This dissertation traces the history of a diagram. The diagram shows four circles of gradually diminishing sizes, lodged one inside the other, like the layers of a circular or spherical body. For a group of artists, curators, architects, and activists centered around Moderna Museet in Stockholm between the mid-1960s and the mid-1970s, the diagram represented a new type of museum: a museological Information Center modeled on the computer, operating as a site for radically democratic social experiments. The four layers stood for different functions: information capture, processing, interface, storage; or, put differently: social spaces and media resources, workshop floors, exhibition facilities, collection. Through close readings of a series of exhibitions and institutional projects in Sweden, the US, and France, this dissertation follows the development of this diagram: its prehistory and formulation, its different implementations, and its direct and indirect effects. It studies Moderna Museet’s original, unrealized project for Kulturhuset in Stockholm, according to which the museum should project its dynamic energies across the city center, serving as a “catalyst for the active forces in society”. It discusses the museum’s confrontation with digital technologies in the late 1960s, through pioneering museological organizations such as the Museum Computer Network in New York. It analyzes the exhibition formats developed in correspondence with the notion of the museum as a “vast experimental laboratory” and a “broadcasting station”: the exhibition as critical information pattern, as tele-commune. And it studies the diagram’s afterlife as one of the models informing the Centre Pompidou in Paris, during that project’s early phases. The Exhibitionary Complex reads these endeavors and visions as attempts to devise a critical understanding of the exhibitionary apparatus in relation to new information environments and media systems. It sheds light on a largely forgotten aspect of the exhibitionary, museological, and cultural history of the late twentieth century, in Sweden and internationally. But it also seeks to establish new models for grasping the exhibition’s singularity and potentials as a cultural and media technological form, in relation to the emergence of new information networks, as they exert increasing control over social, cultural, and political existence. / Space, Power, Ideology

A Research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the Degree Masters in History of Arts at the University of Witwatersrand, 2017 / This research report has followed three periods in the history of the political struggle for freedom in South Africa, from the height of the Anti-apartheid struggle in the 1980s to the present day by way of exploring three exhibitions of resistance posters as case studies. It is located in the realm of political and art history. Looking at the positioning of the resistance poster in South African art history, the intension is to highlight how these exhibitions have used display strategies to construct values reflected in the resistance poster. The three selected exhibitions are as follows: firstly, Thami Mnyele and Medu Art Ensemble Retrospective (2008), Second is the exhibition Images of Defiance: South African poster of the 1980’s (2004). And the third exhibition Interruptions: Posters from the Community Arts Project Archive (2014). / XL2018

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:42:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rita de Cassia Demarchi.pdf: 6041347 bytes, checksum: cee4d6e458be14e5e95ef700807dc145 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-24 / Theoretical reflections and images/photographies approach in this research the complex domain which involves the visitors and art exhibition museums in Brazil and abroad. Based on research methodologies in Arts (Róldan & Marin-Viadel, 2012), single images or compound as photoshoots are considered a mode of knowledge and foster studies and reflections. Apart from the dialogue among images, the experience lived and the thought of scholars from different areas, the lightness of poetry and metaphors is also included in this work as well as reflections from contemporary art and Art history. Some issues concerning the contemporary scenario which can impede the meeting between the individual and art are discussed, such as excess, spect cle, consumerism, speed, tourism. These issues constitute what was named as penumbra and nourish the attitudes of the fugitive subject visitors. There must be both for the visitor and the researcher an openness for the aesthetical experience, land of the pilgrim, in order to unveil penumbra, ambivalence, maze and twilight. This openness inspires the research as a path of pilgrimage in order to search for the understanding of the complexity of phenomena and the poetic work of capturing the images shots at the exhibitions. This research of phenomenological nature adopts the theoretical framework of authors who reflect upon contemporaneity, such as Calabrese (1988), Bauman (2001); as well as authors who value sensibility and experience, such as Bachelard (1988), Dewey(2010), Merleau-Ponty(1975), Ferreira Santos (2005), Maffesoli (1998). / Reflexões teóricas e imagens/ fotografias abordam nesta pesquisa o complexo território que envolve os visitantes e os museus de exposições de arte, no Brasil e no exterior. Com base nas metodologias de pesquisa em arte (Róldan & Marin-Viadel, 2012), imagens individuais ou compostas como foto-ensaios são consideradas uma forma de conhecimento e impulsionam o estudo e a reflexão. Além do diálogo entre as imagens, a experiência vivida e o pensamento de estudiosos de diferentes áreas, inclui-se a leveza da poesia e das metáforas, além de reflexões derivadas da arte contemporânea e da história da arte. São discutidas algumas questões acerca da paisagem contemporânea que podem dificultar o encontro do sujeito com a arte, tais como o excesso, o espetáculo, o consumo, a velocidade, o turismo, que constituem o que foi nomeado de penumbra e alimentam as atitudes dos visitantes sujeitos fugidios. Tanto para o visitante, quanto para a pesquisadora, a fim de desvelar em meio à penumbra e as ambivalências, ao labirinto e ao crepúsculo, há que se ter a abertura para a experiência estética, terreno do peregrino. Abertura que inspira a pesquisa como uma trajetória de peregrinação em busca de compreensão da complexidade dos fenômenos e o trabalho poético de captura das imagens - flagrantes nas exposições. A pesquisa de cunho fenomenológico adota como referencial teórico autores que abordam reflexões sobre a contemporaneidade tais como: Calabrese (1988), Bauman (2001); e autores que valorizam a sensibilidade e a experiência, entre eles: Bachelard (1988), Dewey(2010), Merleau-Ponty(1975), Ferreira Santos (2005), Maffesoli (1998).

