This thesis tracks the melodramatic imagination of Tracey Moffatt's art. Whereas many of Moffatt's photographic and filmic works employ conventions of melodrama, the critical literature on her art has barely engaged with this important aspect of her practice. The thesis redresses this gap. I argue that a particular understanding of melodrama that constructs inauthe.ntic and indeterminate realities crucially shapes Moffatt's art. Building on seminal works from literature and film studies, as well as psychoanalysis I develop a framework for the detailed examination of melodrama in Moffatt's art, and identify major themes, stylistic elements and fonnal conventions of melodrama that penneate her practice. The thesis designates and investigates three major concepts associated with melodrama as applicable to Moffatt's practice. First, I propose that her art is linked to a particular melodramatic aesthetic, the aesthetic of muteness as defined by Peter Brooks. This aesthetic uses non-verbal means of expression, such as gestures, the tableau and mise-en-scene to convey emotional and narrative meaning. It also emphasises the shortcomings of verbal language in expressing inner states of being of the modem 'Western' subject. Analyses of Moffatt's photo series Something More and her film Night Cries. A Rural Tragedy demonstrate that the aesthetic of muteness not only serves to express unspeakable traumatic experiences of characters but is also linked to the artist's aim to cross media boundaries. Second, the thesis examines Moffatt's Scarred for Life series in relation to melodrama's exposure of issues of violence and oppression in the family. I will propose that the return of the repressed and the revelation of hidden forces in melodrama may be related to Sigmund Freud's concept of the uncanny. Focussing on Scarred for Life I will examine ways in which artworks may evoke uncanny feelings in viewers. The third key thematic investigated in the thesis is elaborated in Chapter Five, which examines a consistent ambiguity found in Moffatt's art and links it to the moral impetus of melodrama. Building on writings by psychoanalytic theorist Joan Copjec I argue that - unlike early theatrical and literary melodrama, which divides the world into clear-cut binaries of good and evil - Moffatt's melodramas construct a moral ambiguity that questions unequivocal moral' judgment~. With the example of Moffatt's photographic series Laudanum I show that this moral ambiguity challenges viewers to make their own judgments instead of automatically relying on pre-given moral and political premises. By analysing the crucial part that melodrama plays in Moffatt's practice, this thesis not only develops a new way of interpreting the work of this important Australian artist, but also presents an understanding of melodrama as an aesthetic and a way of seeing the world that may be applied to other fonns of contemporary visual art.

This paper brings together past and contempary elements that play a role in the body of work, I prepared in the Master's project and which I call, 'Omen Wallpaper'. The title draws on the idea that 'omens' as signs and 'wallpaper', as a decoration somewhat on the periphery, surround us in the urban environment. The paper begins by describing the influences and historical movements from which I have drawn. These range, for example, from. Duchamp, Schwitters to Rauschenberg, Warhol and Basquiat. Many of these traditions share the idea of 'anti-art', particularly 'anti painting', manifested in the use of found materials, text and 'unpainterly' techniques like printing and collage. The paper then moves in to ideas more local to me and this body of work, as for example, graffiti. I explore styles of graffiti and some of the most significant artists of this movement. Artists such as 'Misstic' from Paris and 'Banksy' I also investigate some of the problematics associated with that territory, by describing the conflicts I encounter in my research. I also consider another type of' street aesthetic' that operates in a different way, exploiting the general decay and wear and tear of posters. I focus this part of my enquiry, on the French Nouveaux Realist, Jacques de la Villegle who has worked with this medium since the 1950's. Villegles work began central to my research in Paris as well as becoming a inspiration for adopting the technique of 'affiches laceries' or 'tom posters'. This technique allows one to capture a moment culturally, stylistically and randomly amoung many other things with minimal mediation which became a significant turning point in the development of my own style.

xiii, 262 leaves / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.1973) from the Dept. of English Language and Literature, University of Adelaide

