Habitual transience : orientation and disorientation within non-places
- Authors: Heymans, Simone
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Beeck, Hans Op de, 1969- , Space perception , Place (Philosophy) , Liminality , Art and society , Art, Modern -- 21st century , Art, Abstract -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: vital:2493 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013141
- Description: This mini-thesis is a supporting document to the exhibition titled via: a phenomenological site-specific series of intermedia interventions and installations at the 1820 Settlers National Monument in Grahamstown. This mini-thesis examines ways in which one negotiates the movement of the self and interactions with others within the non-place. Non-places are ‘habitually transient’ spaces for passage, communication and consumption, often viewed from highways, vehicles, hotels, petrol stations, airports and supermarkets. Characteristic of these generic and somewhat homogenous spaces is the paradox of material excess and concurrent psychological lack where a feeling of disorientation and disconnection is established due to the excesses of Supermodernity: excess of the individual, time and space. The non-place is a contested space as it does not hold enough significance to be regarded as a place and yet, despite its banality, is necessary – and in many ways a privilege – in everyday living. I explore the concept of non-places in relation to the intricate notions of space and place, and draw on empirical research as a means to interrogate how one perceives the phenomenological qualities of one’s surroundings. I discuss the implications of the multiplication of the non-place in relation to globalisation, time–space compression, site-specific art and absentmindedness, as theoretical themes which underpin the practical component of my research. In addition, I situate my artistic practice in relation to other contemporary artists dealing with the non-place as a theme, and critically engage with the multi-disciplinary and sensory installations and video pieces of Belgian artist Hans Op de Beeck.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Heymans, Simone
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Beeck, Hans Op de, 1969- , Space perception , Place (Philosophy) , Liminality , Art and society , Art, Modern -- 21st century , Art, Abstract -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: vital:2493 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013141
- Description: This mini-thesis is a supporting document to the exhibition titled via: a phenomenological site-specific series of intermedia interventions and installations at the 1820 Settlers National Monument in Grahamstown. This mini-thesis examines ways in which one negotiates the movement of the self and interactions with others within the non-place. Non-places are ‘habitually transient’ spaces for passage, communication and consumption, often viewed from highways, vehicles, hotels, petrol stations, airports and supermarkets. Characteristic of these generic and somewhat homogenous spaces is the paradox of material excess and concurrent psychological lack where a feeling of disorientation and disconnection is established due to the excesses of Supermodernity: excess of the individual, time and space. The non-place is a contested space as it does not hold enough significance to be regarded as a place and yet, despite its banality, is necessary – and in many ways a privilege – in everyday living. I explore the concept of non-places in relation to the intricate notions of space and place, and draw on empirical research as a means to interrogate how one perceives the phenomenological qualities of one’s surroundings. I discuss the implications of the multiplication of the non-place in relation to globalisation, time–space compression, site-specific art and absentmindedness, as theoretical themes which underpin the practical component of my research. In addition, I situate my artistic practice in relation to other contemporary artists dealing with the non-place as a theme, and critically engage with the multi-disciplinary and sensory installations and video pieces of Belgian artist Hans Op de Beeck.
- Full Text:
Political grey : areas of ambiguity and contradiction
- Authors: Koekemoer, Carmen
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Politics in art , Art -- Political aspects -- South Africa , Leadership in art , Portraits, African , Portraits, European , Art and revolutions -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: vital:2492 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013136
- Description: This Master of Fine Arts submission, consisting of a thesis titled ‘Political Grey: Areas of Ambiguity and Contradiction’ accompanied by an exhibition titled ‘Positions’, encompasses the concept of leadership while uncovering and expressing its ‘grey areas’ in a contemporary and undefined moment in South Africa. The concept of leadership has been complicated throughout the thesis in terms of how it is conceptualised in a traditional royal African art context as well as how Leader-Figures have been and are portrayed in both Western and African portrait genres. The notion that the new is built upon the old is continued throughout my thesis and is evident in the accompanying body of work. This notion is expressed on a number of levels: by the re-contextualisation of the print medium; the creative processes described as ‘postproduction’ which I use in my work; as well as that which is described as a ‘post-transitional’ moment. The recent political history of the country is considered, with reference made to the anti-apartheid movement and resistance art produced. Printmaking, viewed as an archetypal medium for resistance, is discussed, with reference made to its socio-political role during the 1980s as well as to the extent to which it continues to be used by contemporary artists in a different realm of conflict and change. This is demonstrated by the shift from the medium as a tool for protest to the medium as an instrument of political irony and pointed commentary.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Koekemoer, Carmen
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Politics in art , Art -- Political aspects -- South Africa , Leadership in art , Portraits, African , Portraits, European , Art and revolutions -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: vital:2492 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013136
- Description: This Master of Fine Arts submission, consisting of a thesis titled ‘Political Grey: Areas of Ambiguity and Contradiction’ accompanied by an exhibition titled ‘Positions’, encompasses the concept of leadership while uncovering and expressing its ‘grey areas’ in a contemporary and undefined moment in South Africa. The concept of leadership has been complicated throughout the thesis in terms of how it is conceptualised in a traditional royal African art context as well as how Leader-Figures have been and are portrayed in both Western and African portrait genres. The notion that the new is built upon the old is continued throughout my thesis and is evident in the accompanying body of work. This notion is expressed on a number of levels: by the re-contextualisation of the print medium; the creative processes described as ‘postproduction’ which I use in my work; as well as that which is described as a ‘post-transitional’ moment. The recent political history of the country is considered, with reference made to the anti-apartheid movement and resistance art produced. Printmaking, viewed as an archetypal medium for resistance, is discussed, with reference made to its socio-political role during the 1980s as well as to the extent to which it continues to be used by contemporary artists in a different realm of conflict and change. This is demonstrated by the shift from the medium as a tool for protest to the medium as an instrument of political irony and pointed commentary.
- Full Text:
- «
- ‹
- 1
- ›
- »