Cette étude a analysé la présence des sculpteurs italiens à Paris du début du XX siècle à la fin des années Trente, afin de reconstituer un chapitre important de l'histoire des échanges artistiques en France. Nous nous sommes servis d'une méthode historique et philologique, qui a bien été appliquée aux écrits critiques et à la presse de l'époque. Pour ce qui concerne le début du siècle, nous avons remarqué une participation considérable de la part des italiens aux principaux événements expositifs de la capitale comme les Salons officiels; le succès de public et commercial leur avait permis d'obtenir une place parmi les artistes à la mode les plus connus. Pendant les années Vingt, nous avons constaté un nombre moins significatif de sculpteurs; nous avons lu ce fait en nous rapportant à la situation historique italienne, qui en ce temps subissait des importants changements dus à l'ascension du régime fasciste. Les italiens qui étaient encore présents en France après la Guerre ne s'inséraient guère dans le cadre des nouvelles recherches artistiques italiennes, ils poursuivaient, au contraire, des orientations esthétiques plutôt dépassées. La dernière partie de notre étude s'est intéressée à l'essor du nouveau langage artistique de la péninsule italienne qui pendant les années Trente se répandit enfin même à l'étranger. Les sculpteurs italiens pouvaient donc participer activement à la vie expositive parisienne, tout en montrant le visage d'une plastique qui avait enfin pris conscience de ses potentialités. La France de sa part accueillait volontiers ces expérimentations, dans le but d'instituer une relation d'amitié durable avec le pays voisin. / This study has analyzed the presence of Italian sculptors in Paris from the beginning of the 20th Century to the end of the third decade, with the aim of reconstructing an important chapter of the history of artistic exchanges between Italy and France. We have favored an historical-philological method, based on critical publications and old French and Italian press.Concerning the beginning of the century, we have remarked a considerable participation of Italians in the main expositions in the French capital, such as official Salons; critical and market success allowed them to get a main role in the crew of the most popular artists.During the twenties, we have noted a less considerable participation of Italian sculptors; we have interpreted it in relation to historical context of fascist Italy, where the government was trying to develop a national cultural program. The Italian artists in France, after the First World War, didn't share the new Italian artistic orientation; they went on with outdated aesthetic choices.The last part of our research was interested in the development of the new Italian artistic language, finally known out of Italy. The Italian sculptors consequently could take part in arts activity in Paris, showing the face of a new sculpture, finally aware of its potentialities. France gave these experimentations a good welcome in the aim of constituting a longtime friendship with the Italian country.

