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My thesis considers the distinctive characteristics of contemporary artistic production and display in Scotland from the 1960s to the present. The main objective is to make manifest the diversification of global sites of contemporary art away from traditional centres by examining less exposed aspects of art practice in Scotland. My methodology is driven by a set of case studies of artist-run initiatives (ARIs), which provide models of enquiry into alternative methods of production and display of contemporary art and that demonstrate the role of ARIs in producing art scenes, and not merely representing those that already exist. I focus on counter-histories of self-organised ARIs and their legacies, and adopt a genealogical approach to examine how recent praxis and infrastructures came into existence and how their initial impetus intersected with their historical conditions. Anthony Giddens’ structuration theory is employed to examine local forms of power and infrastructure, as well as the wider, global structures of the art world. The emphasis is on how ARIs and established institutions can and do negotiate with each other and in recognising the interpenetration of different scales of art institutions. I apply a bifurcated approach in order to bring Scotland into dialogue with anthropological discussions of cultural globalisation. I ask how locality, nationalism and globalisation are configured in (visual) culture generally and as applied specifically to a Scottish context. This is underpinned by a consideration of Scottish Devolution as a disintegration of hierarchical domination, which correlates to the ideologies of artist-run practice. Finally, I propose the eradication of top-down delivery in favour of horizontal distributions of knowledge and practice via self-organisation.

Contemporary Chinese ink art is often seen as a part of an ongoing history in the Western art world, as opposed to a part of the contemporary. This thesis addresses the history of Chinese ink, the Westernization of the Chinese art world, and the major exhibitions of Chinese contemporary ink artwork that have been held in the Western world.

I conducted a case study to observe three art classes at various campuses throughout Austin, Texas in order to observe how art criticism methods were used to guide classroom discussions about contemporary art. By engaging in art criticism in the classroom, an instructor can ultimately enrich the teaching and learning of art. They can also assist students in learning to subjectively evaluate images from their everyday lives, reinforcing the value placed on thoughtful description through art education. Learning how to turn an evaluation from a judgmental and careless acceptance or dismissal into a thoughtful analysis can suspend indifference and re-invigorate the potential educational aspect of time spent in the art classroom and expand the scope of learning outside the arena of art. The value of using contemporary art for these evaluations, as opposed to more traditionally recognized artists, enables the art lessons to become integrated into a social and cultural context and can integrate social studies, political science, and any number of other concentrations into arts education. / text

This dissertation examines the notion of the female in performance, the latter term applying to occasions that are outside as well as within theatrical venues. I attempt to address the complex and mutually entailed interrelation between the 'normative' as it has, and continues to, govern female behaviour, and those manifestations deemed transgressive of these in some respect. I seek to postulate a conception of the performing female as a phenomenon which owes its force to the presence of both polarities. My preferred term for such a figure is the female bouffon, and after a preliminary definition of associated terms, I discuss the carnivalesque, socially licenced occasions of 'misrule' in pre-modern societies, where norms were temporarily suspended to permit women to 'make a spectacle of themselves'. Some contemporary parallels are furnished. I then address the larger and more discursive issues of the reflexive and self-applied norms of proper female conduct as offered and justified by industrial, scientifically authorized societies. From the above, I turn to the extraordinary creative ferment of the turn of the twentieth century, which witnessed the rebellious re-institution of older performance genres as well as the invention of new ones. I then discuss the associated theatrical theorizing that accompanied this era. After a detailed examination of the work of two contemporary practitioners, who, I consider, gather together past and present themes of bouffonerie in a compelling way, I give examples of my own performance practice, and some analysis of its reciprocal relation with an audience. I conclude with some speculative thoughts as to the future of the bouffonesque female performer.

