An expanse of research literature has confirmed that a significant percentage of women are concerned about their body size and appearance. Western cultures have emphasized that women must look good to be worthy. Media attention that alludes to the benefits of a thin, fit body exacerbates women's beliefs that they need to look a certain way to be acceptable and to fit in. How though, can the majority of women fit into a world of contrary ideals? Being strong and healthy does not absolutely mean a woman has to be model thin with conspicuous abdominal muscles and extreme body definition. In the field of art therapy, there has been no specific research to demonstrate the advantages of clay for the exploration of body-image, male or female. The research undertaken focuses on and evaluates the manner and methods in which clay can be employed as an enabling material for body-image issues with women within art therapy practice. With the help of small groups of female participants who were invited to attend sessions in my pottery to make their body-images from clay and join in discussion, I was able to explore within a safe and contained environment the ways in which clay can be utilised within an art therapy setting. None of the women who took part in the research had a diagnosis relating to body-image issues. By pursuing the methods of Participatory Action Research (PAR) for Study One I employed the fundamental features of Cycles of Reflection. The results of Study One assisted me in choosing Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to further the research. In this way, I would be able to identify the most robust of themes within the dialogues of the three women who attended the individual sessions that comprised Study Two. The final results of the research point to a positive and contained means of working with clients and patients in order to provide a significant resource to help women explore and be more accepting of their bodies.

Thesis (MA--Art and Design) -- Auckland University of Technology, 2004. / Also held in print (40 leaves, col. ill., 22 x 30 cm.) in Wellesley Theses Collection. (T 704.9421 JAN)

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2017-12-13T09:10:38Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Vilma Claro dos Santos.pdf: 1261089 bytes, checksum: 5f0fece0d70f8f74deb419c5429a6afd (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-12-13T09:10:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Vilma Claro dos Santos.pdf: 1261089 bytes, checksum: 5f0fece0d70f8f74deb419c5429a6afd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-11-27 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The subject of this thesis is the monstrous body. This topic has been addressed by authors such as Jean-Jacques Courtine (2013; 2008), who explored the difficulties faced by human beings coping with (so-called) abnormal body types. However, the main goal of the present work is to analyse how a monstrous body can lead the individual to other forms of existence, over and above the stigmas that frequently paralyse the self. Based on the discussions taken up by Antonio Negri (2007, 2003) and Barbara Szaniecki (2014), the monster and the singular characteristics of monstrosity can be viewed as triggers for political and communicational processes and not merely as physical bodies which are socially excluded. In this sense, the monstrous body can be seen as a corpusmedia constituted from its co-evolutionary relations with the environment. The main hypothesis of this thesis is that artistic creations have contributed at a fundamental level to recent changes in our understanding of the monstrous body, undercutting recurrent interpretations that placed monstrous bodies solely within the scope of the exotic and led to their consistent marginalisation as an object of study. It is not merely a question of integrating a stigmatised body into society, but of analysing the power of art to reveal alternatives to our preconceptions of how to look at and represent a body that has been excluded from society. The empirical corpus of this research is derived through dance and theatrical presentations performed mainly in the 2000s, whose performers ranged from backgrounds as immigrants, foreigners and individuals of African descent to artists with physical disabilities. Among these presentations are included works by choreographers such as Jérôme Bel, Claire Cunningham, Faustin Linyekula and the theatre companies Theater Hora and Back to Back. The relevance of this thesis lies in demonstrating how these bodies can subvert stereotypes which have been rooted for centuries in social discourse and media. This work also seeks to highlight the construction of discursive practices that recognise monstrosity when compared to normal standards but which are not confined to pre-conceived interpretations, leading to new patterns of subjective analysis / O tema desta tese é o corpo monstruoso. Ele tem sido estudado por autores, como Jean-Jacques Courtine (2013; 2008), que explicitam a dificuldade em lidar com este tipo de alteridade. No entanto, o objetivo principal da pesquisa é analisar como o corpo monstruoso pode ser acionador de outros modos de vida, para além dos estigmas que o paralisam. Ao partir da discussão proposta por Antonio Negri (2007; 2003) e Barbara Szaniecki (2014), o monstro e as singularidades monstruosas são considerados acionadores de processos comunicacionais e políticos e não apenas excluídos da sociedade. Neste sentido, considera-se o corpo monstruoso como um corpomídia constituído a partir de relações co-evolutivas com seus ambientes. A hipótese principal é que alguns processos de criação artística têm colaborado de maneira fundamental com a recente mudança de entendimento do corpo monstruoso, desestabilizando as leituras recorrentes que apenas o restringiam ao âmbito do exótico e da marginalização. Não se trata de transformar o corpo estigmatizado em um corpo inserido socialmente, mas de afirmar a potência da arte para apresentar outro modo de olhar e constituir um corpo até então excluído. O corpus empírico da pesquisa são espetáculos de dança e teatro, criados especialmente a partir dos anos 2000, que apresentam em cena artistas imigrantes, estrangeiros, negros e deficientes. Entre eles, destacam-se os trabalhos dos coreógrafos Jérôme Bel, Claire Cunningham, Faustin Linyekula e das companhias Theater Hora e Back to Back. A relevância da tese está em demonstrar como é possível lidar com estes corpos de modo a subverter estereótipos arraigados durante séculos em nosso discurso (social e midiático). Busca-se evidenciar também a construção de práticas discursivas que reconhecem a sua monstruosidade em relação aos padrões considerados normais, mas não se deixam enclausurar em leituras pré-concebidas, acionando novas redes de subjetividades

