Would you consider a very short, non-standard thesis that lacks a research questions, a thesis?
You're comparing PhD theses and Master's theses. They are nothing alike and you shouldn't expect a Master's thesis to be on the level of a PhD thesis. At least where I'm from, and since you mention math I'll say it's in math, a Master's thesis has no requirement for originality or length. I've seen students graduate with theses 30 pages long. There does not need to be a research question in them, it's essentially an exercise in writing something in an academic style about current research.

You're also comparing science with humanities (here, fine arts). Again, nothing alike. I'm a scientist so I have no idea what the expectations are in the humanities, but again, I wouldn't expect them to be even remotely similar to my expectations for a scientific Master's thesis. My layman's impression is that in the humanities the author's personal style and ideas count for much more than general established standards of form and structure. Things are much less uniform. I am vaguely aware of how things work in architecture and this certainly seems to be the case there.

The college found the thesis good enough to award the degree, apparently. Calling the thesis a "hoax" is more than criticism of your acquaintance's work, it's an insult. You can make up your mind about the quality of the college's degrees if you want, but without being particularly knowledgeable about general requirements of master's theses in fine arts, this would not be a very well informed opinion.