Na tese é averiguado o estatuto do fato artístico em exposições na atualidade, mediante a investigação de sua recepção em exibições nacionais e internacionais de arte brasileira. Fundamenta-se em textos relativos às mostras, observados à luz do multiculturalismo, de vertentes da filosofia contemporânea e das demandas por reconhecimento nas sociedades atuais. Está dividida em quatro partes, onde são examinadas as tendências da arte nacional de vanguarda nas mostras dos anos 1960, a fim de entender, por intermédio do conceito de performação, como procedimentos transferem-se do objeto artístico às exposições; averigua-se então como as tendências performam nas narrativas expositivas nos anos 1980; na seguinte são identificadas mostras dirigidas à proposição discursiva, conceituadas pela pesquisa como exposições proposicionais defrontadas a outros projetos expositivos; por fim dialoga com a produção universitária concernente ao assunto abordado. / This thesis examines the status of the artistic fact in contemporary exhibitions, through the investigation of its reception in national and international Brazilian art exhibitions. It is founded on texts concerning expositions in light of multiculturalism, some aspects of contemporary philosophy and demands of recognition in contemporary societies. It is divided into four parts: where the tendencies of national avant-garde art exhibitions of the 1960s are examined, in order to understand how procedures were transferred from the artistic object to the exhibitions, through the concept of performação; it is then ascertained how tendencies perform in the expository narratives in the 1980s; then exhibitions towards the discursive proposition are identified and conceptualized by the research as propositional expositions in face of other expositive projects; finally, it dialogues with university production concerning the subject matter.

M. Tech. (Department of Visual Arts and Design: Fine Arts, Faculty of Human Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / Problem statement This study investigates black women’s diverse hairstyles through art. The main research question is: How can black women’s diverse hairstyles be understood through art to appreciate the meaning attached to these hairstyles? The research question is informed by a black feminist theory. Objectives of the study Based on the research problem, the objectives of the study were first, to find out how black women’s diverse hairstyles could be understood through art to appreciate the meanings attached to these hairstyles. Secondly, to examine similarities and/or differences between how Lebohang Motaung (hereinafter referred to as Motaung) and Lorna Simpson (hereinafter referred to as Simpson) construct and express meanings of diverse hairstyles in their artworks. This was done by means of analysing the two artists’ artworks. Thirdly, to find out what or who influences Motaung’s choice of hairstyles, which was done by conducting an in-depth individual interview with Motaung. Fourthly, to find out what or who influences Simpson’s choice of hairstyles, which was done by reviewing the literature on Simpson. Fifthly, to explore how Motaung and Simpson interpret their physical appearance based on their hairstyles. Research design and methodology The empirical investigation focused on analysing black women’s diverse hairstyles by means of analysing artworks of Motaung (black South African female artist) and Simpson (black American female artist). This study contextualises black women’s artworks as visual responses to patriarchal, social subjugation and objectification of black women’s hair, by using black feminist epistemology through artistic production. Data collected through visual material were analysed using Barnet’s (2011:37-38) critical analysis of artefacts strategy. Barnet’s steps of critical analysis include description of the artefact, interpretation of the artefact, analysis of the artefact and personal report. The analysis of the artworks enabled the researcher to compare and contrast the artworks of the two selected participants. The researcher first analysed the black South African contemporary female artist, Motaung’s (b.1992), work as a visual form of resistance to masculine control of images of black women’s hairstyle representations and self-definition. The researcher believes that Motaung creates self-defined artworks that appreciate the beauty of black women’s hair and she demystifies the ambiguous meaning attached to black hairstyles. Secondly, Simpson’s (b.1960) artworks were analysed in the study to understand what or who influences her choice of hairstyles. The researcher found it appropriate, for her study, to focus on Simpson, because she is a prominent contemporary black American feminist artist, who explores the concept of black hairstyles, focusing on themes such as race, gender and identity formation. Furthermore, one in-depth, individual interview was conducted with Motaung. The analysis was based on black feminism that enabled the researcher to listen to Motaung’s views and be part of her portrayal of black women’s diverse hairstyles. The qualitative data collection and methodology were guided by ethical considerations of the Vaal University of Technology for undertaking research. Ethical procedures were followed regarding selected participants for both artwork analysis and the interview. Five themes emerged from this analysis, namely Motaung’s personal background, black hair politics, conceptual work, choice of medium and working process, art influencers and artwork clarification. Black women’s diverse hairstyles In contemporary times, black women’s hairstyle representations are highly politicised as black people strive to reclaim their identities. The changing meaning of what is good hair for black women is highly controversial; some black women consider natural hairstyles as good and authentic hair for black women, because they embrace the Afrocentric beauty standard that was degraded by whites since the colonial era. On the other hand, other black women are comfortable with altered hair that is viewed as a European beauty standard, because altered hair has become part of black women’s culture and identity. The literature review suggests that historically, narrow European-centric beauty standards have deemed black women’s natural features as unattractive and unprofessional, especially their textured, curly to kinky hair. These restrictive ideals have left black women in a compromised position, having to adhere to certain societal norms for the sake of upward mobility, whether that is getting ahead professionally or fitting into a myriad of social environments in which they can be accepted. Main findings From the literature review, the study found that there are controversial viewpoints regarding what is or is not suitable for black women in terms of their hairstyles. The controversy led to black women’s hairstyles being discussed constantly in binary opposition of good/ bad hair, natural/ unnatural, Afro-centric/ Eurocentric, authentic/ inauthentic, African/ Western, low/ high self-esteem, amongst others. The literature further indicates that there is a need to conduct a study that embraces diverse (both natural and unnatural) hairstyles to get rid of the politics, oppressions and binary oppositions placed on black women’s hairstyles. From the analysis of the two artists, Simpson’s works were found suitable for this study because her body of work links with that of Motaung’s, in terms of concept, style, theory, content and technique, despite the fact that these artists are located in different geographical contexts and settings. From the individual interview, the study found that Motaung was prompted by black hair politics, such as the politics of exclusion of black hairstyles, such as afros and braids in educational institutions and work places. Such politics inspired her to create artworks on black women’s diverse hairstyles. Motaung focused on natural hairstyles because she wanted black women to see what they can do with their natural hair. By using natural hairstyles, Motaung wanted to challenge the misconception that natural hair is not beautiful. The study also found that Motaung focused on unnatural hairstyles because there is bias against black women who wear synthetic hair. Motaung created artworks using synthetic hair to make a bold statement that synthetic hair is not fake hair but rather extra hair, which black women can use to self-express and self-define. Recommendations ● The study recommends that self-definition is a black feminist strategy that black women can use to self-insert and self-represent using diverse hairstyles. The act of insisting on black women’s self-definition validates black women’s power as human subjects, against structural patriarchal forces and beauty standards that are continuously set for black women. ● The study recommends that it is significant for black women to embrace diverse hairstyles, to get rid of the politics, oppressions and binary oppositions placed on black women’s hairstyles. ● From the artworks of Motaung and Simpson, the study recommends that it is significant for black female artists to produce artworks on diverse hairstyles to diminish oppressive structures that are placed on black women’s hairstyle representations.