Believing that ideas about evolution and genetics are playing an increasing role in popular conceptions of who we are and what it means to be human, I sought ways to express this through my art. In particular I tried to articulate these notions through figurative sculpture. As the role of figurative sculpture in expressing current ideas about being human has declined in the West, I saw this as a challenge. It was the intent of my Masters program to reposition the sculpted body back within contemporary western cultural contexts. For an understanding of those contexts I relied heavily on my own culturally embedded experience and observations. I took as background my readings of evolutionary inspired literature and linked it with my interpretations of the genetic mythologies so prevalent in recent movies. The result was an image of contemporary humans as multifaceted, yet subservient to their genes. These genes appear to be easily manipulated and the product of technological intervention as much as, if not more than, inherited characteristics. As part of developing a sculptural form able to manifest this, I investigated some non-western traditions. I used field trips and residencies to research Buddhist and Hindu sculptures of the body and developed an interest in the spatial and conceptual relationships between those bodies. Through making figurative work in the studio, I came to realise the figures' inadequacy in expressing temporal relationships. As temporal change is a fundamental element of evolution and genetics, I needed to explore this element. The result was a number of series; groups of works that create their own context of relationships. Not all these groups use sculptures of the body but they evoke the notion of bodies, naturally or technologically hybridised, mutating, transforming, evolving and related to each other generationaly through time.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Concordia University, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 138-151). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp05/NQ66691.pdf.

Believing that ideas about evolution and genetics are playing an increasing role in popular conceptions of who we are and what it means to be human, I sought ways to express this through my art. In particular I tried to articulate these notions through figurative sculpture. As the role of figurative sculpture in expressing current ideas about being human has declined in the West, I saw this as a challenge. It was the intent of my Masters program to reposition the sculpted body back within contemporary western cultural contexts. For an understanding of those contexts I relied heavily on my own culturally embedded experience and observations. I took as background my readings of evolutionary inspired literature and linked it with my interpretations of the genetic mythologies so prevalent in recent movies. The result was an image of contemporary humans as multifaceted, yet subservient to their genes. These genes appear to be easily manipulated and the product of technological intervention as much as, if not more than, inherited characteristics. As part of developing a sculptural form able to manifest this, I investigated some non-western traditions. I used field trips and residencies to research Buddhist and Hindu sculptures of the body and developed an interest in the spatial and conceptual relationships between those bodies. Through making figurative work in the studio, I came to realise the figures' inadequacy in expressing temporal relationships. As temporal change is a fundamental element of evolution and genetics, I needed to explore this element. The result was a number of series; groups of works that create their own context of relationships. Not all these groups use sculptures of the body but they evoke the notion of bodies, naturally or technologically hybridised, mutating, transforming, evolving and related to each other generationaly through time.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2005. / Title from PDF title page screen. Advisor: Eve Wiederhold; submitted to the Dept. of English. Includes bibliographical references (p. 43-44, p. 96-97).

Orientador: Marta Luiza Strambi / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Artes / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-21T07:36:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ribeiro_LindsayCarolinedeBrito_M.pdf: 125254615 bytes, checksum: a4b3389170cb274dc99bcee0a1d89c26 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: Esta dissertação, inserida na linha de pesquisa em "Poéticas Visuais e Processos de Criação", consiste num relacionamento entre pesquisas prática e teórica, incluindo uma análise crítica através de textos sobre minha produção plástica que tem ênfase na problemática da autoimagem, uma distorção da aparência física, que surge como mais um sintoma das neuroses contemporâneas, acometendo, principalmente, as adolescentes que aspiram a um corpo construído, alimentado pelos sistemas da moda e do consumo. Considera ainda a ideia do desenho como conceito de intertextualidade e relaciona, entre os procedimentos e possibilidades de concepção e produção dos trabalhos, essas questões do corpo conexas à ordem cotidiana, à "brevidade e fragilidade da vida", refletidas nessa estética do corpo contemporâneo. O corpus imagético dessa pesquisa torna-se um elemento problematizador de articulações crítico reflexivas, envolvendo a ampliação de repertório na área da arte contemporânea / Abstract: This dissertation, part of the "Visual Poetics and Creation Processes" line of research, focus on the relationship between practical and theoretical research, including a critical analysis of texts about my artistic production that has an emphasis on the issue of self-image, a distortion of physical appearance, which arises as another symptom of contemporary neuroses, having as main target those teenagers who aspire to an artificial body, powered by systems of fashion and consumption. It also considers the idea of drawing as a concept of intertextuality and links between the procedures and possibilities for design and production work, these body issues related to the everyday routine, the "brevity and fragility of life", reflected in this contemporary aesthetics of the body. The image corpus of this research becomes a problematizing element of critical reflective relations, involving the expansion of the repertoire in the field of contemporary art / Mestrado / Artes Visuais / Mestre em Artes Visuais

