This research evolved as part of a personal struggle to understand my role as 'art' student. As such the essay is concerned with both the theory and practice of 'art', and the relationship between the two. It is, however, my experience of the lack of an analysis of the concept 'art' as a social and historical phenomenon, and the suppression of the politics of culture in most fine art courses, that has led me to concentrate on theoretical and political issues, rather than the formal aspects of painting. This essay is therefore not concerned with individual 'works of art', but with the general category 'art' as an organisational form. Despite its limitations, the essay goes beyond the personal by exploring some of the social, political, economic and cultural processes that form the broader social context in which the examination of 'art' should take place.

This study examines the impact of new museological theory on museum education practice at the Vancouver Art Gallery in relation to a re-installation of Emily Carr's work. It is a case study that concerns both the negotiation of meanings around Emily Carr's work as they are situated within current and traditional art historical/ historical beliefs, and the desire to offer museum visitors a more sufficient or comprehensive educational experience. The dissertation examines the installation of Carr in a variety of galleries across Canada (National Gallery, Art Gallery of Ontario, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Vancouver Art Gallery) as a means of contextualizing a range of problems associated with museum practice. The National Gallery chapter explores issues of ideology raised by the new museology. The chapter concerning the display at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria concerns the particularities of site and place (Victoria was Carr's birthplace) as well as notions of resonance and contextualization in art displays. The discussion of the Art Gallery of Ontario concerns contextualization of a different sort, the display created with a solid foundation in educational literature. A temporary exhibition of Carr's work juxtaposed with that of Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun in Vancouver offers an entry point into a discussion of subjectivity and curatorial epistemic authority, while the resulting re-installation of Carr at the Vancouver Art Gallery (the case) is explored as one possible approach to issues raised in the earlier chapters, by the challenges of post-modem theorists to historical understanding, historiography, and museum practice. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

This thesis acknowledges the current situation of political unrest in Hong Kong and examines the volatile horizons that began to emerge from late 2014, while also understanding those that came before. The thesis unpacks the relationships between art, architecture and society and their significance in relation to Hong Kong. Through highlighting and identifying the potential restrictions and examining and responding to the legacy and logic of Occupy Central, this thesis proposes an expansion of the space of possibilities for art in Hong Kong.The interweaving of diverse subjects are part of an intersectional methodology. The frequent changing of artists, locations and subjects have evolved out of the geopolitical situation that this author was embedded within and the architectural conditions under consideration in the research. By using techniques of close analysis and interviews, unpacking existing relationships, creating new temporary relationships (intersectionality) through exhibitions, reports, site visits and experimental curatorial strategies within the city, this thesis articulates the positions and subjectivities that can form around an artwork and its communities of production. This thesis navigates the haunted spaces concealed by ideological barriers, exposing varying sites of production and tensions through time and place. Research examines and proposes new ideas and approaches to art and art-working in Hong Kong while considering the marginalised, alienated and the xeno. Through highlighting a hitherto absent sense of commonality between the government and its subjects and exploring all corners of the political spectrum, the research critically examines the roots of ideological logic as expressed in the city-form and sets out to expand the space of possibilities.