This essay is a study of Agnes Martin (1912-2004), a Canadian-born and American-based contemporary artist, and her earlier painting practice including, but not limited, to her work Falling Blue of 1963. The exploration of this piece and others frames Martin’s early work as a process of material exploration analogous to weaving and fiber art. This framing is enhanced by the friendship and professional exchange between Martin and artist Lenore Tawney (1907-2007). The textile lens, as explored in this paper, has been undeveloped compared to other approaches to Martin’s early work and practice.

A dissertação Espaços para o corpo: antropometria na arte contemporânea apresenta a pesquisa em relação às operações poéticas desenvolvidas em uma série de trabalhos artísticos; dentre os quais, recortes da produção tridimensional de Hélio Oiticica, Anish Kapoor e Ana Maria Tavares, que visam à criação do que chamaremos de escala antropométrica. Partindo da escultura, a construção desses tridimensionais, ainda que neles seja superada toda figuração, pode se aliar à escala que dimensiona o ser humano. Desse modo, essas obras se relacionam com o corpo do visitante ao se darem à sua experiência como trabalho artístico, uma dimensão, tanto poética, que inclui o espectador, ou o convida a participar dela. Em segundo passo, apresenta a pesquisa estética do próprio autor deste texto e em parceria com Deyson Gilbert, cuja produção resulta em explorações espaciais e temporais propondo questionamentos parcialmente sucedâneos aos dos artistas precedentes. / The dissertation Spaces for the body: anthropometry in contemporary art presents the research related to operations carried out in a poetic series of artworks, among which cutouts of Hélio Oiticicas, Anish Kapoors and Ana Maria Tavares three-dimensional production, aimed at creating what we will call anthropometric scale. Based on the sculpture, the construction of three-dimensional, although they can be overcome every figure representation, can be allied with the human scale. Thus, these works relate to the visitor\'s body when they give to their experience as artwork, a dimension, so poetic, that includes the viewer, or invites to participate. The second part presents the text author\'s aesthetic research (on his own and in partnership with Deyson Gilbert), whose production results in temporal and space exploration by proposing questions to partially succeed the previous artists.

A pesquisa analisa o conjunto de mudanças que nas últimas duas décadas ampliaram a projeção da arte contemporânea brasileira no exterior, tendo como ponto de partida a obra e a projeção internacional do artista Hélio Oiticica, deflagradas com a mostra do PS1 Brazil Projects, onde aconteceu seu (re)lançamento. Através de uma análise crítica sobre a percepção da produção artística nacional em território estrangeiro, o estudo visa contribuir para a compreensão do campo da arte e das diversas variáveis que incidem no processo de reconhecimento do valor de uma trajetória artística, quer potencialize sua difusão, quer contribua para intensificar sua produção. O trabalho identifica os atores que compõem este circuito, nomeadamente os estrangeiros-críticos, curadores (independentes ou ligados a instituições), colecionadores, marchands e artistas. Apresenta e compara diversos pontos de vistas e ações quanto a produção contemporânea brasileira e permite que sejam identificadas ressonâncias e confrontos entre a recepção internacional e a local. Ao detectar um conjunto de pensamentos, foi possível revelar elos e assimetrias estabelecidas com a cultura brasileira. / The present work analyzes the foreign reception of Brazilian contemporary art in the last two decades. The exhibition of the work of Hélio Oiticica, starting from the show Brazil Projects held in PS1, is the reference point for this analysis. The critical examination of the reception of Brazilian art abroad intends to expand the comprehension of contemporary art practices, as the multiple influences that may contribute to the value of an art object and intensifying the production of an artist. This research identifies the persons involved with Hélio Oiticica\'s work - critics, independent curators, collectors, marchands and artists - and compares different points of view related to Brazilian contemporary art. In particular, the work contrasts the foreign and national attitudes toward Brasillian art, unveiling convergences and divergences in the perception of Brazilian culture.

