In 2001 when this research commenced, there was little understanding in Saudi Arabia of the opportunities digital art could provide for artists, how it could be integrated with or used instead of painting, and the effects the enlarged vocabulary could have in communicating difficult social issues. As a result, this study aimed at filling a gap in knowledge through reviewing contemporary Saudi art. This, in turn, helped me to understand the position of my practice. The study also aimed at developing a means of expression in which traditional art can be combined with digital media and showing how this combination provides a new direction for Saudi art by raising awareness in Saudi Arabia about complex issues. In addition, the study aimed at determining the acceptability of this new form of art to artistically literate Saudi artists through gathering audience’s reactions to the developed artefacts. This study comprised of several stages: discovering the state of art in Saudi Arabia and where it fits into the global stage; documenting my journey as an artist and understanding my practice; the creation of the installation and its reception, all of which was documented in a reflective journal. Through reflecting on my practice, I transformed my work from simple traditional pieces of art to more complex installations concerning everyday gender politics. I interviewed 20 practicing artists, noting that the majority of their work used traditional forms of art rather than digital art. A week-long exhibition on gender differences in Saudi Arabia was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The feedback from the exhibition showed that, although there is not a strong appreciation of digital art in Saudi Arabia, the audience was able to understand the different components of the installations and the underlying issues being portrayed. They were able to bring their own experiences to the situation and reflected on the installations accordingly. The study contributes to knowledge by providing a review of contemporary Saudi Artists as there is no significant literature that documents this in Saudi Arabia. It also contributes to knowledge by exploring and developing artefacts that incorporate different technologies and by showing that digital media and traditional art can be used together to articulate complex social issues arising in everyday Saudi life. Finally, it fills a gap in knowledge of how Saudi audiences engage with works that use a combination of traditional and new art to express such issues.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T14:23:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Carlos Eduardo Tsuda.pdf: 20138115 bytes, checksum: 226dd399b6e3802c0d3749b3b6ccc005 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-13 / Sound Art and Space: Aesthetics and New Poetic Possibilities (Goals) discusses the processes of hybridization between sound and space from a historical overview through areas such as music, architecture, visual arts, sound engineering and performance. Given the diversity of approaches to the topic, this dissertation intends to present alternative perspectives, focusing on the emergence of Sound Art. (Theoretical and Methodological Aspects) By dealing with changes in the ways of understanding sound, both in the world of contemporary music and in visual arts, the research describes different formats of the relationship between sound and space, which acquired new meanings in art installation after more recent experiments with sound. Moreover, it examines the forms of perception of sound and how they differ from other languages, since they imply specificities in their ways of spatialization. The concepts discussed here are applied in the analysis of relevant examples for the historical understanding of sound art and the relation between space and sound. (Results) These analysis serve as a theoretical basis for more in-­‐ depth case studies, in which the author reflects about his creativive process in different works, such as the sound creation and composition for the contemporary dance spetacle Branco and the sound installation Promenade / Arte Sonora e Espaço: Estética e Novas Possibilidades Poéticas (Objetivos) discute os processos de hibridização entre som e espaço, a partir de um percurso histórico por áreas como a música, a arquitetura, as artes visuais, a engenharia acústica e a performance. Diante da diversidade de abordagens sobre o tema, a dissertação busca relacionar as diferentes perspectivas a partir de um recorte baseado no surgimento da Arte Sonora. (Aspectos Teórico-­‐Metodológicos) Tratando das mudanças referentes às diferentes maneiras como o som passa a ser entendido, tanto no universo da música contemporânea como no das artes, a pesquisa intenta demonstrar como a relação entre som e espaço ganha novos sentidos diante das formas instalativas típicas nas experiências mais recentes com som. Além disso, examina diferentes modalidades de percepção do som, e de que modo estes diferem das demais linguagens, implicando em especificidades no que tocante às formas de espacialização. Os conceitos discutidos são aplicados na análise de exemplos pertinentes para o entendimento histórico da arte sonora e das relações entre som e espaço. (Resultados) Estas análises servem como ponto de partida para estudos de caso mais aprofundados em que o autor reflete sobre seu processo no desenvolvimento de obras, tais como a composição sonora para o espetáculo de dança contemporânea Branco e a instalação sonora Promenade