University of Macau / Faculty of Education

[Truncated abstract] This thesis represents an historical account of the reception and criticism of computer art from its emergence in 1963 to its crisis in 1989, when aesthetic and ideological differences polarise and eventually fragment the art form. Throughout its history, static-pictorial computer art has been extensively maligned. In fact, no other twentieth-century art form has elicited such a negative and often hostile response. In locating the destabilising forces that affect and shape computer art, this thesis identifies a complex interplay of ideological and discursive forces that influence the way computer art has been and is received by the mainstream artworld and the cultural community at large. One of the central factors that contributed to computer art’s marginality was its emergence in that precarious zone between science and art, at a time when the perceived division between the humanistic and scientific cultures was reaching its apogee. The polarising force inherent in the “two cultures” debate framed much of the prejudice towards early computer art. For many of its critics, computer art was the product of the same discursive assumptions, methodologies and vocabulary as science. Moreover, it invested heavily in the metaphors and mythologies of science, especially logic and mathematics. This close relationship with science continued as computer art looked to scientific disciplines and emergent techno-science paradigms for inspiration and insight. While recourse to science was a major impediment to computer art’s acceptance by the artworld orthodoxy, it was the sustained hostility towards the computer that persistently wore away at the computer art enterprise. The anticomputer response came from several sources, both humanist and anti-humanist. The first originated with mainstream critics whose strong humanist tendencies led them to reproach computerised art for its mechanical sterility. A comparison with aesthetically and theoretically similar art forms of the era reveals that the criticism of computer art is motivated by the romantic fear that a computerised surrogate had replaced the artist. Such usurpation undermined some of the keystones of modern Western art, such as notions of artistic “genius” and “creativity”. Any attempt to rationalise the human creative faculty, as many of the scientists and technologists were claiming to do, would for the humanist critics have transgressed what they considered the primordial mystique of art. Criticism of computer art also came from other quarters. Dystopianism gained popularity in the 1970s within the reactive counter-culture and avant-garde movements. Influenced by the pessimistic and cynical sentiment of anti-humanist writings, many within the arts viewed the computer as an emblem of rationalisation, a powerful instrument in the overall subordination of the individual to the emerging technocracy

The dissertation explores how quality-judgments on works of art are created within the contemporary art world. The research starts with the examination of modernist art theories supported by the museum, and continues with the exploration of the impact of the art market on quality-judgments. Although the art market had already distorted the idea of quality, further contradictions and difficulties have risen within judgment-making after the 1960s due to the dematerialisation of the work of art. Art criticism should have been able to deal with this complexity, but it is demonstrated that art criticism is a subjective field and even if there is a universal theory on quality, it often fails when applied to the particular work of art. Throughout the dissertation it is demonstrated that although ‘good art’ is a subjective, power- and discourse-dependent concept, all art professionals seek something that is an inherent quality of the artwork. However, regardless of the existence of such inherent value, judgments on quality are constructed by and subjected to power-struggle. / Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology / M.A. (Art History)

This study identifies, explains, and develops a practical model of teaching art criticism within a traditional secondary art curriculum. The approach to teaching art criticism uses the discipline-based art education format described in the Getty publication of 1985, a composite art critical format including B. Bloom, E. Feldman, K. Hamblen, and E. Kaelin, is accomplished through a process model curriculum developed by L. Stenhouse, and uses K. Gentle's curriculum design as the basis of the Curriculum Model Diagram. The project provides lessons that are intended to help junior high school, and senior high school art students develop the necessary skills to make informed judgements about art in the production, historic, aesthetic, and critical areas of the existing art curriculum. The methodology is presented in a lesson plan design, includes a Biographical Sketch, and a Six-Part Questioning Strategy. Three experienced artist/teachers were asked to review the curriculum and, using the Artist/Educator Questionnaire, evaluate it. Feedback from the three reviewers suggested several ways the curriculum could be tailored to individual teacher and program needs.

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This study will argue that visual art and the making of images share much With other languages. If writing can be deoonstructed, visual Imagery can be deconfigured, for figuring an image is much like structuring a sentence. The process of deconfiguration however relies on repetition. DeconflguratiOn therefore denies any claim of a primary creator. It will be argued though that deconfiguratlon remains creative as it engages the imagination in a process of transference and through association. Moreover, deconfiguration shows how binary opposites are essential In the making of artworks. The repetitive process takes place when the artwork Is made and continues during the appreciation and/or interpretation of the artwork. For the interpretation to really deconfigure, it would mean that the image constituted by the artist has metaphorical, allegorical and even symbolical implications. The interpreter will thus always remain a partidpant in the creative process suggested by the artwork. / Art History, Visual Arts & Musicology / M.A. (Visual Arts)

