Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1984. / Typescript (photocopy). eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 213-220).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Santa Cruz, 1993. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 275-284).

The aim of this thesis is to explore and evaluate the scientific work of art historian Rudolf Chadraba who is generally considered to be one of the founders and the most distinctive representatives of an iconological method in czech art history. The Master's thesis doesn't make efforts to survey Chadraba's scientific career from biographic point of view in a clearly and chronologically way, because the main focus of the interpretation lies on starting points of Chadraba's work, specific influences on him, particular motifs and themes, which are penetrating and reflected in his academical works of art historian and which therefore form his peculiar method. Biographical information about Rudolf Chadraba is introduced here only briefly, the text tends to point out Chadraba's transdisciplinary approach and his extensive conception of iconology. Moreover, it pays a lot of attention to influences of such personalities as Max Dvořák, Ladislav Cejp, Alois Dempf, Josef Strzygowski or Herbert Read, who represent important source of inspiration in Chadraba's scientific work. Theories and methods of these scholars in connection with Chadraba's interest in tradition and triumphalism in christian art initiated his pursuing parallels between european and oriental art, which were insufficiently employed in czech art...

Zugl.: Frankfurt (Main), Univ., Diss., 2005

In reconstructing the meaning of prehistoric artifacts, the art historian's task is particularly difficult. Scholars dealing with this period of time have to build their arguments on scarce archeological data, often unaided by written documents. Due to this lack of information, prehistoric female figurines are the subject of innacurate iconographic interpretations. In the case of the Mesoamerican Preclassic, the missing data is supplemented by subjective perceptions about people who do not belong to the scholar's own sex or ethnic background. The resulting misinterpretations fill the interstices between the information available and the historical facts. The traditional view that considers these figurines nothing more than beautiful women stop any further inquiries into the subject. Sometimes, the scholar's own fantasies substitute for logical arguments. Scholars writing on Mesoamerican iconography must be careful not to follow many of their predecessors to avoid confusing their colleagues, students and the general public.

Ce doctorat se penche sur les conditions d’émergence d’une figure de « l’artiste universitaire » aux États-Unis au lendemain de la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Il s’intéresse au contexte intellectuel et politique qui a accompagné ce changement radical de paradigme dans l’enseignement artistique américain et tente d’en observer les répercussions sur les modalités d’écriture d’une histoire de l’art dont les instances productrices sont elles-mêmes considérablement renouvelées. Accordant une place importante aux réformes de l’enseignement supérieur, cette thèse souligne le rôle instrumental de cette nouvelle figure dans la requalification de la recherche universitaire entre les années 1930 et 1960. Toutefois, loin d’être la simple conséquence d’aspirations politiques, l’artiste universitaire s’incarne dans des parcours hétérogènes ne partageant pas nécessairement les mêmes pratiques ou les mêmes objectifs. De manière convenue ou plus inattendue, nombre d’artistes dont le nom a été associé aux universités ont participé à une refonte des modalités de production des savoirs. Pourtant la reconnaissance de ces contributions individuelles s’est avérée beaucoup plus problématique que la célébration générique d’un nouvel art américain porté par des artistes « éduqués ». Aussi, cette thèse s’attache-t-elle à observer ces questions sous un angle épistémologique et à mettre ce déficit paradoxal de crédit académique en regard de pratiques contemporaines de l’histoire et de l’histoire de l’art. Ce dernier aspect est plus spécifiquement étudié à travers le parcours de Donald Judd et sa volonté d’opposer à l’idéalisme philosophique européen une pratique « réaliste » de l’histoire de l’art / This doctoral thesis explores the conditions in which the figure of the ‘academic artist’ emerged in the USA following World War II. The intellectual and political climate for radical change in the American visual arts educational paradigm is evidenced as are its repercussions on the profound renewal of agencies involved in art history production. Importance is given to reform in higher education and the instrumental role the academic artist played in redefining academic research between the 1930s and the 1960s. Such figures were far from being merely aspirational in political terms as is apparent in their range of trajectories, their practices and goals which did not necessarily coincide. Many artists, whose names were associated with academia, contributed – some conventionally, others less predictably – to new ways of producing knowledge. Yet recognizing such individual contributions posed many more problems than the more generic celebration of the new American art personified by “educated” artists. My dissertation therefore views these issues from an epistemological standpoint, weighing what paradoxically was an academic deficit against contemporary practices in history and art history. The latter is examined through the specific case of Donald Judd and his determined stance against European philosophical idealism via the “realistic” practice of art history