Orientador: Hermes Renato Hildebrand / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Artes / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-22T08:15:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Silva_TarcisioTorres_D.pdf: 2111112 bytes, checksum: 92dccad6731c494051753412ef552c72 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: Este trabalho procurou investigar a utilização da imagem em manifestações ativistas contemporâneas com ampla repercussão mundial, considerando o impacto das novas tecnologias de comunicação sobre tais práticas, assim como sua relação com as mídias tradicionais. A ênfase dada ao campo da imagem é uma tentativa de propor novas perspectivas de análise a um ambiente de significação em transformação. Em sua composição, nota-se uma produção crescente de cunho amador, além de seu caráter híbrido que agrega ações físicas e virtuais, assim como a propagação em redes de comunicação horizontais e verticais. Para que o objetivo proposto fosse atingido, abordou-se inicialmente o potencial estético-político das imagens mecânicas e eletrônicas com o intuito de localizar elementos existentes em tecnologias de mídia anteriores ao digital que contribuíssem para a argumentação inicial. Em seguida, foi apresentado o campo da biopolítica, com ênfase nos trabalhos de Foucault, além de conceitos essenciais para as análises que se seguiriam, tais como "multidão" (Hardt e Negri) e "trabalho imaterial" (Lazzarato e Negri). Após esta localização teórica, foram propostos dois blocos analíticos. Em ambos, optou-se por observar movimentos que surgiram ao longo do desenvolvimento deste trabalho. No primeiro, destaca-se a Revolução Verde no Irã e a Primavera Árabe no Norte da África e Oriente Médio. Neste momento em especial, foi evidenciado o poder de afecção das imagens dessas manifestações, assim como sua participação na "partilha do sensível", conceito proposto por Jacques Rancière. No segundo bloco, enfatizou-se a ação da ativista egípcia Aliaa Magda Elmahdy e dos grupos feministas Femen e Pussy Riot. Além disso, foi proposta nesta etapa a atualização do conceito de biopolítica por meio das idéias de Nicolas Rose e Giorgio Agamben. Em ambos os momentos de análise, foi observado que o corpo aparece como um elemento central para a compreensão das imagens selecionadas, pois ele é a chave para que sejam entendidas as forças biopolíticas que agem sobre a sociedade contemporânea. Como conclusão, observou-se que as imagens ativistas, de cunho amador e que circulam pelas redes de comunicação digital propõem um novo olhar para a produção político-visual contemporânea em função das particularidades por elas apresentadas. Além disso, tais imagens denunciam um campo paradoxal em que ao mesmo tempo se observa a tentativa de transgressão e uma incômoda simbiose com os sistemas estabelecidos de controle da vida / Abstract: This research investigated the use of the image in contemporary activist expressions which echoed worldwide, considering the new communication technologies impact on such practices and also its relation to traditional media. The emphasis given to the image field is an attempt of proposing new perspectives of analysis to a changing environment of signification. It can be noticed in its composition a growing amateur production, in addition to its hybrid nature which assembles virtual and physical actions, as well as propagation on vertical and horizontal communication networks. In order to achieve the research goal, it was initially discussed the political-aesthetical potential of mechanical and electrical images. The intention was to situate existing elements in media prior to digital that could contribute to the initial argumentation. It was then presented the biopolitics field, emphasizing the works of Foucault and also essential concepts to the following analysis such as "multitute" (Hardt and Negri) and "immaterial labor" (Lazzarato and Negri). After this theoretical approach, two analytical sections were presented. Some of the main movements which emerged along with the development of this research are mentioned in both. In the first section, the Green Revolution in Iran and the Arab Spring in North Africa and Middle East stand out. In this case, it was intended to demonstrate the power of affection inherent in the manifestation images, as well as their contribution to the "distribution of the sensible", a concept proposed by Jacques Rancière. In the second section, the actions of the Egyptian activist Aliaa Magda Elmahdy and the feminist groups Femen e Pussy Riot are emphasized. Besides these analyses, the concept of biopolitics is updated by means of the ideas of Nicolas Rose and Giorgio Agamben. In both moments of investigation, it was observed that the body emerges as a central element to the comprehension of the selected images because it is the key to understanding biopolitcs forces operating on contemporary society. In conclusion, it can be noticed that the amateur activist images circulating in digital communication networks provide a new look to the contemporary visual political production given their particularities. In addition, such images denounce a paradoxical field where it is observed at the same time an attempt to transgression and an uncomfortable symbiosis with established systems of life control / Doutorado / Artes Visuais / Doutor em Artes Visuais