This study will argue that visual art and the making of images share much With other languages. If writing can be deoonstructed, visual Imagery can be deconfigured, for figuring an image is much like structuring a sentence. The process of deconfiguration however relies on repetition. DeconflguratiOn therefore denies any claim of a primary creator. It will be argued though that deconfiguratlon remains creative as it engages the imagination in a process of transference and through association. Moreover, deconfiguration shows how binary opposites are essential In the making of artworks. The repetitive process takes place when the artwork Is made and continues during the appreciation and/or interpretation of the artwork. For the interpretation to really deconfigure, it would mean that the image constituted by the artist has metaphorical, allegorical and even symbolical implications. The interpreter will thus always remain a partidpant in the creative process suggested by the artwork. / Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology / M.A. (Visual Arts)

Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo refletir sobre as estratégias e mediações utilizadas pelos museus Oscar Niemeyer e de Arte Contemporânea, em Curitiba, e Pinacoteca e Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, para aproximar o público da arte. Reconhece que o hiato existente entre ambos e que se reflete na baixa visitação aos museus de arte é resultado de construções ideológicas dominantes – as tecnologias de controle social – construídas historicamente para manter o controle de quem possui o poder econômico sobre os demais, sejam pessoas, como no caso da apreciação artística, ou países, como o que acontece com a tecnologia. Apresenta também algumas possibilidades de subversão deste controle, que ocorrem especialmente pelo fato de o ser humano ser criativo e interpretativo. Por fim, observa que o trabalho realizado pelos setores educativos dos museus para atrair diferentes públicos às instituições é bastante relevante e comprometido. Em relação aos materiais didáticos elaborados e distribuídos aos visitantes, entretanto, constatou-se a necessidade de alguns ajustes para que estes se comuniquem melhor com os visitantes e contribuam, de fato, para desconstruir a ideia de museu como um espaço elitizado e disponível apenas a alguns poucos privilegiados. / This research aims to reflect on the strategies and mediation used by Oscar Niemeyer and Museum of contemporary art, in Curitiba, and Pinacoteca and Museum of modern art of São Paulo, to approximate audience of art. Recognizes that the gap between the two and that is reflected in the low visitation to art museums is the result of social control technologies historically elaborate and maintained to keep track of who has economic power over others , are people , as in the case of artistic appreciation, or countries, such as what happens with technology.It also presents some possibilities of subversion of this control , which occur especially because the human being creative and interpretive. Finally, it notes that the work carried out by the educational sectors of museums to attract different audiences is very relevant institutions and committed. With regard to teaching materials prepared and distributed to visitors, however, the need for some adjustments so that they communicate better with visitors and contribute, in fact, to deconstruct the idea of the Museum as an elite space and available only to a few privileged.

Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo refletir sobre as estratégias e mediações utilizadas pelos museus Oscar Niemeyer e de Arte Contemporânea, em Curitiba, e Pinacoteca e Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, para aproximar o público da arte. Reconhece que o hiato existente entre ambos e que se reflete na baixa visitação aos museus de arte é resultado de construções ideológicas dominantes – as tecnologias de controle social – construídas historicamente para manter o controle de quem possui o poder econômico sobre os demais, sejam pessoas, como no caso da apreciação artística, ou países, como o que acontece com a tecnologia. Apresenta também algumas possibilidades de subversão deste controle, que ocorrem especialmente pelo fato de o ser humano ser criativo e interpretativo. Por fim, observa que o trabalho realizado pelos setores educativos dos museus para atrair diferentes públicos às instituições é bastante relevante e comprometido. Em relação aos materiais didáticos elaborados e distribuídos aos visitantes, entretanto, constatou-se a necessidade de alguns ajustes para que estes se comuniquem melhor com os visitantes e contribuam, de fato, para desconstruir a ideia de museu como um espaço elitizado e disponível apenas a alguns poucos privilegiados. / This research aims to reflect on the strategies and mediation used by Oscar Niemeyer and Museum of contemporary art, in Curitiba, and Pinacoteca and Museum of modern art of São Paulo, to approximate audience of art. Recognizes that the gap between the two and that is reflected in the low visitation to art museums is the result of social control technologies historically elaborate and maintained to keep track of who has economic power over others , are people , as in the case of artistic appreciation, or countries, such as what happens with technology.It also presents some possibilities of subversion of this control , which occur especially because the human being creative and interpretive. Finally, it notes that the work carried out by the educational sectors of museums to attract different audiences is very relevant institutions and committed. With regard to teaching materials prepared and distributed to visitors, however, the need for some adjustments so that they communicate better with visitors and contribute, in fact, to deconstruct the idea of the Museum as an elite space and available only to a few privileged.