project for Visual Communications Photography (VCPH) 340, Documentary Photography. This article emphasizes the process through which these students decided upon their project, located and interviewed their subjects, and created their visual composition. It also outlines the students’ increased awareness of, interest in, and... Mon, 30 Sep 2013 04:37 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/959/sustainability-through-urban-gardening http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/666/the-eternal-search-for-truth-a-comparative-analysis-of-marie-denise-villers-a-young-woman-drawing-and-george-de-la-tours-the-penitent-magdalen By Arielle J. Rubinstein - The search for truth is a struggle that has plagued humanity since the dawn of time. At the core of all human beings is an authentic self that thinks and feels on a level which is completely unique to each individual. Yet too often, people sacrifice this authenticity to conform to societal opinion merely because it is easier, and less daunting, than attempting to understand one’s uninfluenced, innermost morals, beliefs, and truths. The comparison of the paintings A Young Woman Drawing by Marie Denise Villers and The Penitent Magdalen by Georges de La Tour suggests the importance of embarking... Mon, 23 Jul 2012 10:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/666/the-eternal-search-for-truth-a-comparative-analysis-of-marie-denise-villers-a-young-woman-drawing-and-george-de-la-tours-the-penitent-magdalen http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/573/the-macdonald-sisters-how-they-visually-created-equality-between-men-and-women By Claire E. Jones - The prevailing issue of fin-de-siècle France was the increasing autonomy of women. Independence for women threatened traditional social and gender roles, and consequently men’s civil power. Margaret and Frances Macdonald embodied this “new woman” with their status and education as professional artists and the visual motifs that they accordingly employed. They managed to combine feminine and masculine characteristics into one figure in their works, effectively establishing an androgynous figure. In the process they managed to establish an equality, if not superiority, of... Tue, 13 Sep 2011 09:41 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/573/the-macdonald-sisters-how-they-visually-created-equality-between-men-and-women http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/564/posthuman-exploring-the-obsolescence-of-the-corporeal-body-in-contemporary-art By Ryan P. O'Donnell - A key practitioner in posthumanist art is the Australian performance artist, Stelarc. Stelarc’s work deals heavily with “the obsolete body”. The artist does not however suggest that the body is obsolete in the sense that it can be discarded entirely. He instead suggests that humans as a species have created a new technological environment in which we cannot operate effectively as living organisms. The body is obsolete in the sense that it is no longer compatible with its surroundings. We have reached an evolutionary endpoint where the next logical stage of adaptation is for the... Thu, 25 Aug 2011 09:30 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/564/posthuman-exploring-the-obsolescence-of-the-corporeal-body-in-contemporary-art http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/561/political-and-social-change-and-its-depictions-in-19th-century-french-and-english-caricature-decapitation-dismemberment-and-defecation By Ryan P. O'Donnell - This essay discusses the role of caricatures and cartoons in promoting political and social change during the eighteenth and nineteenth century. The first section examines the caricature as an instrument of social change. The nexy section examines the development of caricature within France, and the subsequent attack of monarchical systems of government, leading to changing perceptions of the monarch figure and implications of censorship. The third section examines satirical caricature’s attack of the Church, and its questioning of both the role of religion in society and the differentiation... Mon, 15 Aug 2011 08:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/561/political-and-social-change-and-its-depictions-in-19th-century-french-and-english-caricature-decapitation-dismemberment-and-defecation