Bibliography: pages 232-240. / This dissertation argues that abstract art is not ideologically neutral. In spite of many artists' anti-fascist stance early in their careers, the mantle of neutrality was assumed as a reaction to the protracted struggle between the two major ideologies confronting artists living in Europe and the United States of America in the period 1933-1953, namely capitalism and communism. These ideologies were not peripheral to artists lives, but were actively debated by both artists and intellectuals and resulted in the establishment of powerful cultural organisations. The ensuing growth in prestige and influence of left-wing artist's organisations was countered by a campaign which included direct suppression of left-wing artists as well as a form of ideological control. This control was vested in what has been called the specifics of patronage and is reflected in the establishment of the Arts Council in Britain and the private art museums in the United States. Changes in the art market have meant that, together with dealers and critics, these institutions wielded almost complete economic control over artists. The prevailing ideology of liberal humanism, which glorified individualism and defined democracy as a middle ground between the left and the right, favoured the development of a seemingly apolitical abstract art style. Analysis of the demise of the Artists International Association and the American Artist's Congress supports the conclusion that the figurative tradition lost prestige as a result of the stigma attached to Socialist Realism and the idealised realism demanded by National Socialism in Germany. Account is also taken of the attempt by well-positioned and influential commentators to identify all forms of realism with totalitarianism. It is not surprising therefore, that it was commonly believed that to paint in an abstract modern style was to strike a blow against fascism. In the same way that realism was identified with the regimentation of Soviet society, the avant-gardes' abstract experiments came to symbolize democracy. Drawing on the texts of writers, critics, artists and theorists, this dissertation shows that the force of the identification of progressive realism with totalitarianism, prepared the way for acceptance of the idea that freedom of expression epitomised freedom in general. In this way, anti-Stalinism and the post-war liberal philosophy of individual freedom, coupled with a search for 'essences' and the 'universal', directed artists inward to the medium of art as relevant subject-matter. This dissertation argues that this identification was ideologically motivated in respect to the balance of social and political power in America.

In 1126, the Song Dynasty (960-1279) was faced with an exigent political crisis: after testing the borders for years, the neighboring Jin state marched its armies south, destroyed the capital city Bianjing, and reduced its territories by half. The dynasty’s collapse and reconstitution in southern China has prompted ongoing scholarly debate about what types of political, economic, and cultural differences emerged between the Northern and Southern Song periods. My project uses the narrative handscroll Illustrations of Auspicious Responses to study the development of the imperial cult and images of rulership in the Southern Song. It is the first monograph length study of the scroll since it was rediscovered in 2009 and examines how the reigning Zhao house effectively used visual and material culture to argue for its legitimacy, employing the rhetoric of moral justice and acculturation, rather than overt depictions of military dominance, to describe the establishment of the Southern Song and its first ruler. Works such as Illustrations demonstrate that the sophistication of court-based art was not destroyed along with its physical structures. Rather, with the move south artists became essential to promoting the political aims of the court: using cultural legacy as the most expedient way to purchase political legitimacy in a time of uncertainty. Illustrations acts as an expertly articulated defense of the court’s right to rule, echoes of which have filtered through the late imperial period and can be seen in how China positions itself in relation to the world today.

