Visual Studies
MAJOR HONORS
To graduate with "Honors in Visual Studies," a student must acheive a GPA of 3.70 in all courses counted toward the Visual Studies major and receive an A or A- on the Senior Thesis Project.
CHARLES WILLSON PEALE PRIZE
The Visual Studies Program awards the Charles Willson Peale Prize each year to a graduating Visual Studies Major (or Majors) who completes an outstanding senior thesis project. Students must also earn major honors to be eligible for the prize. The prize is given in memory of Charles Willson Peale, painter, naturalist, museologist, and one of the leading citizens of Philadelphia during the period of the early Republic. The prize comes with a $500 award.
Past Charles Willson Peale Prize recipients:
2021
Veronica Fenton
Un-“real” Background
Zovinar Khrimian
A Visual Interface for Collective Ritual Experience | The Perceptual Mediation of Self-Transcendence and Social Interconnectedness in Contemporary Ritual Spaces
Paolo Nasr
Multiple Masculinities | Investigating the Impact of AIDS on Representations of Masculinity in Fashion Photography
2020
Kabele Cook
Shades of Grey: Color Vision and the Smartphone
Amy Juang
Fishing in the Anthropocene: Visual Culture Originating from a 1966 Experiment
2019
Caroline Miller
Rodin: A Fascination with the Fragmentary
Sarah Thomas
I'm Not that Type of Girl: The Potential for Liberation from Objectification via the Artistic Engagement of the Female-Gendered Body with the Abject
2018
Briana Haggerty
The Translation of Physical and Social Environments through Images
Alexa Ignaczak
Using Visual Design to Optimize Desirability Online: An Exploration of Effective Imagery and Visual Design within E-Commerce
2017
Konhee Chang
Composing the Kandinsky Chamber
Lily Kravetz
The Calming Room
Julia Hirschberg
The Historical Development of the Artist-Curator
2016
Natalia Revelo La Rotta
Architecture and Power: A Relationship that Shapes the Public
Vincent Snagg
Indexical Design: Abstraction and Representation in Sensory Applications
2015
Shakeil Greeley
Hyperreality: New Paradigm of Visual Culture
Daniella Sakhai
Isis, Inc.: A Roadmap Investigating Propaganda and Brand Strategy
2014
Sasha Igdalova,
Neural Mandalas: Bridging the Gap between the Cosmos and the Geometric Brain
Gary Kafer,
'Becoming the Morning:' Cinematic Illusionism and Stan Brakhage's Plastic Montage
Lauren Robie,
Mind the Motion: Drawing in Transit to Combat Rider Mindlessness
2013
Inna Kofman,
Conceptions of Perceptions: vision and olfaction through the ages
Kirby Dixon,
Camouflage: a form of contemporary African American identity
2012
Megan Lewis Velong,
Embodied Perception/Embodied Allegiance: Emotion, Embodiment, and Participatory Art
Amy Tarangelo,
Wonder and Curiosity: from Kunstkammer to Contemporary Art and Science
Levi Thornton,
ArtWeb:A Collaborative Creation
2011
Dorothy Meleander Dayton,
Freak Shows: Blurring the Lines Between Reality, Fantasy, and the Assumed Persona
Margaret Kross,
Place-Hole-ding: Destabilizations of Dwelling and Becoming Fluid
Annie Stancliffe,
Convergent Parallels: Intersections of Live Action Film and Animation
2010
Sara Mead,
Generation Green: Exposing Nature’s Benefits and Improving Access in Urban Areas
Alexandra Berger,
Universalism: Modern Thought and Contemporary Research
Lauren Every-Wortman,
CELEBRITY MARTYRDOM: Representations of Celebrities as Religious Icons in Contemporary Art
Danielle Daitch,
The Effects of Language on Color Processing
2009
Rebecca Starr,
A Need to Write: The Evolution of Personal Narrative From Books to the Blogosphere
Elizabeth Frasco,
The Contingency of Conservation: Changing Methodology and Theoretical Issues in Conserving Ephemeral Contemporary Artworks with Special Reference to Installation Art