African art and spirituality are inseparable. Looking at it specifically from the visible, concrete, or tangible standpoint, the latter is nonexistent without the former, as the presence of the former validates the reality of the latter. The origin of this symbiotic relationship is in the Africans' ideology, in which they find it more convenient to establish communication with the transcendent or supernatural realm through visible devices that we label 'art'. Using the Ijumu Northeastern-Yoruba Egungun as a case study, this dissertation analyzes the place of art in African spirituality. Applying two conceptual frameworks--connective theory and linguistic approach, the dissertation first depicts this art as a reflection of African culture. Secondly, it reveals African art as essentially an assemblage or composite of diverse culturally defined and meaningful materials. Finally, it portrays art as a reliable form of historical and iconographical record of the African culture.In all, the dissertation comprises eight chapters. Chapter one introduces the reader to the research rationales, objectives, theory and methodology, and relevant previous studies. Chapter two concerns the place of art in Yoruba religious beliefs and practices within the larger context of African art and culture. Chapter three illustrates the inter-group relations in the Niger-Benue confluence region--the geographical location of the Ijumu Northeastern-Yoruba. Chapter four provides an overview of the cultural practices of the Ijumu people of the Ookun Yoruba-speaking groups. Chapter five focuses on the spirituality and performance contexts and the devotees' conceptualization of the Egungun as a religion.Chapter six is about iconographical interpretations of Egungun. Chapter seven illustrates the aesthetic implications with attention paid to the masquerade costumes as well as the performance contexts of the masquerades or masqueraders, drummers, singers, and more importantly, the aftermath of the ritual festival. Chapter eight is about critical perspectives on Ijumu-Yoruba Egungun within the larger context of the tradition among the entire Yoruba peoples. It highlights critical issues affecting the Egungun tradition today and the relevance of this dissertation to arresting their loss.

<p> For more than fifty years, the <i>Meditationes Vitae Christi (MVC) </i> and the most famous of its illustrated manuscripts (Paris, Biblioth&egrave;que nationale, Ms. ital. 115) have been employed by scholars to exemplify late medieval female spirituality. The mid-fourteenth century ilhuminated manuscript of the <i>Meditationes</i> in the Snite Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame that is the subject of this dissertation provides valuable evidence of the popularity of the famous text originally written for a woman religious and its appropriation by urban laity. As an example of the shorter text, in Italian, with 43 chapters plus prologue, its 48 large colored miniatures and the decorated initials that begin each chapter, point to a wealthy patron quite unlike the Poor Clare to whom the <i>MVC</i> text was initially directed. The style of the miniatures indicates that the manuscript was illuminated ca. 1350 in Bologna, site of the pre-eminent European university for the study of law.</p><p> The dissertation explores how the <i>Meditationes Vitae Christi </i> was adapted for an educated and prosperous husband and wife. While written in the vernacular, the Snite <i>MVC</i> illuminations bear a strong resemblance to the illustrations in fourteenth-century Bolognese legal manuscripts. Despite the vivid and often unconventional imagery of the text that is designed to stimulate the reader's affective response to its re-telling of the story of the life of Christ, the miniatures tend to preserve traditional iconographies. The superficially conventional Snite miniatures, which often seem indifferent to the visual specifics of the text, serve to align it with orthodox doctrine and underscore the veracity of its contents. </p><p> An analysis of the illuminations of the Snite <i>MVC</i> reveals a particular attentiveness by the illuminator to the representation of male exemplars that would appeal to an elite educated patron, who might have been a judge or lawyer, or law professor. The Infancy miniatures in particular depict St. Joseph in a prominent role and dressed as a late medieval professional man The dignified representation of St. Joseph is consistent with his scriptural appellation as a "just man " By attending to the themes of justice and wisdom in both the <i>MVC</i> text and in its scriptural sources, the Snite miniatures prove to be much richer in meaning than first glance would suggest, and their affinity with legal manuscript illumination hardly accidental.</p><p> The iconographic analysis of the Snite miniatures is complemented by the study of the social and intellectual context in which the manuscript was produced. Despite the seeming simplicity of the miniatures, the illuminator and his advisor prove to be theologically sophisticated and scripturally literate. By means of the illuminations, the <i>MVC</i> is made compatible with the religious and professional concerns of the elite laity, providing access for men wielding worldly authority into the life of Christ in which powerful and learned men play largely negative roles. The Snite manuscript responds to the lay patron's desire to see in the example of Christ and the events of his life confirmation of late medieval social, juridical, and political structures. In its miniatures, it provides saintly models for the educated laity desirous of reconciling their Christian commitments with the demands of an active, urban, professional life.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2005. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 66-10, Section: A, page: 3596. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 140-149).