本論文選取畫家符羅飛（1897-1971）進行研究，旨在通過文字及圖像史料復原這一被視作“歷史失蹤者的藝術家個案，並將其放在20 世紀中國藝術與革命互動關係的語境中進行考察。文章依據時序及符羅飛活動地點與内容的變化，分爲五個章節，結合文獻考據、視覺分析及藝術社會學等研究方法，分別探討他於20 世紀20 至60 年代在上海、意大利、香港及華南等地的藝術創作與社會活動，並著重觀察這位以藝術積極投入社會革命、且擁有明確政治信仰的畫家及其代表的群體，是如何通過主動轉變藝術面貌，從而與20 世紀中國社會的大變動連成一體。本文認爲：符羅飛於抗戰期間攜傾向古典寫實的那不勒斯畫派畫風及自創的水墨寫生歸國，但其藝術救國活動最初並未達至理想效果；直到40 年代中期才在通過不斷地寫生、辦展，逐漸吸收國統區漫畫與木刻中流行的德國表現主義元素，脫胎出具有強烈視覺刺激和道德感召力、又符合中共革命訴求的代表性藝術面貌，在特定的政治人群中得到廣泛承認，在此過程中輿論因素的影響不可忽視；同時，他的彩墨實驗等游離於政治目標之外的藝術活動打破了“革命畫家"的刻板印象；而他在政權鼎革後因未能適應高度一元化的藝壇新秩序而湮沒於混亂時世的最終命運，又折射出五四以來自由知識分子傳統與中共黨文化之間不可調和的矛盾。 / This thesis is a monographic study on the artist Fu Luofei (1897-1971), aiming to reconstruct his life and art with textual and visual historical materials, with focus on the interaction between art and revolution in the twentieth-century China. The five chapters of this thesis examine Fu’s artistic and social activities in Shanghai, Italy, Hong Kong and South China from the 1920s to 1960s chronologically, and mainly investigate how this artist, who had definite political belief and was willing to devote his art to social revolution, involved in and acted on the transformation of Chinese society in the twentieth century through continuously transforming his artistic styles. / As this study demonstrates, Fu brought back from Italy the representational painting style of the Neapolitan School and the achievement of his ink experiment in the late 1930s. However, his attempt on “saving the nation by art" did not succeed until mid-1940s. At that time, Fu established his signature style by absorbing the visual elements of German Expressionist paintings, one of the prevailing styles for cartoons and woodcut prints in the Kuomintang ruled areas. His signature style, which was strong in visual stimulation as well as in moral and emotional appeal, was developed through unceasing exchanges with the leftist critics and echoed with the political demand of the Chinese Communist Party. Meanwhile, as is rarely known, Fu also painted in the form of traditional guohua (Chinese national painting), which reveals a not-so-revolutionary side of the “revolutionary artist". His tragedy after the establishment of the People’s Republic vividly illustrates the irreconcilable conflicts between the May Fourth tradition of intellectual independence and the political culture of the CCP. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / 陳鶯. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 294-307) and index. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Chen Ying. / 導言 --- p.1 / Chapter 第一章 --- 留學意大利（1930-1938） --- p.12 / Chapter 第一節 --- 文獻回顧：留意傳奇與疑問 --- p.12 / Chapter 第二節 --- 歐遊前傳：上海美專及其它 --- p.17 / Chapter 第三節 --- 那不勒斯：特殊的選擇 --- p.22 / Chapter 第四節 --- 美術學院内外 --- p.29 / Chapter 第五節 --- “求真"與“人情"：學院傳統及留意畫作 --- p.49 / Chapter 第六節 --- 東方學院：在中意之間 --- p.67 / Chapter 第七節 --- 歸國始末 --- p.84 / Chapter 第二章 --- 一九三八年在香港（1938-1939） --- p.103 / Chapter 第一節 --- 登場 --- p.103 / Chapter 第二節 --- 抗戰救國理想的首次實踐 --- p.107 / Chapter 第三節 --- 中國筆作西洋畫 --- p.117 / Chapter 第四節 --- 社會網絡：文化人、政經界及同鄉會組織 --- p.127 / Chapter 第五節 --- 結果與現實 --- p.135 / Chapter 第三章 --- 從歐洲學院到中國現實（1939-1948） --- p.140 / Chapter 第一節 --- 北上行蹤 --- p.140 / Chapter 第二節 --- 風格改造：形式與内容 --- p.144 / Chapter （一） --- 1941年桂林展 --- p.145 / Chapter （二） --- 1943年“現實主義浪漫派"巡展 --- p.152 / Chapter （三） --- 1946至1948年穗港展 --- p.158 / Chapter 第三節 --- 代表性風格的面貌 --- p.164 / Chapter （一） --- 代表性風格的兩種類型 --- p.165 / Chapter （二） --- 保留的與捨棄的 --- p.171 / Chapter （三） --- 新風格形成期間所受之影響 --- p.173 / Chapter 第四節 --- 風格選擇的成因：表現主義與中國“現實" --- p.180 / Chapter 第四章 --- 重訪香江（1947-1949） --- p.189 / Chapter 第一節 --- 再度居港與文化人南下潮 --- p.188 / Chapter 第二節 --- 人間畫會：組織結構及主要活動 --- p.193 / Chapter 第三節 --- 左翼文藝標準的強化 --- p.202 / Chapter 第四節 --- “國畫"：代表性風格以外的藝術嘗試 --- p.210 / Chapter 第五節 --- 短暫的美國夢 --- p.218 / Chapter 第六節 --- 迎接新中國 --- p.226 / Chapter 第五章 --- 政治氣候的轉變（1949-1971） --- p.235 / Chapter 第一節 --- 從體制外到體制内 --- p.235 / Chapter 第二節 --- 過渡時期：以舊風格唱新語句 --- p.241 / Chapter 第三節 --- 代表性畫風的瓶頸 --- p.249 / Chapter 第四節 --- 描繪新生活 --- p.257 / Chapter 第五節 --- 傳奇落幕 --- p.265 / Chapter 結語 --- 自畫像：個人命運與時代洪流 --- p.271 / 中文參考文獻 --- p.294 / 外文參考文獻 --- p.304 / Chapter 附錄一 --- 符羅飛藝術活動年表 --- p.308 / Chapter 附錄二 --- 人名索引 --- p.321 / 圖版目錄 --- p.329 / 圖版 --- p.351