[pt] O Design de Exibições já é bem conhecido e aplicado em museus de arte de diversos países. No Brasil, sua prática em museus de arte se afirmou progressivamente nas últimas décadas. Sua classificação duvidosa como disciplina no Campo do Design e sua complexidade por envolver conhecimentos multidisciplinares faz com que seu ensino em universidades e em cursos de Design ainda não seja uma realidade comum no Rio de Janeiro, talvez no Brasil. Profissionais brasileiros que atuam na área aprendem com o exercício da prática e não com auxílio de uma teoria de base. A concepção e a montagem de exibições de arte exigem trabalho em equipes multidisciplinares. Enquanto esse fato possa trazer uma confluência positiva de conhecimentos variados, também pode gerar dúvidas quanto ao papel de cada categoria profissional envolvida, fazendo surgir possíveis conflitos dentro das equipes. Portanto, julga-se relevante descobrir qual o papel do designer nessa prática e o momento de sua participação. Finalmente, o Design de Exibições pode evidenciar objetos expostos em museus de arte por meio do emprego de narrativa e pelo recurso a cores, luzes, tecnologia, entre outros elementos. Também o Design de Exibições tem a possibilidade de tornar exibições de arte mais amigáveis aos visitantes, porém não se confirmou a hipótese de ser ele um facilitador para uma melhor compreensão do que venha a ser arte e seus conceitos por parte do público. / [en] Exhibition Design is already well established and applied in art museums in numerous countries. In Brazil, it was progressively practiced in art museums during the past decades. However, its teaching in universities and in design courses is still not a reality in Rio de Janeiro, and maybe in Brazil, due to its doubtful classification as a discipline within the Design Field and due to its complexity, involving multidisciplinary knowledge. Brazilian professionals working in the field learn through practice and are not supported by a theoretical base. The intricate process of elaborating an art exhibition requires multidisciplinary teams. While this fact can bring a positive confluence of varied knowledge, it can also create uncertainty regarding the role of each professional category involved, creating possible team conflicts. Therefore, it is deemed necessary to define the designer s role and the timing of his/ her participation. Finally, Exhibition Design can highlight objects exposed in art museums through narrative and the use of colour, light, technology, among other elements. Exhibition Design can also make art exhibitions more visitor friendly, but the hypothesis that it facilitates the public s better understanding of art and its concepts was not confirmed.