PhD / The influential theorist, David Bordwell, talks about various modes of watching film: the intellectual, the casual, or the obsessive interaction with cinema practiced by the film-buff. This thesis is an attempt to come to terms with film and film culture in a number of ways. It is first an attempt at reinscribing a notion of aesthetics into film studies. This is not an easy task. I argue that film theory is not adequately equipped to discuss film in affective terms, and that instead, it emphasises ways of thinking about film and culture quite removed from the act of film ‘spectating’ – individually, or perhaps even more crucially, collectively. To my mind, film theory increasingly needs to ask: are theorists and the various subjectivities about whom they theorise watching the same films, and in the same way? My experience of film is, as Tara Brabazon writes about her own experience of film, a profoundly emotional one. Film is a stream of quotation in my own life. It is inextricably wrapped up inside memory (and what Hutcheon calls postmodern nostalgia). Film is experience. I would not know how to communicate what Sergio Leone ‘means’ or The Godfather ‘represents’ without engaging what Barbara Kennedy calls the ‘aesthetic impulse.’ In this thesis, I extrapolate from what film means to me to what it might mean to an abstract notion of culture. For this reason, Chapters Three and Four are necessarily abstract and tentatively bring together an analysis of The Matrix franchise and Quentin Tarantino’s brand of metacinema. I focus on an aesthetics of cinema rather than its politics or ideological fabric. This is not to marginalise such studies (which, in any case, this thesis could not do) but to make space for another perspective, another way of considering film, a new way of recuperating affect.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / The overall aim of this research was to examine aesthetic response to façade colour. Drawing on a range of theories and studies from environment-behaviour studies (EBS), Nasar’s (1994) probabilistic model of aesthetic response to building attributes provided a theoretical framework within which to examine patterns of response. Prompted by the Development Control Plan for Sydney Regional Environmental Plan: Sydney Harbour Catchment (NSWDOP, 2005), this research also linked its aims and methods to planning policy in Sydney. The main research questions focussed on whether changes in aesthetic response are associated with variations in façade colour; and whether changes in judgements about building size, congruity and preference are associated with differences in façade colour. A quasi-experimental research design was used to examine patterns of aesthetic response. The independent variable was represented by four façade colours in two classifications. An existing process, environmental colour mapping, was augmented with digital technology and used to isolate, identify and manipulate the independent variable and for preparation of visual stimuli (Foote, 1983; Iijima, 1995; Lenclos, 1977; Porter, 1997). Façade colour classifications were created from extant colour theories (including those of Albers, 1963; Hard & Sivik, 2001 and Itten, 1961). The façade colour classifications were further developed using F-sort and Q-sort methodology (Amin, 2000; Miller, Wiley & Wolfe, 1986; Stephenson, 1953). Ten dependent variables, linked to overall aesthetic response, were drawn from studies relating to environmental evaluation, building congruity and preference (Groat, 1992; Janssens, 2001; Russell, 1988; Russell, 2003; Russell, Ward & Pratt, 1981; Wohlwill & Harris, 1980). The dependent variables were presented in the form of a semantic differential rating scale and a sample group of 288 evaluated the visual stimuli. The Latin-square technique was used for the controlled presentation of visual stimuli. Factor analysis, correlation analysis and analysis of variance were applied to the data. The findings indicate that variations in aesthetic response are associated with differences in façade colour. Judgements about building size varied by up to 5% and buildings featuring contrasting façade colours were judged to be larger and more dominant. Judgements about a building’s congruity varied by up to 13% and buildings that featured harmonious colours were considered to be more congruous. Preference varied and harmonious façade colours were not necessarily preferred over contrasting façade colours. The outcomes from this research suggest that a new approach to façade colour within the context of planning policy may be appropriate. A model of façade colour evaluation is presented and, unlike current planning guidelines, the model allows for a participatory approach to façade colour evaluation and specification. The model allows for factors that may influence aesthetic response to façade colour (such as contextual, perceptual and idiographic factors) as well as variation in architectural expression with respect to façade colour.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 17).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 2002. / Advisers: Kevin Dunn; Lee Edelman. Submitted to the Dept. of English. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 412-436). Access restricted to members of the Tufts University community. Also available via the World Wide Web;

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2007. / "May, 2007." Includes bibliographical references (leaf 68). Online version available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph.D. 1973) from the Dept. of English Language and Literature, University of Adelaide.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Johns Hopkins University. / Vita. Bibliography: p. 1-7.