This dissertation examines the relationship between art and power in the reign of Catherine II of Russia (1762-1796). It considers Catherine's state portraits as historical texts that revealed symbolic manifestations of autocratic power, underscoring the close relationship between aesthetics and politics during the reign of Russia's longest serving female ruler. The Russian empress actively exploited the portrait medium in order to transcend the limitations of her gender, assert legitimacy and display herself as an exemplar of absolute monarchy. The resulting symbolic representation was protean and adaptive, and it provided Catherine with a means to negotiate the anomaly of female rule and the ambiguity of her Petrine inheritance. In the reign of Catherine the Great, the state portraits functioned as an alternate form of political discourse.

This dissertation examines a range of politicized artistic practices in Great Britain during the 1970s, a decade marked by economic decline and social fragmentation. The artists I primarily focus on in the pages that follow—William Furlong, Stephen Willats, Mary Kelly, and Conrad Atkinson—all appeared on Audio Arts, a “spoken magazine” distributed on audiocassette that was founded by Furlong in 1973. During the 1970s, Furlong, Willats, Kelly and Atkinson renegotiated their relationship to art institutions, expanded the role of the artist in society, and conceived of art as a form of political praxis, and this dissertation explores the strategies these artists devised to connect to publics outside the elite, bourgeois audience of art.

This thesis will examine the political and social significance of the new artistic language that emerged in Poland in the 1980s. The new artistic language pertains to symbols, imagery and themes that originated in the discourse of the opposition and can be defined as the amalgam of the traditional religious vocabulary and time-specific symbols of oppression under Communism. The most prominent in this category are the symbols of the cross, the flowers, the national red and white flag, exclusively contemporary symbols such as the "television-people" as well as an array of traditional religious vocabulary. This unusual relationship between symbolic language of art and the symbols of the Church and the Solidarity accounted for the inherently political nature of dissident art. This thesis will discuss dissident art in context of the contemporary discourses: the discourse of the Communist Party, the Church, John Paul II and Solidarity.

The French government under Philippe Petain, based at Vichy, simultaneously collaborated with the Germans and promoted French patriotism. French artists and designers produced an abundance of posters, paintings, sculptures and other objets d'art, examples of which are included here, to promote the values of the "new order." Although Christian symbols were common, fascist symbols among the mass-produced images support the idea that the Vichy regime was not merely authoritarian, but parafascist. / The fine arts were purged of "foreign" influences, yet the German Arno Breker was invited to exhibit his sculptures in Paris. In the spirit of national redressement, traditional French art was promoted; however, Modern art, which Hitler condemned as cultural Bolshevism, continued to be produced. With reference to the words of Petain, Hitler, French artists and art critics, and a variety of artworks, this thesis shows how art was used to propagate the ideology of the Vichy regime.