Depuis les années 1980-1990, au moment où on assiste, dans le monde de l’art contemporain globalisé, à une prolifération des biennales internationales d’art contemporain, le climat de compétition s’intensifie et l’univers des biennales se phénoménalise et s’homogénéise. Ce mémoire a pour but d’historiciser et de définir les biennales sous leur nature phénoménale afin d’identifier, parmi leur hétérogénéité, un dénominateur commun sous lequel il est possible de comparer ces institutions artistiques en toute légitimité. Le projet étudie ce point de comparaison défini selon les trois critères d’autoévaluation des biennales identifiés dans cette recherche : la globalisation, l’industrie culturelle et touristique, ainsi que l’événementiel et le spectaculaire. Ce mémoire présente comme étude de cas la Biennale de Montréal et son récent renouvèlement. Il fait le point sur la controverse y étant reliée à travers une analyse comparée de la nouvelle Biennale de Montréal et les grandes biennales internationales. / Since the 1980s and 1990s, back when Contemporary Art Biennials were quickly spreading in the Global Artworld, the climate of competition has been intensifying. The world of biennials is becoming more homogenous and more of a phenomenon each year. The current study’s purpose is to historicize and define the biennials according to their phenomenal nature in order to go beyond their heterogeneity and find a common denominator which would allow the comparison of such artistic institutions in a legitimate way. The project will study this point of comparison according to three areas of self-assessment identified for this purpose: globalization, the cultural and touristic industries as well as the entertainment industry. The case study for this research is Montreal’s biennial and its recent renewal. It will explore the controversy related to the subject by analysing and comparing the new Montreal Biennial to the great international biennials.

This thesis will examine the practice of relational aesthetics as it involves the viewer, as well as the way in which it plays out within and outside of the institutional setting of the museum. I will focus primarily on two unique projects: that of The Machine Project Field Guide at Los Angeles County Museum of Art on November 15, 2008, produced by Machine Project, a social project operated out of a storefront gallery in Echo Park; and David Michalek's Slow Dancing at the Lincoln Center Festival in New York City, July 12-29 2007.

The study unpacked the meaning and the value of intonjane in traditional Xhosa communities. It also provides a critical analysis and interpretation of the intonjane custom and in particular its impact on the upbringing of a Xhosa traditional girl child. It investigates the value of this practice, especially in relation to where it is still being performed, even in our modern times. I researched closely into all aspects of how the girls were brought up, and with what social values. The data collection has been conducted through interviews with the Philakukuzenzela group when they were in Grahamstown Art Festival in July 2011 who come from a place called Centuli, and other people (abaThembu) who practice and have knowledge of the different aspects of the intonjane process and observation during the actual ceremonies in O. R. Thambo district, and in Gemvale near Port St Johns in the Province of the Eastern Cape. Interviews were conducted in Xhosa and translated into English. This Visual Narrative investigates and contributes to the debate regarding the value of traditional African thought and how it can enrich our contemporary belief system. The objective was to investigate the essence and merit of the knowledge imparted by elderly women to young girls during the initiation period of intonjane within Xhosa traditional communities. This study provides a foundation and springboard for my practical artworks which utilized symbols and metaphors to express my understanding of the important events and stages associated with this traditional ceremony. Clay medium was used as the medium of expression, applying different techniques such as throwing, press mold, slab building, coiling, engraving, sewing and inlaying, with press mold being the main technique utilized. My artworks are of three different types, which are symbolic of the three aspects or stages, of liminality, namely: pre-liminal, liminal and post-liminal. / Art history, Visual arts and Musicology / M.A. (Visual Arts)