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Western Sydney, 2002. / A thesis submitted in full requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, School of Social Ecology and Lifelong Learning, University of Western Sydney, May 2002. Bibliography : p. [369]- 395.

Après la fondation de la première chartreuse en 1084 par Bruno de Cologne dans les Alpes, ces monastères, installés au départ dans des sites isolés, furent réputés pour leur austérité. Les moines, qui faisaient vœu de silence, vivaient reclus dans leur cellules la plupart du temps, ne se retrouvant que deux fois par jour pour célébrer la messe. Dans ce cadre, qui a donné lieu à une architecture spécifique, les premières mentions d’œuvres d’art, dans la législation, apparaissent dans la deuxième moitié du XIIIe siècle. Cette période correspondait à la fois à une modification de la structure de l’ordre, prenant en compte l’accroissement du nombre des maisons, et aux premières fondations à proximité des villes. Le rapprochement des centres urbains allait déterminer une relation nouvelle entre les chartreux et leurs bienfaiteurs, exprimée dans les donations d’œuvres d’art en vue de la commémoration. Si de la chartreuse de Vauvert, établie près de Paris en 1259, subsistent surtout des relevés de plaques de fondation et de tombeaux, les commandes d’œuvres d’art pour les chartreuses princières et royales de Champmol et de Miraflores, destinées à recevoir les tombeaux de leurs fondateurs, étaient plus variées. L’implication des chartreux dans l’aménagement du décor de leurs maisons est attestée par les sources. Elle peut être observée lorsqu’ils recevaient les dons d’œuvres d’art de la part de plusieurs bienfaiteurs et elle prend un sens particulier quand les frères commandaient eux-mêmes des tableaux. Dans la spiritualité des chartreux, les œuvres d’art avaient un rôle au sujet duquel les moines, en participant à leur création, pouvaient nous renseigner. / Following the foundation of the first charterhouse by Bruno of Cologne, in 1084, in the Alps, these monasteries, established at first in solitary places, were well-known for their austere conditions. The monks, which had taken a vow of silence, lived isolated in their cells most of the time, meeting each other only twice a day, to celebrate mass. In these monasteries, characterized by their own architecture, the first mentions of artworks, in the legislation, date from the second half of the 13th century. At that time, the structure of the order was being revised by taking into account the multiplication of the charterhouses. Furthermore, the first foundations near cities were then established. This proximity to urban centres would determine a new relationship between Carthusians and their benefactors, visible through the donations of works of art for commemoration. From the charterhouse of Vauvert, established near Paris in 1259, have been preserved mostly drawings of memorial tablets or tombs. Nonetheless, for the princely and royal charterhouses of Champmol and Miraflores, that were to house the tombs of their founders, the commissions of works of art were more varied. The Carthusians’ participation in building the appearance of their monasteries is attested by the sources. This fact may also be observed when the Carthusians received donations of works of art from several benefactors and a special significance is attached to it when the brothers themselves commissioned paintings. In Carthusian spirituality, works of art had a role about which the monks, by involving themselves in their creation, could inform us.

Through creative and theoretical research, this practice-led PhD project investigates the conditions that facilitate embodied sensory awareness within digital inter-media installation. Central to this exploration are questions concerning ‘immersion.’ The research uses this term to describe a transformation in perception that allows us to shake off representational and symbolic meaning in favour of embodied, sensory and intuitive awareness within an installation space. Drawing from embodied memories of immersion in natural and spiritual environments, I consider the elements that contributed to these experiences and ask whether it is possible to create this sense of immersion in art. I then consider the elements that produce immersive, inter-media environments including space, sound, light, and projected moving images. Drawing on theoretical and artistic precedents, I propose a set of principles for producing a sense of embodied sensory immersion. The practical outcomes of the research - three digital inter-media installations included in the exhibition, in an other light - incorporate different combinations and treatments of these material elements to investigate and test the proposed principles.