Creative Practice Showcase
Researchers and innovators present projects or art programs and initiatives. All presentations should be grounded in presenters' research experience. Promotional conversations are permissible, however, products or services may not be sold at the conference venue.
Fleeting Remembrances of of Cultures Past: The Travel Portfolio of Austrian Painter-Printmaker Hertha Furth
Creative Practice Showcase Louis Kavouras, Robert Tracy
The search for truth, peace and harmony through art started early for Hertha Furth. Born into an affluent Austrian household, Furth chose to fill the massive void in her life caused by the premature death of her mother with art. Art became the faithful companion for Furth that never failed to clarify the various layers of life as this young artist transitioned into adulthood and maturity. Part of her journey was listening to stories told by her father and aunts about the energies of contemporary life within the urban environment before WWI. “It was during my travels,” Furth wrote for the January 1967 exhibit of her work in Chicago, “that I became deeply involved in trying to capture the essence of ancient cultures. Watercolor proved an ideal medium to evoke the fleeting remembrance of things past…the beauty of cathedrals and mosques, quaint streets, bridges, fountains and open-air markets. Many of these will soon vanish forever, victims of increasing industrialization and efficiency.” This paper will examine 30 en-plein-air paintings by Hertha Furth, from the Jana Ward collection.
Amalgamation: The First Truth of Buddhism in Memento Mori
Creative Practice Showcase Saral Surakul
The truth of suffering is the First Truth among the Four Notable Truths which constitute the essences of the Buddha’s teachings. The First Truth identifies the cause of sufferings: birth, old age, sickness, and death. A Latin phrase “Memento Mori” in Christianity is remarkably parallel to the First Truth in Buddhism. Everything is ephemeral and transient. The Memento Mori series of four digital images amalgamates the above philosophies from both religions. The figure of a young girl in each picture serves as a vessel conveying an idea behind birth, old age, sickness, and death as she sometimes depicts the message or is the subject matter itself. Green, red, white, and black color schemes are assigned to each image respectively; green represents the springtime of life; red suggests the horror of sickness; white signifies the fading phase of life; black suggests the sorrow of death. The series is a hybrid between art and illustration. The models and scenes are created in three-dimensional software in which lights and cameras with realistic properties can be set up and positioned. With advanced technology, digital images are created to resemble traditional paintings. My work is a doorway that links between the world of light and dark, beauty and horror, imagination and reality.
Exploring Theater in Health: Wellness Outcomes from Acting Workshops
Creative Practice Showcase Connie Amundson, Catherine Madden
Research, public policy, and practice of the use of the creative arts for health promotion has expanded internationally during the past two decades. This showcase will report on the outcomes of a theater-in-health pilot project and demonstrate some of the drama activities used. The project, scheduled for the winter of 2020, explored quality of life outcomes for participants via pre and post surveys. Some of the activities include: acting exercises to explore place, relationship and desire, action and obstacles in acting scenarios, the art of the warm-up and cool down, audience/communication skills, and creative approaches to self-expression.