Este trabalho estuda três obras de arte contemporânea que têm como proposta intervenções espaciais sutis e a consequente ressignificação dos espaços em que estão inseridas. Partimos de uma revisão histórica da apropriação do espaço na obra de arte, desde a expansão da escultura moderna para o espaço até o formato instalação, no qual a obra trabalha o espaço de forma específica. Em seguida, discutimos a relação entre os conceitos de tempo e duração, bem como sua relação com o espaço, como embasamento para análise das obras escolhidas. A partir daí, nos dedicamos ao estudo de três obras contemporâneas: a instalação Alter Bahnhof Video Walk (2012) [Vídeo-caminhada Alter Bahnhof (2012)] de Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller, realizada na estação central de trens de Kassel, Alemanha; a instalação I Need Some Meaning I Can Memorise (The Invisible Pull) [Eu preciso de algum significado que eu possa memorizar (A piscina invisível)] (2012) de Ryan Gander realizada no museu Friedericianum, Kassel, Alemanha - ambas apresentadas durante a 13ª Documenta de Kassel (2012); e a instalação Sem título de Fernanda Gomes, apresentada na 30ª Bienal de São Paulo (2012). O interesse deste trabalho é apontar como tais obras interferem no espaço existente, sem necessariamente alterá-lo fisicamente, desde a ideia de vazio, analisandoos criticamente em relação aos seus precedentes. / This dissertation studies three works of contemporary art that have as their purpose subtle space interventions and the consequent redetermination of the spaces in which they are inserted. We start with a historical revision of the appropriation of space regarding the work of art, from the expansion of modern sculpture into space to the installation format, in which the work uses the space in a particular way. Next, we discuss the relationship between the concepts of time and duration, as well as their relationship with space, as a basis for analyzing the works selected. Hence, we study and analyze three contemporary works: Alter Bahnhof Video Walk (2012) by Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller, designed for the central train station in Kassel, Germany; I Need Some Meaning I Can Memorize (The Invisible Pull) (2012) by Ryan Gander, at the Friedericianum Museum, Kassel, Germany - both presented during the 13th Documenta, Kassel (2012); and Untitled by Fernanda Gomes, presented at the 30th São Paulo Biennial (2012). This paper aims to point out how such works interfere in the existing space - the idea of emptiness, analyzing them critically in relation to its precedents - without necessarily changing it physically.

Esta tese tem como objetivo delimitar e analisar uma estratégia artística recorrente a partir do final da década de 1960, que consiste exclusivamente, ou incorpora como seu elemento fundamental, o ato de andar, na maioria dos casos por parte dos próprios artistas. Para definir essa prática, utiliza-se aqui o termo deriva, cuja matriz situacionista introduz o olhar social e politicamente engajado a partir do qual a maioria das obras analisadas foram criadas, e com base no qual elas são lidas neste contexto. Na primeira parte da tese, são desenvolvidas algumas considerações teóricas, com o fim de evidenciar algumas características recorrentes na produção das derivas, ao passo que elas são contextualizadas em preocupações e tendências mais gerais, como a que visa a desmaterialização da arte, ou a chamada estética relacional, entre outras. Na segunda parte, apresenta-se um compêndio bastante amplo, e apesar disso ainda longe de poder ser considerado completo, de obras pertinentes nesta discussão, produzidas ao longo das últimas quatro décadas. / This thesis seeks to delimitate and analyze an artistic strategy that can be considered recurrent since the end of the 1960s, and which consists basically, or at least includes as its core element, the act of walking, mostly undertaken by the artist him/herself. In order to define this practice, the word employed is the Situationist term \"deriva\" (drift), which situates the reader in the socially and politically engaged context in which most of the works here analyzed were created, and based upon which they are therefore read. In the first part of the thesis, a series of theoretical considerations is made, aiming at identifying a few recurrent characteristics of the \"drifts\", while at the same time placing them in the context of more general trends and concerns, as the so-called Demateriali- zation of art, or Relational Aesthetics, among others. The second part consists basically of a large, although certainly not complete, summary of works that are relevant for this research, produced during the last five decades.